The event will consist of 14 hours of Bible readings per day – 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. – the exception being Sunday, March 21, when the readings will begin at 1 p.m.
The readings are being done at the Saint Ambrose Parish Centre in the Marian Hall.
Proclamation is an initiative of the Canadian Bible Society.
Rev. Charles Webster, president of the society’s Yarmouth branch and chair of the Yarmouth Proclamation event, says Proclamation is an invitation to people to read the Scriptures and, more particularly, to read them in their own language.
Over the 10-day course of Proclamation in Yarmouth, for example, the Bible will be read in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Afrikaans, Flemish, Japanese and Portuguese, among others.
“We want to have people read the Scriptures in their languages,” said Rev. Webster. “It brings people together.”
And while reading the whole Bible is a big job – hence the 14-hour days and the 10-day duration of the Proclamation event – by getting a lot of people involved and dividing the readings into many portions, people can participate without giving up much of their time.
“You can read for five minutes, 10 minutes or 15 minutes,” said Rev. Webster. “You can indicate how much you want to read.”
People could offer to read on more than one occasion if they wished.
The readings for March 21 – the only Sunday of the Proclamation period – will only begin in the afternoon, organizers wanting to give people a chance that day to attend morning church services.
Proclamation will be followed by a festival of praise Saturday, March 27, at Saint Ambrose Cathedral at 7:30 p.m.
Proclamation was last held in Yarmouth five years ago, when Yarmouth North Baptist was the host church.
