29 Aug 2022, 12:14Darell J. Philip PR & Communications AssistantLondon
Hackney Church Complete Entire Bible Reading in Four Days
It was Not by might nor by power, but by God’s Spirit (see Zechariah 4:6) that the Hackney SDA Church Community completed the reading of the entire Bible in four days. The monumental quest which began with the reading of Genesis on Wednesday 24th August at 4pm was completed with the reading of Revelation on Sunday 28th August at 1pm. Such a feat could not have been completed by Hackney Church alone. Support from the community, sister church – Wood Green and several other churches from our local Area 6C including: Clapton, Leytonstone, London Asian SDA, Plaistow, Stratford and Woodford Green amongst others enabled Hackney to get over the finish line in 4 days to the glory of God.
To scenes of jubilation at the completion of the entire reading of the Bible, Hackney’s Pastor, Joojo Bonnie, himself caught up in the emotion of this special Biblical journey, shared with the church community the reasoning behind this special venture: “We kept our church doors opened 24 hours of the day for the past 4 days to read the Bible non-stop to let the community know that the Bible is still relevant in 2022,” said Pastor Bonnie. He continued, “Let us not just be readers of the word but doers of it. May this day forward be a transformation in all our lives. Let’s all make it to Heaven but until then, let us serve our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, faithfully until He returns.”
Members from the Hackney Church Community assisted by those from various Area 6C Churches and our sister church, Wood Green (also Pastored by Joojo Bonnie), took turns in reading chapters from each book of the Bible. It was clear to see the range of emotions on display during the reading of different books of the Bible – a sense of awe during the reading of Genesis, praise and thanksgiving during the reading of Psalms, giggles with blushed faces during the reading of the Songs of Solomon and jubilation during the reading of Revelation. For those who took part in the Bible readings, it was an experience that will never be forgotten.
Tanesha Anglin-James, a member of the Wood Green SDA Church said: “The Bible reading experience was such a fun, learning experience for me. I got to see God’s holy, unchanging, loving, faithful and gracious character. A most memorable part of the experience for me was reading throughout the night without tiring.”
London Asian SDA Church Elder, Rohail John, who also participated in the bible reading, was equally complementary of the experience he had: “The experience was absolutely fantastic,” said Elder John. He continued: “Hearing the word of God being read so diligently and with so much commitment truly increases one’s faith simply by hearing the word. Nowadays we hardly even open the Bible let alone read the whole thing, so this was a brilliant endeavor by Hackney SDA.”
Joshio Mridha, an Elder also from the London Asian SDA Church was impressed with the inclusivity and diversity of readers in the church. He said: “Participating in “READ the Bible in 4 Days” has been a true blessing. I sincerely wanted to join and support because I know what it is like from school days experience of 24 hours Marathon Prayer and Bible Reading.” He added: “Thankful to Hackney SDA Church for arranging this. We not only Read but God Himself spoke to us throughout the whole time. As we followed word by word, we learnt and understood new things from the Bible. Also it was nice to see different age groups, especially the elderly members, participating in the Bible reading programme. Thanks to Pastor Joojo Bonnie for promoting this to our church. God bless all SEC Leaders and Churches.”
Whilst faithfully operating the PA System at the back of the sanctuary, Freda Ojo, a member of Hackney Church also found time to read various chapters at the front of the church. She said: “This has been an invigorating and encouraging experience. I felt a change as I listened to and read the word. Things I’ve read before and yet hearing the word of God read with expressiveness by different voices enabled me to hear something new.” Freda then added: “This experience is a great way to elevate the soul whilst also celebrating God’s word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: All scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good word. I agree.”
When the question was asked of Hackney’s Pastoral Team by other church leaders of what the outcome would be from the undertaking of such a task, First Elder, John Mathieu, admitted that they did not know. “But what we do know is that the Word of God is powerful and that anyone who reads faithfully, with an open mind and heart, will be transformed and changed,” said Elder Mathieu. He added: “The real power of God is that His word transforms and changes lives and it is hoped that this unique 4 day Bible Reading experience has accomplished that.”
Throughout the 4 days, the Bible readings were livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook with many commenting on how amazing it was to see the Bible speak for itself day after day, night after night including on the Sabbath. There were no sermons, platform parties or standard protocols neither were there any traditions of men on display. The Bible was the sermon, the Sabbath School teacher and at the centre of it all the word of God read by his humble servants.
Hackney Church’s entire reading of the Bible in 4 days will go down in history as one of Pastor Joojo Bonnie’s most defining legacies to the church during his near 6 year leadership of Hackney Church and for that we, both young and old, are most truly grateful.
It was Not by might nor by power, but by God’s Spirit (see Zechariah 4:6) that the Hackney SDA Church Community completed the reading of the entire Bible in four days. The monumental quest which began with the reading of Genesis on Wednesday 24th August at 4pm was completed with the reading of Revelation on Sunday 28th August at 1pm. Such a feat could not have been completed by Hackney Church alone. Support from the community, sister church – Wood Green and several other churches from our local Area 6C including: Clapton, Leytonstone, London Asian SDA, Plaistow, Stratford and Woodford Green amongst others enabled Hackney to get over the finish line in 4 days to the glory of God.
To scenes of jubilation at the completion of the entire reading of the Bible, Hackney’s Pastor, Joojo Bonnie, himself caught up in the emotion of this special Biblical journey, shared with the church community the reasoning behind this special venture: “We kept our church doors opened 24 hours of the day for the past 4 days to read the Bible non-stop to let the community know that the Bible is still relevant in 2022,” said Pastor Bonnie. He continued, “Let us not just be readers of the word but doers of it. May this day forward be a transformation in all our lives. Let’s all make it to Heaven but until then, let us serve our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, faithfully until He returns.”
Members from the Hackney Church Community assisted by those from various Area 6C Churches and our sister church, Wood Green (also Pastored by Joojo Bonnie), took turns in reading chapters from each book of the Bible. It was clear to see the range of emotions on display during the reading of different books of the Bible – a sense of awe during the reading of Genesis, praise and thanksgiving during the reading of Psalms, giggles with blushed faces during the reading of the Songs of Solomon and jubilation during the reading of Revelation. For those who took part in the Bible readings, it was an experience that will never be forgotten.
Tanesha Anglin-James, a member of the Wood Green SDA Church said: “The Bible reading experience was such a fun, learning experience for me. I got to see God’s holy, unchanging, loving, faithful and gracious character. A most memorable part of the experience for me was reading throughout the night without tiring.”
London Asian SDA Church Elder, Rohail John, who also participated in the bible reading, was equally complementary of the experience he had: “The experience was absolutely fantastic,” said Elder John. He continued: “Hearing the word of God being read so diligently and with so much commitment truly increases one’s faith simply by hearing the word. Nowadays we hardly even open the Bible let alone read the whole thing, so this was a brilliant endeavor by Hackney SDA.”
Joshio Mridha, an Elder also from the London Asian SDA Church was impressed with the inclusivity and diversity of readers in the church. He said: “Participating in “READ the Bible in 4 Days” has been a true blessing. I sincerely wanted to join and support because I know what it is like from school days experience of 24 hours Marathon Prayer and Bible Reading.” He added: “Thankful to Hackney SDA Church for arranging this. We not only Read but God Himself spoke to us throughout the whole time. As we followed word by word, we learnt and understood new things from the Bible. Also it was nice to see different age groups, especially the elderly members, participating in the Bible reading programme. Thanks to Pastor Joojo Bonnie for promoting this to our church. God bless all SEC Leaders and Churches.”
Whilst faithfully operating the PA System at the back of the sanctuary, Freda Ojo, a member of Hackney Church also found time to read various chapters at the front of the church. She said: “This has been an invigorating and encouraging experience. I felt a change as I listened to and read the word. Things I’ve read before and yet hearing the word of God read with expressiveness by different voices enabled me to hear something new.” Freda then added: “This experience is a great way to elevate the soul whilst also celebrating God’s word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: All scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good word. I agree.”
When the question was asked of Hackney’s Pastoral Team by other church leaders of what the outcome would be from the undertaking of such a task, First Elder, John Mathieu, admitted that they did not know. “But what we do know is that the Word of God is powerful and that anyone who reads faithfully, with an open mind and heart, will be transformed and changed,” said Elder Mathieu. He added: “The real power of God is that His word transforms and changes lives and it is hoped that this unique 4 day Bible Reading experience has accomplished that.”
Throughout the 4 days, the Bible readings were livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook with many commenting on how amazing it was to see the Bible speak for itself day after day, night after night including on the Sabbath. There were no sermons, platform parties or standard protocols neither were there any traditions of men on display. The Bible was the sermon, the Sabbath School teacher and at the centre of it all the word of God read by his humble servants.
Hackney Church’s entire reading of the Bible in 4 days will go down in history as one of Pastor Joojo Bonnie’s most defining legacies to the church during his near 6 year leadership of Hackney Church and for that we, both young and old, are most truly grateful.
