Four Days, 88 Hours, One Bible

What does it sound like when the whole Bible is read aloud in the middle of a city?

For four days in July, Wellingtonians passing the Cathedral of St Paul got a chance to find out.

From 11.30am on Sunday 19 July until 2.30am on Thursday 23 July, 37 people from seven churches took turns reading every word of the Bible on the Cathedral steps. Together they covered all 88 hours, from Genesis to Revelation.

The idea had been sitting with Dean Katie Lawrence for some time.

"I'd long wanted to hear the whole Bible read aloud," she says.

With National Bible Sunday approaching, she decided it was time to try. Invitations went out to churches across the city, and readers signed up for slots that stretched through the day and into the small hours of the morning.

As the week unfolded, the reading and the rhythm of the city continued simultaneously.

On Tuesday morning, commuters and public servants hurried along Molesworth Street while the Book of Proverbs was being read nearby. Written centuries ago, much of its wisdom was originally aimed at people navigating public life and leadership. Few may have stopped to listen, but its words were there in the air as Wellington went about its business.

On Wednesday afternoon, the reading moved into te reo Māori for an hour, reflecting the Cathedral's commitment to the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand. For the reader, it was both challenging and rewarding. For those listening, it offered another way of hearing familiar scriptures.

By the early hours of Thursday morning, the finish line was finally in sight.

Only three readers remained. After days of tag-team reading, missed sleep, and careful handovers between participants, there was just one chapter left. The final verses of Revelation were read together, followed by embraces, smiles, and a sense of achievement that was hard to put into words.

What began as an ambitious idea became something more than a reading marathon. It brought together Christians from different traditions, created unexpected moments of encounter in a public space, and invited people to hear scripture in a way that is increasingly rare.