Catholics and the Bible
In 2020 the Catholic Church in England and Wales inaugurated The God Who Speaks: The Year of the Word.
2020 marked two significant anniversaries in the history of the Church’s engagement with Scripture: 1600 years since the death of the Biblical scholar St Jerome; and 10 years since Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Exhortation on the Bible Verbum Domini.
In the Diocese of Leeds, the Year of the Word commenced with a special celebration of Vespers of Advent at St Anne’s Cathedral and Bishop Marcus Stock appointed Rev Henry Longbottom and Dr Gregory Stacey to facilitate The God Who Speaks activities in the Diocese. Henry and Greg were assisted by a number of Parish Scripture Promoters nominated by their Parish Priests to facilitate The God Who Speaks activities in their own parishes and communities. Owing to the suspension of many activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bishops Conference of England and Wales decided to extend the God Who Speaks campaign into 2021.
These resources were developed for the Year of the Word.
Thank you to everyone who was involved in them. We hope that you will continue to enjoy them and that they remain a precious resource for our diocese for many years to come.
St. Matthew’s Gospel Unlocked
People from across the diocese were invited to record passages, which were compiled into a complete recording of this gospel. It is a wonderful celebration of our many voices.
Click HereWindow on the Word
During Lockdown, people across the Diocese were invited to take photographs which inspired them to the Word of God in Scripture. They are an inspirational reminder of the world around us.
Click Here‘God with us’ talks
This series of four talks, given for Lent 2021 as part of a continuing celebration of the Year of the Word, were presented by Canon Timothy Swinglehurst, Episcopal Vicar.
Click HereSpeaker Series
Eminent speakers were invited to give recoreded talks on themes linked with the Year of the Word. You can find the recordings here.
Click HereThe Word in Objects from the Diocese
During the Year of the Word, various artefacts from the Diocese’s churches and institutions were highlighted in this series of podcasts.
Each object has a connection to the Bible and the podcasts include interviews with local people, historical background information and a guided meditation.
Click Here