God’s Word will be honored with the public reading of the Holy Bible during the Sixth Annual Bible Reading Marathon on the square in downtown Troy April 29 through May 3.

The annual Bible Reading Marathon is hosted by the Salem-Troy Baptist Association and sponsored by the International Bible Reading Association.

Linda Adams, interim director of the Salem-Troy Baptist Association, said that the Bible Reading Marathon will begin at 7 a.m. on April 29 in the Gazebo and conclude with an observance ceremony at noon on May 3, which is the National Day of Prayer.

“We are in the process of registering readers for the Bible Reading Marathon,” Adams said. “The opportunity to read God’s Word publicly is offer to people of all denominations and from all walks of life.

“The purpose of the Bible Reading Marathon is to be faithful to God’s Word and to honor it. By reading the Bible publicly, we are witnessing that we are committed to people hearing God’s Word.”

Adams said reading the entire Bible takes about 90 hours and 360 readers are needed.

The readers are asked to read in 15-minute increments but some churches reserve blocks of time and divide the time among their readers.

“We invite churches, organizations, groups, neighborhoods and individuals to participate,” Adams said. “We have families that reserve blocks of time and the parents and children read. Right now, about one-third of the time slots have been reserved. So, we still have plenty of opportunities to participate.”

Adams said the late night and early morning hours are the hardest to fill. These hours are often reserved by high school and university students who come in groups.

“There are always people from the Association on the square so a reader is never alone,”

Adams said. “Those who are not reading are invited and encouraged to come and participate in the Bible Reading Marathon as a listener.”

Salem-Troy Baptist Association became interested in the Bible Reading Marathon after attending a conference in Ozark.

“When we heard about the Bible Reading Marathon, we knew it was important for us to participate,” Adams said. “We appreciate all of those who have participated in the past and invite everyone to participate in the Sixth Annual Bible Reading Marathon as a reader or hearer of God’s Word.”

To reserve a time to read or for more information, call Adams at 33-566-1538.