Friday, March 01, 2013

Wenzhou diocese holds its first “Little Rock Study Bible” General Assembly

On February 16, 2013, Wenzhou diocese organised its first "Little Rock Study Bible" General Assembly in Yueqing Wengyang Church. Over two thousand participants, members of the “Little Rock” groups from Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Fujian Province, Taizhou, Ningbo, and Wenzhou took part in the gathering.  The activities were divided into three parts: lecture, testimonies, and the Eucharist.
 
The assembly was guided into prayer by the parish priest of Yueqing Parish, Fr. Wu and was followed by the words from the bishop of the Wenzhou diocese, Bishop Shao. The bishop congratulated the members of the “Little Rock” for their successful campaign of encouraging lay people to read the Bible daily, as a way of transforming their lives.
 

The lecture was given by Fr. Zhang. It was divided into four parts, namely, “the Word and the Church”, “the Word and liturgy”, “the Word and life”, and “the Word and evangelization”.
 
The lecture was followed by the testimonials. Some of the participants recounted their personal life-changing stories upon reading the Bible, thus confirming the sayings of the Little Rock, “open the Bible, let life change.” They have found true, joy, refuge, and the light of life.
The assembly ended with the Thanksgiving Mass presided by Bishop Shao. During the homily Bishop Shao encouraged everyone to read the Bible, reminding them that "not knowing the Bible means not knowing Christ. Reading the Bible brings about many insights and fruits into one's own life". He also encouraged the participants to share the Word with those who do not hear it yet, because only by being obedient to the Spirit and sharing the Word with the world one can truly become the servant of God.  The bishop proclaimed St. Paul as the patron saint of the Little Rock Study Bible movement in the Wenzhou diocese. The mass ended with all the participants being commissioned to go and share the Word with the world.

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