St Mary's Church, Mildenhall, provided 'Storytime' reading books to 26 families for them to complete a Bible reading together, along with other material in the book to facilitate talks within the family. The books were funded by a £500 grant from the Growth Fund.
The books were given out from Christmas Eve, and were very gratefully recieved. One book was given to each family, and a notebook and pen were given to each child for them to make notes. A weekly order of readings along with a weekly tick box, were also provided to help link them in with the church seasons.
Children were encouraged to come to the monthly Fun and Faith times with their notebooks to talk about what they have been reading, and receive a star on their bookmark for their progress. The theme of the service is usually linked in with the past months readings.
The funding enabled the church to purchase the books, pens and notebooks. Additionally, the leftover funds from the grant enable the church to purchase prizes for those who complete all 52 readings.
The books given out to families meant that the Bible was made available in homes in an accessible format, and the project naturally allows for opportunities to follow up with families to see how they have gotten on.
Next year, the church hopes to follow on with a project about getting families to pray together.
