Bishops carry Poverty and Justice Bibles

Hundreds of bishops carried The Poverty and Justice Bible as they marched through the streets of central London today (24 July) to demonstrate their commitment to end world poverty.

Around 200 Poverty and Justice Bibles were handed out by Bible Society staff to British and international bishops at the start of the Walk of Witness, part of the ten-yearly Lambeth Conference.

James Catford, Bible Society’s Chief Executive, also presented a Poverty and Justice Bible to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and one to Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, minutes before the historic walk set off.

Around 670 archbishops and bishops from across the worldwide Anglican Communion, their spouses and leaders from other UK faith groups marched the half mile along Whitehall to Lambeth Palace in the high-profile call on global leaders to deliver the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Passing the Houses of Parliament and pausing briefly on Lambeth Bridge, the bishops carried placards as well as Bibles to urge politicians to keep their promises on addressing poverty.

The Poverty and Justice Bible is the first to highlight more than 2,000 passages that speak of God’s attitude to poverty and justice. Challenging the notion that the Bible is a dusty, outdated rulebook, it shows that, on the biggest issues of our day, God got there first.

James Catford, who is also due to join the bishops and archbishops at Buckingham Palace later today, said ‘The Poverty and Justice Bible shows that the Bible can’t be separated from social action and that its message challenges us to act.

‘The fact that bishops carried the Bibles on the Walk of Witness is deeply significant. The Bible – and its life-changing message – is at the centre of their call to tackling the global poverty crisis.’

Rt Revd Dr Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham and Bible Society’s President, added, ‘Poverty and injustice are two of the biggest issues of our day. The imbalance of global wealth, famine, water shortages, exploitation and corruption are all issues that invoke outrage – and demand attention.

‘But The Poverty and Justice Bible shows that, in speaking out on these issues, God got there first.’

Last month, Prime Minister Gordon Brown received a copy of The Poverty and Justice Bible at Downing Street.