For the second time in as many years, the Dallas County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan Tuesday by a coalition of religious groups to stage a four-day, marathon reading of the Christian Bible on the south lawn of the Dallas County Courthouse starting June 29 and running through July 2.
The cover-to-cover public reading will take about 80 hours, according to Christian Kahawakage of Adel, a business systems consultant at Wells Fargo and member of the Iowa Prayer Caucus Network who participated in last year’s marathon scripture reading.
“Last year the Iowa Prayer Caucus Network and many others read the Bible from cover to cover here at the Dallas County Courthouse and in the rotunda of the State Capitol Building,” Kahawalage told the supervisors at their regular weekly meeting. “This year we will read from 8 a.m until 10 p.m. each day, leading up to the Fourth of July, our nation’s 241st birthday.”
Last year’s reading in Dallas County was round the clock. Gov. Terry Branstad signed the Iowa 99 County Bible Reading Marathon Proclamation last year, encouraging all Iowans to participate in the statewide religious event.
Kahawalage said the group is again seeking about 300 volunteers to fill the 15-minute reading slots. He said the Bible reading would present “no hindering of the public entering or exiting the building.”
Unlike last year’s marathon reading, Kahawalage said the readers would not require electrical power on the courthouse lawn.
