Bible Reading Marathon runs through Oct. 31

LIHU‘E — There is still room for more readers at the Kaua‘i Bible Marathon that opened Monday morning at the parking lot fronting the Island Comfort Air Conditioning building on Rice Street.

“It’s amazing that we have a full schedule of readers on opening day,” said Teresa Pennington, one of the coordinators for the Kaua‘i Bible Marathon. “There are 180 sections to this marathon that runs through Oct. 31, so there are time slots available for anyone who wants to share the words of God.”

Participants read for 30-minute segments between the hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily through Oct. 31 with the words drifting from a sturdy tent fronting the Island Comfort building that houses a Hall of Prayer led by Cathy Simao.

“This is a good location,” Pennington said. “Already, we’ve had people walking by stop to listen, and across Rice Street at the Watamull Building, there were some people out near the hedge, listening. Some of them even signed up for reading slots.”

Some of the guest readers include Kahu Jade Wai‘ale‘ale Battad, a Kaua‘i County Council candidate, taking the microphone at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday.

Former mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., another council candidate, will welcome Thursday during his reading that starts at 8 a.m. Other council candidates Mason Chock follows at 8:30 a.m., Felicia Cowden takes the microphone starting at 12:30 p.m., and Dr. Addison Bulosan reads from 1 p.m.

Kaua‘i Island Ministries is the primary sponsor of the event that was geared to take place close to the General Election Day, Nov. 3, a holiday that was already announced by the County of Kaua‘i.

“People interested in signing up for reading can contact maranatha@kauai.church,” said Pennington. “Through this email, I will send them the link to Sign Up Genius where they are able to sign up very easily. They’re really good about even sending reminders.”

Pennington said she was involved in other reading marathons elsewhere and thought it was a good idea to have one on Kaua‘i, being led to Roy and Dely Sasaki of the Kaua‘i Island Ministries who suggested the Rice Street location because of the traffic.

“The events I was involved in took place right before the National Day of Prayer,” Pennington said. “We have Election Day coming up, and we read God’s words aloud in hopes of settling the chaos and confusion, and to glorify God. Roy and Dely have been so good — they even went and blessed the Lihu‘e Airport just before the island opened up to trans-Pacific travelers. The sound never disappears, it just spreads around the world.”

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.