Entire Bible being read aloud from US Capitol

WASHINGTON, DC -- On the plaza of the U.S. Capitol this week, the entire Bible is being read aloud non-stop from a podium facing west across the nation.

The 27th annual U.S. Capitol Bible Reading Marathon opened with a hymn and a prayer Sunday evening. The Rev. Rob Schenck (shank), president of the National Clergy Council, then read the first words of Genesis: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth."

Volunteer readers are to take turns at the podium day and night until the last "Amen" of the book of Revelation is read on Thursday, the National Day of Prayer.

The outdoor event's co-director, the Rev. Michael Hall, says the readers continue regardless of the weather, with nothing but umbrellas to protect them from the rain.

He says the annual Bible marathon on the Capitol plaza draws objections from some secularists, but he reminds them that the freedom to practice religion is guaranteed in the Constitution's First Amendment.