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Easter Newsletter
The King James Bible Trust would like to thank everyone for your support in raising awareness
of the impact of the King James Bible, in this its anniversary year. The Trust has already enjoyed
great success so far this year, with some key highlights below.
A Right Royal YouTube
 His Royal Highness
The Prince of Wales, our Patron, has added his own reading to our YouTube Bible.
He chose to read John Chapter 17 and read it from the Chapel Royal at St. James' Palace.
The reading was warmly received. The posts by admirers on social networking site Twitter
amused the Prince, who joked with supporters of the King James Bible Trust, at our recent
Clarence House Reception, about the compliments, some of which urged him to take up
narrating full time.
Click here to see the clip.
We aim to have every chapter and verse of the KJB read by people from all over the world
by the end of 2011. We already have Benjamin Chew from Singapore reading Proverbs Chapter 2
and Tuvia Pollack from Israel reading Hosea Chapter 14. Why not contribute yourself too?
Click here to learn how.
Keynote lecture in Hampton Court setting
 The Great Hall at
Hampton Court Palace is the setting for the "Quattro-Centenary Lecture on the King James Bible: its impact
over 400 years, 1611 - 2011" on 11th May, to be given Melvyn Bragg.
This coincides with the release of Melvyn Bragg's new book "The Book of Books: the Radical
Impact of the King James Bible 1611-2011". The broadcaster told The Telegraph recently
that "the abolition of slavery was driven by the King James Bible. It gave slaves a common
language and purpose", and "women like Octavia Hill were empowered by the Bible to clear slum areas,
to help people... It was a big strand of the suffragettes' movement". His lecture will elaborate
on the social impact and literary importance of the King James Bible.
Click here for tickets
Musical Merit
 We are all eagerly anticipating the
finals in May of the KJBT Composition Awards, in association with the Royal College of Music and
Westminster Abbey. The judges announced their shortlist for the two best new compositions of Church
music inspired by the KJB last month.
Click here for information on the finalists
International Meeting
 The Society of Biblical
Literature is hosting a four-day symposium at King's College London in July entitled;
"The KJV at 400: Assessing its Genius as Bible Translation and Its Literary Influence".
There will be an opening welcome from The Most Revd. and Rt. Hon. Dr. John Sentamu, the
Archbishop of York. The conference is a set of special lectures and discussions that are open
to the public.
Click here to register and for more details on the Symposium
Debate the KJB on the BBC
 The Big Questions,
BBC One's religious, moral and ethical debate show, will mark the 400th anniversary of the
King James Bible by recording a very special episode debating the impact and influences of the
famous text on the afternoon of Sunday 1 May in Bury, Greater Manchester.
If you'd like to attend the show, or for further details, please email
audiencetbq@mentorn.tv as
soon as possible and leave a contact telephone number. If you are applying for more than one
ticket, please include names and contact details for all the people interested in attending.
KJB Events galore
 Community groups and
churches across the UK and overseas are busy marking the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible.
Amongst the host of events planned, Hatfield House, which also celebrates its 400th year,
is putting on an exhibition of a copy of the King James Bible belonging to Robert Cecil,
chief minister to King James I. It is on public view for the first time as part of the
celebrations.
Click here to see all national and international events, or even upload your own
 The King James Bible Trust wishes you a very Happy Easter.
"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo,
I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
Matthew Chapter 28 Verses 18-20
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Barnaby Taylor, 12,
from Knights Templar School in Baldock, has sent us his personal recollection of meeting
HRH The Prince of Wales at the KJBT Reception at Clarence House in March.
With four peers he delighted the guests with dramatic readings from St Matthew's Gospel
from the KJB. It was a night the five will never forget.
The
King James Bible YouTube project has been given a royal
seal of approval. Her Majesty The Queen recently visited the St.
Mary & St. Pancras Primary School, London, where two of the
children read verses from the King James Bible in her presence.
She was clearly delighted with the reading, and it was a day that
the children will never forget.
A
whole host of luminaries, clergy, celebrities, historians, writers
and journalists from around the world gathered at the Banqueting
House in Whitehall in November for our official launch. HRH The
Duke of Edinburgh was the guest of honour, with TV Presenter
Katie Derham hosting the event. Our Chairman, Frank Field MP
opened the evening and the distinguished actor Timothy West
gave a powerful reading from the Gospel of St Matthew. The
historian Niall Ferguson spoke about the cultural and historical
importance of this translation, and children from Bacon's school in
Rotherhithe gave us an imaginative presentation describing their
recent encounter with the KJB in the classroom. Lord Salisbury, a
Trustee, kindly loaned his original 1611 version of the King James
Bible for guests to see.
Following
the Launch there has been keen interest amongst the
media in the King James Bible Trust. Robert McCrum wrote in The
Observer about the huge influence the KJB has had on the English
language, selling 1 billion copies since it was published in 1611,
the Scottish composer, James McMillan, writes in his Telegraph
blog about the powerful influence of the KJB, and the former Poet
Laureate, Sir Andrew Motion, and the author Professor Gordon
Campbell discussed the cultural contribution made by the KJB to
Britain on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.
There
are a vast number of Events scheduled in 2011 to celebrate
the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible, from King
James Bible Lectures at Hereford Cathedral, to Choral Evensong
celebrating the KJV at Glasgow University Memorial Chapel
and an exhibition of a collection of rare Bibles at Dunham Bible
Museum in Houston, Texas, USA, to name but a few.
All
of us at the King James Bible Trust would like to wish you a
very Happy Christmas.
