SCRIPTURE READERS

Please read from the RSV translation of the Bible.

Prior to Sunday morning reading:

• Pray
• Check pronunciation of names
• Get familiar with the grammar
• Look up words if they don’t make sense
• Find out what the text means
• Become aware of the context of the passage
• What is the tone or spirit of the passage i.e. didactic, hostile, analytic, or a combination of these
• Mark where you will take pauses, breaths, or read uninterrupted
• Underline or circle words you want to emphasize
• Indicate where words or phrases will be louder or softer
• Read the text aloud several times before you read it on Sunday morning

During Sunday morning reading:

• Pray
• Stand up straight
• Use your diaphragm to give you more control and more oxygen, helping you to stay calm
• Read with the appropriate speed for the kind of message it is
• Speak the words in a way that conveys the appropriate feeling
• Avoid nervous breathless bolting reading by being familiar with the text
• Go slow so the people in the back have a change to hear each word
• Do let your voice go down at the end of sentences
• Articulation is critic as vowels are easier to hear than consonants
• Exaggeration makes words sound natural