With the words 'In the beginning ...' a group kicks off Bible Reading Marathon at state Capitol

A Bible Reading Marathon began on Saturday at the state Capitol with words familiar to many people: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the Earth."

The Rev. Carol Unsell read the first sentence of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, with a flourish. Her reading stint was preceded by an opening ceremony for the inaugural event expected to continue for roughly 90 continuous hours through Wednesday, March 13.

The marathon is part of the Capitol Bible Reading Marathon ministry of an organization called Seedline International, based in Brazil, Indiana. Carol Unsell and her husband, the Rev. David Unsell, of Coalgate, served as the Oklahoma marathon's state hosts.

Joe Bavar, the marathon ministry's national director, said Oklahoma was just the latest of several states that have held the marathons and several have been hosted in Washington, D.C. He said it was a good sign that about 150 of 360 15-minute reading time slots had already been filled.

"Our goal is to get the word of God back to the Capitol," he said.

During the opening ceremony, Bavar, of Indiana, had 12 people read from Psalm 119 because he said the Scripture featured David describing his passion for God and God's word. The 45-minute ceremony featured music, including "America The Beautiful," and two women sang the hymn "Amazing Graze" in the Choctaw language.

The Rev. Jason Shirk, pastor of Harvest Hills Baptist Church of Yukon, spoke about the importance of sharing God's word through the marathon.

"To be honest, if our nation is ever going to see any kind of change, it's going to be because of God," he told the crowd. "Here on these Capitol steps, we are endeavoring to remind our politicians and the state of Oklahoma that our hope lies in the word of God."

As the Oklahoma marathon's state hosts, the Unsells said they were encouraged by a crowd of about 35 people who showed up for the opening ceremony and the marathon's start. David Unsell said he had been worried about the weather because of rain and chilly temperatures the night before.

Connie Mitchell, founder of Family Synergy Restoration Center in Tulsa, said she was excited to see the Bible read from cover to cover at the state Capitol. Mitchell, co-leader of the state Intercessory for America group with Carol Unsell, said she planned to return to the state Capitol on Tuesday with members of her prayer team and each of them would take turns reading the Bible.

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"I believe in the power of God and power of prayer," she said. "I feel like we're sowing this word right into the very foundation of this ground."

The Unsells, who are pastors of Cornerstone Praise and Worship Center in Coalgate, said the event was not intended to be political and there would be no planned commentary or politics, just Bible reading.

The Unsells said they expected that people would read the Bible in the translation or language of their choice and a large group of Bibles in different translations and languages were available on a table near the event podium.

Meanwhile, when asked what he thought about Americans who say the United States was not founded as a Christian nation and the U.S. Constitution is a secular document, Bavar pushed back on these ideas.

"Is it secular? — It is not," he said of the Constitution.

"You look at it, and it says, one nation under who? Under God. You look at our Founding Fathers and the writings that they have with their personal writings, they talk about God and our Creator and how much again, as I had said earlier, how much our republic, our nation needs the word of God. If we move away from that, then this country can't stand."

David Unsell said he hoped that Oklahomans would hear about the marathon on social media or word of mouth and decide to join the faith effort. He said many people saw a story in The Oklahoman about the marathon and that is how they learned about the marathon and wanted to participate.

Unsell said some criticism of the event was expressed on social media and one woman who described herself as a witch said she would come to the state Capitol and curse the marathon group. He said he and other marathon leaders weren't fazed by the negativity.

"Some people said, 'I can't believe they are letting you do that. Why don't you keep it to yourself,' and I thought you can't do anything for the Lord with stirring up the enemy," David Unsell said. "But, we are protected by the Lord."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: A Bible Reading Marathon at the state Capitol continues through Wednesday