In a historic move for the Christian community, the first audio Bible recorded solely by UK women was launched in March 2023.
The project was a joint effort between several Christian organizations and took several years to complete. Her Audio Bible was launched to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March.
The audio Bible features recordings of the four gospels including the book of Revelation, with each book narrated by a different female voice. Each book is to be released every month for streaming on a range of media platforms including Spotify The team behind the project hope that the new audio Bible will provide a fresh perspective on the holy text and inspire more women to get involved in the church.
In a statement to Premier, the project coordinator, Katy Patridge, who is a Curate of the Church of England, said that the idea for the audio Bible came about after a survey revealed that many women in the Christian community struggled for their voices to be heard. She said, “Growing up, I didn’t have female voices at the front.
“So the message that that fed down to me, even as a young person, was that perhaps my voice wasn’t as powerful or as valuable, or perhaps even my voice wasn’t as included, even in Scripture. “When I went to theological college, it was around 2017, and at that point, there were no audio Bibles voiced fully by women that were freely available.
“Even ow there are about between 700 and 800 audio Bibles across the world, and only eight voiced fully in women’s voices.”
The team worked hard to find a diverse range of female voices to narrate the audio Bible, ensuring that women from all walks were represented. The narrators were women volunteers who wanted to contribute to the project. The audio Bible has already received widespread praise from members of the Christian community, with many hailing it as a groundbreaking achievement
The launch of the first audio Bible recorded solely by women is a significant moment for the Christian community. By giving voice to women and allowing them to tell their own stories, the project has opened up new possibilities for interpretation and understanding of the holy text.
