‘America Reads the Bible’ kicks off in DC as hundreds gather on red carpet for weeklong event
“America Reads the Bible” kicks off in Washington, D.C., with its Opening Celebration and red carpet arrivals. The weeklong event marks 250 years of the Bible in America. Faith leaders, politicians and public figures are set to participate in continuous readings from Genesis to Revelation at the Museum of the Bible.
Patricia Heaton reflects on ‘divine connection’ of creation ahead of Genesis 1 reading
Catholic actress Patricia Heaton is set to help open “America Reads the Bible” by reading from the very beginning, Genesis 1, calling the moment both surprising and deeply meaningful.
Speaking with Fox News Digital on the red carpet ahead of the kickoff celebration, Heaton said she was “a bit shocked” to be asked to read the opening passage of Scripture, but described it as an “incredible honor.”
Heaton, known for her work on "Everybody Loves Raymond," reflected on the significance of reading the story of Creation.
“I just think it’s sort of fitting that actors and people in the entertainment industry are about creating characters and creating worlds and telling stories,” she said. “In that way, it’s kind of a privilege because there’s a divine connection there.”
Heaton said the connection offers a glimpse, however small, into "God's incredible power and energy."
“You get to participate in a very small and imperfect way in being a creator,” she said. “It gives you a little sense of God’s incredible power and energy, but His love.”
The actress added that the act of creation, whether through storytelling or faith, carries a deeper meaning.
“When you create, you’re giving birth,” she said. “And God gave birth to the world and us, so it’s really sort of a great connectivity.
Heaton will help kick off the beginning of the complete cover-to-cover reading of the Bible starting tomorrow morning at The Museum of the Bible at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Patricia Heaton invokes October 7, calls for Christians and Jews to ‘stand’ at Bible event
Actress Patricia Heaton invoked the October 7 terror attack in Israel during a speech at the “America Reads the Bible” opening celebration, calling on Christians and Jews to stand together in defense of their shared values.
Speaking on stage in the nation’s capital, Heaton reflected on her personal journey reading Scripture and how it shaped her response to the attack.
“Two years later, October 7 happened, and I looked out and said, ‘Why isn’t the whole world in an outrage about what happened?’” Heaton said.
The actress said the moment led her to take action alongside others, helping launch an effort aimed at uniting people of faith.
“We created this organization… helping Christians and Jews come together and stand up for Judeo-Christian values,” she said.
Heaton tied that response to a passage from Ephesians, urging believers to remain steadfast in difficult times.
“Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes… after you’ve done everything, you just stand,” she said.
Earlier in her remarks, Heaton also described a powerful personal experience reading the Bible, saying a passage in the Gospel of John moved her to tears and deepened her belief in the truth of Scripture.
“You’re weeping because it’s true,” Heaton said.
‘God is not done with America yet’: Speaker Johnson speaks at DC Bible event kickoff
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson framed the kickoff of “America Reads the Bible” as a moment of national “rededication” rooted in the country’s founding principles during remarks on Saturday.
Speaking at the Opening Celebration in Washington, D.C., Johnson pointed to the role of faith in shaping the nation, arguing that America’s founding principles are grounded in the belief that rights come from God.
“We’re the first nation in the history of the world that boldly proclaimed that,” Johnson said, referencing the Declaration of Independence. “That is the foundation of what made us the greatest nation in the history of the world.”
Johnson told attendees the weeklong public reading of Scripture is an opportunity to “defend and restore the foundations” of the country.
“This is more than symbolism,” he said. “It’s a rededication.”
The speaker also shared a personal story about his upbringing and faith, recalling how his father, a firefighter, survived a devastating explosion despite being given only a small chance to live.
“I got down on my face before the Lord and pleaded for the life of my father,” Johnson said. “God answered our prayers.
”The experience, he said, cemented his belief in the truth of Scripture at a young age.
“From that moment, I knew that God’s Word is flawless and true,” he said.
Johnson closed by encouraging Americans to remain grounded in faith.
“God is not done with America yet,” he said.
Christian media exec says US has ‘forgotten’ its foundation as Bible event kicks off in DC
Doug Deason, chairman of Great American Media, says the “America Reads the Bible” event reflects a broader push to reconnect America with its spiritual foundations.
Speaking with Fox News Digital on the red carpet ahead of the kickoff celebration, Deason said the weeklong event which features a cover-to-cover reading of Scripture has quickly grown from an idea into a national movement.
“This started out as an idea in Dallas a little over a year ago, and here we are — it’s remarkable,” Deason said.
Deason, whose company includes Great American Family, Great American Faith & Living and the Pure Flix streaming platform, said broadcasting the event aligns with what he sees as a growing appetite for faith-based content.
“I think we’ve just forgotten what our country is founded upon,” he said. “We’re a Christian nation — we’re not trying to become one, but we are one.”
He pointed to America’s founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, as being rooted in biblical principles.
“Really, the Bible — I look at it as our founding document,” he said. “It’s just so important we get back to our basic roots of who we are.”
Trump set to read Scripture from the Oval Office during 'America Reads the Bible' event
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump will read from 2 Chronicles 7 during a nationwide Bible-reading event this week, a passage organizers say was deliberately reserved for the president because of its decades-long role as a call to prayer in America.
Trump is set to read 2 Chronicles 7:11–22 from the Oval Office during the 6 p.m. ET hour on Tuesday as part of "America Reads the Bible," a weeklong event marking 250 years of the Bible in America and featuring nearly 500 participants reading Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
Organizers said Trump’s section was not assigned at random.
The event’s online schedule shows the 2 Chronicles 7:11–22 reading was reserved as a "special guest" slot during a prime evening hour on Tuesday, alongside figures like former HUD Secretary Ben Carson and members of Congress.
The event’s opening celebration takes place at 7 p.m. ET Saturday, in Washington, D.C., followed by seven straight days of continuous public readings, from Genesis to Revelation, starting at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Museum of the Bible on the World Stage Theater.
"We needed somebody special to read Second Chronicles chapter seven," Bunni Pounds, founder and president of Christians Engaged, told Fox News Digital."As my director and I were praying over different sections of scripture, it came to us that this is such a critical passage for the body of Christ," she said.
Pounds said the passage, particularly verse 14, has been central to American prayer life for decades, often invoked during times of national reflection.
"It comes at a time where the Israelites were experiencing hardship and God spoke and said, ‘If my people that are called by my name would humble themselves and pray,’" Pounds said. "We’ve prayed this scripture for at least the last 50 years of American history on National Day of Prayer and other moments in this country."
Verse 14 reads, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
"And so we instantly said — who needs to read that? The President of the United States," she added. "We set it aside for him and have been praying for that for the last year."
This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr.
Candace Cameron Bure prays for ‘revival and repentance’ at 'America Reads the Bible'
Actress Candace Cameron Bure is bringing a message of faith and renewal to the nation’s capital as she joins hundreds of participants in the “America Reads the Bible” weeklong event.
Speaking with Fox News Digital on the red carpet ahead of the kickoff celebration, Bure said her prayer for the country is centered on “revival and repentance” at a time she believes Americans are searching for deeper meaning.
“I really do pray that people would turn to God, would humble themselves and know how much God loves them,” Bure said. “There’s just a whole other life worth living for in a way that is God-honoring, that is a blessing.”
The actress said she did not choose the specific passage Genesis 6, which covers much of the story of Noah and the flood that she will read during the event — but was eager to participate regardless.
“I didn’t — they gave me that passage,” she said. “But I love the whole Bible, so I would have read Leviticus or Numbers, whatever they asked me to. It wouldn’t matter.”
The event officially kicked off Saturday night with an opening celebration in Washington.
Bure said she hopes the event resonates beyond those gathered in the nation’s capital.
“My prayer is coming true,” she added, pointing to what she sees as a growing movement of faith across the country with "America Reads the Bible."
‘America Reads the Bible’ kicks off at red carpet DC event as founder prays for national ‘identity'
Bunni Pounds, visionary behind "America Reads the Bible" and president of Christians Engaged says her prayer for the nation is that Americans rediscover their identity and purpose through Scripture.
Speaking with Fox News Digital on the red carpet ahead of the event’s kickoff, Pounds said she hopes people across the country come to understand “how deep the love of God is.
"I hope every American would realize our real identity — that we are created beings of God, made in His image with a purpose and a plan and a destiny,” Pounds said. “They’ll find it in the pages of the Bible.”
Pounds also pointed to the response following the announcement reported first on Fox News Digital that President Donald Trump would participate in the event, saying it has already drawn widespread attention.
“We’ve seen hundreds of articles around the world already, and we’re just getting started,” she said. “We have eight days of promoting the Bible — that should make every Christian in this country happy.”
The weeklong event marking 250 years of the Bible in America and featuring nearly 500 participants reading Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, starts Sunday.
Nearly 500 public figures from politics to Hollywood will read Bible cover to cover for America 250
More than 495 Christian leaders, from Washington to Hollywood, will gather for a live event this week to read the Bible aloud from cover to cover.
"America Reads the Bible" will be held in Washington, D.C., at the Museum of the Bible, where participants will read from Genesis through Revelation from April 19 through 25 to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. The event, which launched its opening ceremony on April 18, will also be livestreamed for free on Great American Pure Flix.
National leaders from Congress to the White House will read at the event, along with actors, directors and Christian faith leaders.
President Donald Trump is slated to read 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 from the Oval Office for the event. From his administration, six cabinet-level members — including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — are also on the schedule.
Six governors and 20 members of Congress, including U.S. Sens. Jim Banks, Ted Cruz, Joni Ernst and James Lankford, and Govs. Greg Abbott, Ron DeSantis and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, are among the national leaders on the schedule.
Hollywood and entertainment figures are also on the roster, including Candace Cameron Bure, Dean Cain, Dallas Jenkins, Jen Lilley, and Kevin Sorbo.Several pastors, including Franklin Graham, Sammy Rodriguez and Nick Vujicic, will also read at the event. Podcasters and authors Eric Metaxas and Allie Beth Stuckey will also appear.
According to event organizer Bunni Pounds, founder and president of Christians Engaged, "America Reads the Bible" was inspired by the story of Nehemiah and is intended to draw America back to its "spiritual foundations" ahead of the nation’s historic anniversary.
This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News Digital's Kristine Parks.
Live Coverage begins here