Bible Comes to Life Exhibition
CMJ UK at the invitation of Churches together Southwell presents the Bible Comes to Life Exhibition
Thursday 5th March to Saturday 7th March
At Southwell Methodist Church
Prebend Passage
Southwell NG250JH
Thursday 5th and Friday 6th 5pm until 9pm.
Saturday 7th 9.30am until 3pm.
Who are CMJ
CMJ UK ( The Churches Ministry Among Jews) who’s three fold mission is Engagement, Education and Encouragement among Jewish people and the Church, present this exciting Exhibition. They continue the work of their founding fathers Joseph Frey, William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury. CMJ established the first Anglican Church in Israel Christ Church Jerusalem in 1849. They also built and ran the first school for girls in the Middle East in 1842 and in 1844 they also opened the first modern hospital in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile back in England in 1882 Samuel Schor began importing artefacts from Palestine to help him explain the culture and the context of the Bible, over time his collection grew to the point that he realized he could host an exhibition and in due course he launched the Palestine Exhibition and toured the country with it. In June of 1907 , the exhibition was set up at the Royal Agricultural Hall in Islington where it attracted three hundred and fifty thousand visitors over nineteen days.
The Palestine exhibition was only interrupted by the outbreak of WW2, after which it continued in various forms until it ran out of steam in 2007 leading to a ten-year pause . In 2017 the exhibition was revived with an updated format, making it easily portable with one van instead of its past requirement of four railway carriages!
Today the exhibition continues, by remaining true to its founders original intent, it is a tool to help Christians learn and understand Biblical history and the Jewish roots of their faith, the exhibition has proven to be a great way to introduce others to the Christian faith.
The exhibition is an excellent resource for schools as its content covers the fundamentals of Judaism and Christianity, with lots of the history of Israel and Jerusalem during the Biblical period. Time is set aside during the day for schools to visit.
We currently display the following exhibits:
Model of the tabernacle that the Israelites transported through the wilderness.
Large model of the second temple which was built during the period recorded by the Biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah. This second temple was enlarged by Herod the great around 5BC and then destroyed by the Romans in 70AD.
1/2 scale model of the Ark of the Covenant,the famous gold covered box containing the ten commandments alongside an accurately outfitters mannequin in the High Priest’s clothing.
Torah scroll, the first five books of the old Testament, written by Moses, forming the central text of the Jewish faith, also scrolls of the book of Esther, one which dates to the late medieval period, these are displayed with a variety of English and Hebrew Bibles.
A display focusing on Rabbinic Judaism, with examples of Shofars(rams horns) Tefillin, Mezuzah, Seder plates, Menorah, Kippah’s and much more.
A display of the Biblical Feasts ; Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashahah, Yom Kippur, Tabernacles, Hanukkah and Purim
A display explaining Jesus, His incarnation, life death and resurrection.
There will be a team with detailed knowledge of the stations that are covering each exhibit, who will be dressed in Biblical era style clothing, much of which was made in Israel or was hand made for the Palestine exhibition of the past. These include Priests, Prophets, Shepherds , Nazarene ladies and a Roman Centurion.
If space allows we set up a Bedouin tent which makes a great backdrop for our exhibits.
Come and engage in this this exciting Exhibition with our friendly, enthusiastic and sincere team.
