International Women’s Day 2023
Here at Christians in Media we’re celebrating International Women’s Day. Each year this date is marked across the globe to recognise the achievements of women within our communities and society.
There are so many stories of women leading, inspiring and trailblazing throughout the generations. Besides the known names, are those unknown women who’ve been faithful to serve the Lord whatever role they’ve been placed into. Whichever sphere they’ve served within.
For Christian women working within the media, they often navigate challenging environments. Yet, they keep going forward, despite many obstacles. But that’s when, as Christian women, our faith is activated. Whatever faces us, we can, ‘be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’ (Joshua 1:9). This is the strength and courage that sustains and enables us to be the unique individuals we are and stand up to progress the plans God lays on our hearts.
We want to recognise and celebrate every woman, in this generation. Who are here not by accident but here, ‘for such a time as this’ (Esther 4:14). And Her Audio Bible UK is a fantastic example of women working together to deliver a female-centred media project – the first NIV audio bible voiced by women across the UK.
When Jocelyn-Anne Harvey, our Head of Operations, heard about their project, she wanted to find out more from Her Audio Bible UK Co-producer, Anna Putt:
Congratulations on Her Audio Bible UK which launches today. When Christians in Media heard about it, I thought why hasn’t this been done before! What led you to creating an audio bible voiced by women?
It was precisely because we thought there should be one! In 2017 there were no quality audio Bibles voiced by women that were free. Now, there are between 700-800 audio Bibles recorded across the world and only 8 have so far been recorded fully in women’s voices. So, it's clear to see that there is still disparity in terms of representation. What is unique about Her Audio Bible UK is that it seeks to represent something of the diversity of women's voices in the UK. Each book (apart from the very short ones) is read by a different woman, and it is the first female voiced NIV version in the UK.
Those female voices reading different parts of the New Testament come from a variety of backgrounds, such as: teachers, healthcare professionals, journalists & scholars. How did they find the process of working with audio?
This was one of the joys of the project in that we gathered women from a variety of backgrounds both in terms of their employment but also social background and regional and ethnic background. All of whom volunteered their time and their voices for the project. They all had beautiful tone to their voices, and Katy (Director and Producer) and I, guided them through the technology and produced the readings. Some were more familiar or comfortable with the process than others, but I think they all enjoyed the opportunity to be involved and to read a book of the Bible all the way through.
“Women’s voices matter to God. If women are somehow excluded from religious spaces, the message they receive is that their voice does not matter to God or is less important. Sometimes theophanies come in the wind and the fire, and sometimes in the gentle whisper, so it’s interesting to me to hear Scripture in a wide range of tones and depths and strengths.”
Storytelling is important for us at Christians in Media, our last Annual Service them was being ‘God’s Storytellers’. The volunteers who read those Bible passages literally tell God’s story through their speech. What did they learn from the experience?
What is great about this is the flow of having a single reader for each book which gives a lovely overview of the message and the themes that come back time and again in each book. I think the volunteers enjoyed the opportunity to really be Immersed in the story each book tells and some have gone on to give readings in their churches and hometowns.
How are you hoping for Her Audio Bible UK to speak to its listeners?
We believe God speaks by his spirit through his word powerfully and want as many people as possible to have access to hearing him. We hope that this project will enable people who may previously have felt a barrier to listening to the Bible, to hear it for the first time, and for those who are more familiar, to hear it afresh.
Many times, throughout the Bible it’s women’s voices which play a crucial part. For example, the Daughters of Zelophehad spoke up in Joshua 17:3-6. If they hadn’t stepped up and questioned the inheritance law, then it wouldn’t have been changed. Why was it important for you to have female voices leading this project?
Women’s voices are as significant as male voices and yet they are underrepresented in audio bibles. here are many other reasons why it is important for women’s voices to be heard. For some, who have experienced domestic abuse for example, hearing male voices can be very triggering. For others it can be very powerful to hear a voice like your own, one you can relate to more easily, for this reason we’ve also got a range of regional accents amongst our readers. Furthermore, to hear God’s word read with a different voice can mean you hear things afresh.
Blog Guest
Her Audio Bible UK Director, Revd. Katy Partridge
Her Audio Bible UK is available through a range of digital audio services, including Spotify. Find out more on their website.
