l UNITED KINGDOM — Lord Coggan, Honorary President of the United Bible Societies (UBS), biblical scholar, author and former Archbishop of Canterbury, died on May 17 at the age of 90. He served as President of the UBS from 1957 to 1976 and was active as Honorary President since then, attending the UBS Councils at Chiang Mai, Thailand (1980) and Budapest, Hungary (1988). The last major UBS event he attended in this capacity was the UBS World Assembly in Mississauga, Canada (1996). The Rev Fergus Macdonald, the UBS General Secretary, said that Donald Coggan had a “deep personal love for Scripture, which was always evident in his preaching and writing”. A memorial service was due to be held in Winchester Cathedral on June 30. (WR352/IB2 - 7/8.00) [PHOTOS] e-97

l UNITED STATES — A memorial service was held on May 5 at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City, for Dr Bryant Kirkland, who served as the first President and Chief of the American Bible Society (ABS) from January 1990 to June 1991. Dr Kirkland, 85, died on April 23 after a brief illness. From 1962 to 1987, he served as senior minister at the Fifth Avenue church. A memorial service held at Trinity Lutheran Church, New York City, on April 26 gave ABS staff an opportunity to remember, in the words of ABS President Dr Gene Habecker, the “historic contributions Dr Kirkland made to the ABS, as well as the personal impact he had on many of our lives”. (WR352/IB3 - 7/8.00)

l UNITED KINGDOM — In April the death occurred of the leading Old Testament scholar Prof William McHardy. Prof McHardy, who was 88, held the Samuel Davidson Chair of Old Testament Studies at the University of London and was Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University. He was widely known as a member of the translation team which produced the New English Bible and as chair of the team that produced the Revised English Bible. (WR352/IB4 - 7/8.00)

l MYANMAR — On February 1 the Rev Saw Mar Gay Gyi became General Secretary of the Bible Society of Myanmar (BSM). He succeeded the Rev Than Htun Myat who has retired. Since 1992 Mr Mar Gay Gyi has been the General Secretary of the Baptist Convention of Myanmar. He has held other positions in the Convention and the Myanmar Council of Churches. In addition, he was Vice President of the Baptist World Alliance and served on the Executive Committee of the BSM board. He is married with three sons and a daughter. (WR352/IB5 - 7/8.00)

l BURKINA FASO — Oumar Sawadogo has been appointed as the new General Secretary of the Bible Society in Burkina Faso. He succeeds Maxime Bakiono who has moved on to the position of Francophone Africa Regional Program Consultant-in-training. Mr Sawadogo, who originally comes from a Muslim background, became a Christian more than 15 years ago and holds a Master's degree in Theology. A pastor of the Assemblies of God church, Mr Sawadogo has also held the position of national director of the Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Burkina Faso. He is married and has one daughter. (WR 352/IB6 - 7/8.00)

l THAILAND — Tan Nguyen, UBS East Asia Regional Secretary, retired at the end of May after 37 years of dedicated Bible work. Mr Nguyen first served in his native Vietnam for 12 years before moving to the USA to work for the American Bible Society. He then joined the UBS as Director of the Scripture Supply Fund. In 1991 he moved to the Asia-Pacific region, where his commitment to the Bible cause led to his appointment as head of the East Asia Regional Service Center in March 1999. Mr Nguyen is held in high esteem by the UBS and will be missed. “We regret very much that Tan had to seek early retirement due to ill health,” said the Rev Fergus Macdonald, UBS General Secretary. “We trust that, free from the pressures of heavy professional responsibility, [he] may recover a good measure of health and strength.” Kua Wee Seng, UBS Asia Opportunity Coordinator, will take over Mr Nguyen’s responsibilities until a successor is found. (WR 352/IB7 - 7/8.00) [PHOTOS]

l BOTSWANA — Modiri Ali Kareng took up his position as the new Executive Secretary of the Bible Society in Botswana on March 1. Mr Kareng has served on the Bible Society board for 13 years and has held the position of chairman since 1997. With many years of experience in accounting and finance, and a diploma in Accountancy and Business Studies, Mr Kareng has a wealth of knowledge to offer the Bible Society. He has also been very involved in Christian activities throughout his career, including serving as national treasurer of the Jesus Generation Movement in Botswana from 1990-1992. A national youth leader, Mr Kareng represents his church – the Church of God in Christ – in a number of Christian organisations including the Christian Council, and Kgolagane College – an inter-denominational theological seminary. Mr Kareng is married with three children. (WR 352/IB12 - 7/8.00)

Bible News in Brief

l INDIA — A Bible Centre envisaged as ‘a lighthouse for ten million people’ opened in December in the Indian state of Gujarat. The Rev David Campbell, General Secretary of the Bible Society in Northern Ireland (BSNI) until May, was guest preacher and performed the opening ceremony. The BSNI has close links with the Gujarat Auxiliary – part of the Bible Society of India – and contributed £30,000 to the Bible Centre project. Mr Campbell explained that the need for Bible distribution had arisen from a remarkable growth in the Christian community in the southern part of the state of Gujarat. (WR 352/IB13 - 7/8.00) [PHOTOS]

l SARAWAK — The 15th Chinese Scriptures Consultation was held in Miri, Sarawak, in March. Representatives from the Bible Societies involved in Chinese Scriptures and Translation Consultants attended. Hosted by the Malaysia Bible Society, the Consultation was chaired by the Rev David Lai. Somporn Sirikolkarn, UBS Senior Coordinator of Program Services, and Tan Nguyen, outgoing UBS East Asia Regional Secretary, also participated. As a result of the Consultation, a number of projects involving Chinese Scripture translation, publication and distribution projects were agreed and will now be worked on. (WR 352/IB14 - 7/8.00)

l KENYA — Among the Lubukusu speakers of Western Kenya, the word ‘okhukhonya’ means ‘to kill’. Among their neighbours, the vastly more numerous Luhya speakers, however, the same word means ‘to help’. So depending on where one is, the use of this word can mean life or death! This is the kind of problem which prompted the churches among the Babukusu people to undertake a translation in their own Lubukusu language. Before then, they had to use the Luhya Bible in their churches. Initial attempts to translate the Bible into Lubukusu began in 1975. Actual translation work, however, got under way in 1981 and 11 translators have so far been involved in the project. The recent launching of the Book of Ruth is a milestone in the long journey of the Babukusu towards a Bible in their own ‘heart’ language. With the translation of the Old Testament three-quarters complete, and the first edition of the New Testament published in 1993, the whole of Scripture could be available in Lubukusu in two to three years’ time. (WR 352/IB15 - 7/8.00)

l SINGAPORE — In April the Bible Society of Singapore launched its Millennium Hand-Written Bible project. Christians have been asked to copy out verses and passages from the Scriptures by hand and to contribute a sum of money to the Society for every verse they write – which they can either provide themselves or raise through sponsorship by their family, friends and colleagues. The Society hopes that the project will revive the interest of believers in the Word of God and that it will contribute towards the cost of Bible work in the region. When the project is over the hand-written Bible will be assembled and put on display at a special exhibition to be held at the Bible House in Singapore in 2000. (WR 352/IB16 - 7/8.00)

l ZIMBABWE — An old Shona lady, whose sight was restored after 10 years of blindness, told eye surgeons that she wanted the Bible to be the first book she read with her newly-sighted eyes. Sarah, who lost her sight through cataracts, was one of a number of people operated on free of charge by American and Zimbabwean eye surgeons. When her turn came to have the operation she told her doctors that she wanted a Shona Bible to read after the operation. “It is the book that transformed my life ten years ago when I could see,” she explained. “My hope has never waned.” Moved by her faith, the doctors contacted the Bible Society of Zimbabwe to ask them to send a Shona Bible. Sarah received her Bible and now she faithfully reads it every day. Since then, the hospital has ordered 50 more Shona Bibles for patients like Sarah. (WR 352/IB17 - 7/8.00)

l BANGLADESH — The new Bengali Common Language Bible, Ketabul Mokaddos, was dedicated on April 25 after 30 years of translation work. The Bible, which was printed locally, was welcomed by representatives of the different churches and organisations involved in the translation. The Common Language Bengali New Testament, Injil Sharif, has been available since 1981 and is one of the most sought-after books in the range of products offered by the Bangladesh Bible Society (BBS). The Old Testament translation was begun in 1979. This new Bible will fulfil a real need for pastors and churchgoers who have been anticipating this new edition of the Word of God in Bengali because it is rendered in a language that speaks directly to ordinary people from Bangladesh’s majority community. (WR 352/IB18 - 7/8.00) [PHOTOS]