Latest NewsSummaries of stories which have been e-mailed in the Latest News series since the publication of World Report 383: ROMANIA — There was a strong spirit of unity and co-operation between churches of all denominations as they took part in the Interconfessional Bible Society in Romania’s Bible Week at the end of November in Timisoara, Romania’s third-largest city. The theme of the week was ‘The Word that saves the world’, and one of the main events was a Scripture distribution funded by Opportunity 21. Another major event was a Bible Symposium in which church leaders, theologians and the Minister of Religious Affairs, Laurentiu Tanase, participated. e-265 December 11, 2003 (WR 384/17 - 3.04) MIDDLE EAST
— The main launch ceremony for the initiative which will make 2004
the Year of the Bible for Christians across the Middle East took place
at the Catholic Information Centre in Beirut
on December 2. The main aims of the Year of the Bible are: to encourage
the Churches in the Middle East and support their mission; to increase
the accessibility and availability of the Bible to those who wish to
obtain it; to affirm the authenticity of the Bible and its teaching,
and to emphasise that the Bible is relevant to all generations. Through
a range of activities, churches will acknowledge the importance of the
Bible in religious life over the centuries and highlight its continued
importance today. e-265
December 11, 2003 (WR 384/18 - 3.04) CANADA
— The first complete Bible in Plautdietsch (Low German) was launched
near Winnipeg on November 22. Plautdietsch is spoken by more than 300,000
people living in scattered Mennonite communities. As a standard written
form of the language has never emerged, producing De Bibel presented
significant challenges for the multi-agency translation team, which
included the Canadian Bible Society (CBS),
the United Bible Societies and Wycliffe
Bible Translators Canada. One of the highlights of the launch was
a dedicatory prayer delivered in Plautdietsch and English by Hart Wiens,
Director of Scripture Translations at CBS, and Marilyn Hudson, Manager
of Mennonite publishing house Kindred Productions, respectively. e-266
December 18, 2003 (WR 384/19 - 3.04) CAMBODIA
— The Bible Society in Cambodia held
a thanksgiving service in October to mark the tenth anniversary of its
re-opening in 1993, 18 years after it was forced to close down by the
arrival of the Khmer Rouge. The service, attended by more than 200 people
from a variety of Christian backgrounds, reflected the very strong growth
of the Cambodian Church over the last 10 years and the unity of churches
around the Bible. e-266
December 18, 2003 (WR 384/20 - 3.04) ENGLAND — The Bible Society of the West Indies has launched De Krismos Stori, a telling of the Christmas story on CD in Jamaican Patois, in London and Birmingham. The Christmas story is presented through 18 short Bible readings and six Jamaican Christmas songs. As Jamaican communities in England prepared to celebrate Christmas, Bible Society General Secretary the Rev Courtney Stewart commended the CD to them with a special prayer: “We pray that Advent and Christmas this year will be extra special because you now have the opportunity of celebrating in true Jamaican style.” e-267 January 8, 2004 (WR 384/21 - 3.04) TURKEY
— Staff from the Bible Society in Turkey
came into contact with many different people through their participation
in three bookfairs during October and November. As in previous years,
reactions from visitors to the Bible Society’s presence at the
Grupmedya bookfair, the Tüyap bookfair and the bookfair at the
CNR Fair Center were mixed. However, it was possible to distribute 31,000
Selections and a range of other biblical materials. “We had a good
and successful time,” concludes Distribution Officer Behnan Konutgan.
e-267 January
8, 2004 (WR 384/22 - 3.04) ENGLAND
— The United Bible Societies (UBS) has named the Rev A Miller Milloy
as its Acting General Secretary. Mr Milloy, 57, was appointed Regional
Secretary of the UBS Europe-Middle East Region in August 1997. An ordained
minister of the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) since 1979, prior
to joining UBS he was a Church of Scotland Regional Adviser in Mission
and Evangelism. His appointment follows the departure of former UBS
General Secretary Neil Crosbie. The Board of UBS intends to appoint
a search committee at its meeting in March with a view to giving approval
to a permanent appointment in November. Following Mr Milloy’s appointment,
Peter Wigglesworth, currently Regional Coordinator for Management Services
at the Europe-Middle East Regional Service Center, is to be Acting Associate
General Secretary, Europe-Middle East. e-268
January 21, 2004 (WR 384/23 - 3.04) PAKISTAN
— Police seized a large quantity of explosives following the arrest
of a man they believe was connected with the car bomb detonated outside
premises occupied by the Pakistan Bible Society
in Karachi. Police say the man is associated with a banned Islamic militant
group. On the afternoon of January 15 two motorcyclists had thrown a
grenade at the shop which forms part of the Society’s branch office.
The explosion shattered a window, injuring the Society’s Branch
Manager. About 15 minutes later, a car bomb went off nearby, injuring
14 people and destroying cars and motorcycles. The following day, the
Governor of Sindh province undertook to step up security for all minorities,
including Christians. He also promised that the government would pay
for repairs to the Bible Society’s premises. The Society is now
to consider installing steel window panels, double doors and security
cameras at the premises. e-269
January 22, 2004 (WR 384/24 - 3.04) USA — The Rev Dr Laton E. Holmgren died on January 18 at the age of 88. As an American Bible Society General Secretary between 1955 and 1978 and Chairman of the UBS Council and Executive Committee between 1966 and 1972, he travelled extensively and became a high-profile advocate of the Bible cause. The Bible Society movement has lost a “leader whose path was most worthy of emulation,” according to the Rev Dr John Erickson, UBS General Secretary between 1991 and 1997. e-270 January 28, 2004 (WR 384/25 - 3.04) PHILIPPINES, BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS and GERMANY — Churches in countries which are far apart in terms of distance were united on January 25 as they celebrated Bible Sunday. In the Philippines, the theme for Bible Sunday this year was ‘God’sWord: Living Hope and Lasting Peace’, chosen to draw people back to the Bible at a time of social, economic and political upheaval. In French-speaking Belgium, materials supplied by the Bible Society encouraged churches to rediscover the Bible and to raise money for literacy work in Madagascar. The Netherlands Bible Society began sending out Bible Sunday leaflets based on the theme ‘Precious Words’ as early as last September, and other resources included a children’s comic. In Germany, Christians were invited to mark Bible Sunday by studying the book of the prophet Hosea. e-270 January 28, 2004 (WR 384/26 - 3.04)
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