NEW YORK, Sept. 27 — The American Bible Society (ABS) is in the midst of what is probably the most intensive distribution of Scripture in its history following last week's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC. More than 6,300 people are now counted as dead or missing.
Gloria Ayala (right) of the American Bible Society distributes Scripture Portions before a Sept. 23 memorial service at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
(Photo by David Singer / American Bible Society.)
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The ABS has taken the step of simultaneously publishing a special Scripture Portion online (through its web site) and in printed format, in English and Spanish, to bring comfort to the thousands of bereaved, grieving and traumatised people. Entitled God is our Shelter and Strength: Words of comfort and hope from the Bible, it is illustrated with photographs taken around the scene of last week's disaster in New York.
The 23 texts, drawn from Psalms, Isaiah, Lamentations, Matthew, Romans and 2 Corinthians, are divided into five chapters headed God Understands Your Fears and Your Anger, God Will Take Care of You, God's Love Is Sure, God Makes All Things New and Trust in God.
The Society originally printed 250,000 Portions but with distribution boosted by full-page advertisements this week in USA Today and the New York Times, and with a third due later this week in the Wall Street Journal, the Society is printing a second run in anticipation of distributing as many as a million copies of the Portion in New York City alone.
In addition, it has produced 30- and 60-second radio commercials in English and Spanish, which, like the press advertisements, offer words of comfort and hope to the people of New York while telling them how to obtain copies of God is our Shelter and Strength.
Julian Gumbs, right, of the American Bible Society, hands a box of "God Is Our Shelter and Our Strength" Scripture portions to a volunteer leader and a police officer in New York City. The portions will be distributed among rescue workers working near the downed World Trade Center towers.
(Photo by David Singer / American Bible Society.)
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ABS staff, who have been working literally day and night in furtherance of their ministry to the traumatised city, have also been handing out Scriptures to passers-by from tables set up outside their offices on New York's Broadway.
Thousands more are being distributed via other points set up around the city and in partnership with city churches and missions. The Salvation Army in both New York and nearby New Jersey have requested thousands of Scripture Portions for distribution. In a four-page letter sent to the UBS fellowship this week, Dr Eugene Habecker, President of the ABS, said that distribution efforts were now beginning to extend beyond metropolitan New York.
On Monday, at the request of military chaplains, 500 Bibles - 400 in English and 100 in Spanish - were given out at the Pentagon, in Washington. Latest figures put the death toll among staff there at 125 in addition to the 64 who perished on the plane which the terrorists crashed into the building.
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