TORONTO, Ontario, October 11, 2005 — For 100 years, the Canadian Bible Society has been delivering God's Word to Canada and the world. That is quite a milestone and a great reason to celebrate.
Founded in 1904 and chartered in 1906, CBS' mandate has always been to promote and encourage the translation, publication, distribution and use of the Scriptures.
| Celebrating Centennial - all year long |
One hundred years of ministry providing Scripture to Canada and the world is worth celebrating. This is a party that lasts for a whole year-and you're invited!
October 2005: The Canadian Bible Society (CBS) presents some of the best Scripture in song in a unique compilation CD of Canadian artists singing songs that move and inspire-and help to celebrate 100 years of bringing God's word to Canada and the world. Another "new release" for October is the Celebration Cookbook, a collection of more than 900 recipes gathered from CBS supporters and their friends-guaranteed to please!
February 2006: The stories of people whose lives have been dramatically impacted by Proclamation have been collected and published in a book. The Proclamation Book, published for the Centennial year of the CBS, will be available February 2006.
May 16-18, 2006: At Proclamation Symposium 2006, to be held at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., the CBS brings together scholars and practitioners, theologians and laypeople, to share how the Bible is relevant, practical and transforming lives in Canada today.
June 25, 2006: The Norton Project proves that not every hero of the Bible is actually in the Bible. The centennial year includes a celebration of the man the British knew as Captain John Norton. Six Nations brothers called this war hero Teyoninhokarawen. He is best known and remembered by the CBS for his groundbreaking 1804 translation of the Gospel of John into the Mohawk language.
July-Sept 2006: The Centennial Ride is a one of a kind Bike for Bibles event that takes cyclists from one coast to another, raising funds to build our partnership initiative and carry out our vision for Canada-to reach every person with the life-giving Word of God.
All year long: From Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia, the 16 districts that make up the Canadian Bible Society's family will be hosting unique local events to celebrate centennial year.
Find out what's happening in your area from your district office.
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Millions of Canadians have supported the work of the CBS, enabling countless people to read Scripture in their own language. For all those who believe in the Bible cause, the Centennial offers an opportunity to reflect and look ahead to what the future holds.
Phyllis Nesbitt, national director of the CBS, says it's important to mark the Canadian Bible Society's centennial anniversary in a significant way. "We want to give thanks to the Lord for the ministry we have been enabled to do," she explains, "and we want to honour our partners by thanking them."
And according to Nesbitt, it's going to be quite a party.
Quite a party
"The Centennial Celebration will be a platform we can use in the ensuring years to continue to increase our effectiveness in Canada and around the globe," says Nesbitt.
A Centennial Celebration committee, composed of CBS staff and volunteers from across the country, met for the first time in August 2004 to begin the process of planning events to mark the special year.
Committee member Peter Fleck of Calgary, Alta., says one of the first events will be the launch of a new music CD designed to highlight the celebration and the work of the CBS.
"Scripture has always been read, but it's also sung," explains Fleck. "Increasingly, the eyes of the Christian world are on Canadian artists," he says. "We thought it would be great to mark our centennial by producing a new compilation CD showcasing Canadian musicians as they adapt Scripture to music."
"Said-or sung-Scripture changes hearts and lives."
Proclaiming the Good News
Each year, at churches all across Canada, thousands of people take part in a CBS event called Proclamation that changes their lives and their churches. Congregations and friends of churches from all denominations gather together and read the entire Bible-aloud-from beginning to end.
"They just read the Bible," says Nesbitt. "No doctrinal comment. No commentary. Just the entire Word of God, spoken aloud, one word at a time."
In honour of the Centennial, CBS plans to publish a book containing the stories of people whose lives have been impacted by Proclamation events in their communities. The Proclamation Book will be available in February 2006.
There's no book like the Good Book however. Throughout the ages, the Bible has played a unique and irreplaceable role in the life of the Christian Church. Whether Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Mainline Protestant or Evangelical; clergy and lay people from all faith traditions have searched the Scriptures for guidance, inspiration and instruction.
At a special Proclamation Symposium, to be held May 16-18, 2006 at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., the Canadian Bible Society will bring together biblical scholars and practitioners, theologians and laypeople to share on the practical use of the Bible in the actual life of the Church.
"We'll be examining topics such as how the Bible relates to the growth and mission of the Church, the role of the artist, the teaching of children, youth and adults, the recruiting and training of leaders and more," says Rev. Wayne McCarther, the CBS district director for Nova Scotia.
"This conference will include plenary presentations each morning, workshops each afternoon and a special Proclamation event with readings from the Bible in a number of different languages. There will be something for everyone."
Canadian Bible heroes
On June 25, 2006, approximately half way through the Centennial celebrations, dignitaries and friends of the Canadian Bible Society will gather at the oldest surviving church building in Ontario to commemorate the life of a Canadian war hero. At St. Paul's Her Majesty's Chapel of the Mohawks in Kanata (Brantford), a special service of celebration will recall the deeds of Teyoninhokarawen, also known as Captain John Norton.
"Norton proves that not every hero of the Bible is actually in the Bible," says Rev. Dennis Hillis, district director for South Central Ontario and organizer of the Norton celebration. "As Canadians, we owe much to him. He was a First Nations leader who led the First Nation warriors in support of the British Army throughout the War of 1812."
Hillis says the Bible society movement is also indebted to Norton. "Prior to his military career, he translated the Gospel of John into the Mohawk language," Hillis explains. "His work, which was completed in 1806, became the first translation, publication and distribution of the British and Foreign Bible Society."
But Norton is not the only Canadian hero of the Bible. Dozens more who believe in the work of the CBS will strap on helmets and climb on bicycles July 2, 2006 to pedal their way across Canada in support of the Bible cause.
Increasing their impact as CBS looks to the future
The Bike for Bibles Centennial Ride will be a one of a kind cycling event that takes cyclists from Victoria, B.C. to St. John's, Nfld, on a 62-day, 7,800-kilometer journey that touches every province across Canada.
"They'll be cycling in the spirit of our earliest Bible Society workers," says Rev. Bruce Kemp, district director for Northern Alberta and coordinator of the Centennial Ride. "Those colporteurs traveled from town to town, coast to coast offering Bibles to those who had no other means of obtaining them.
"With the funds they raise, we'll collaborate with other organizations and churches and share our resources to increase the impact of our Scripture distribution efforts."
Increasing the impact of the Canadian Bible Society's Scripture translation, publication and distribution efforts is an important part of the reason for the Centennial Celebrations according to Nesbitt.
"While we value our past and rejoice in our present, we also want to celebrate our future," she says.
"For we believe the best is yet to come."
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