Bible People in the News

GERMANY — The Rev Dr Siegfried Meurer (right), General Secretary of the German Bible Society for 23 years and the former Chairman of the UBS Executive Committee, died on September 8 aged 70. As General Secretary of the German Bible Society from 1974 to 1997, he was responsible for bringing the various regional Bible Societies in Germany together into the single national entity of today.

The Rev Fergus Macdonald, General Secretary of the UBS, said he had made an “enormous contribution” to the Bible cause and was highly respected and widely admired throughout the entire UBS family.

From 1974 until his retirement in 1997 Dr Meurer committed himself wholly to the Bible Society movement. He was a strong supporter of ecumenical Bible initiatives and felt strongly that the affluent Germans bore a responsibility for relieving the worldwide need for Bibles. He also gave impetus to the publishing programs for many important scholarly editions of Scripture.

As well as being General Secretary of the German Bible Society, from 1984 to 1991 he was Chairman of the UBS Europe-Middle East Executive Committee, and from 1991 to 1996 he was Chairman of the UBS Executive Committee.

The German Bible Society said he had worked steadily towards the lifelong aim which he put in the following words: “I want people to enjoy the Bible and I want to help them discover the Holy Scriptures as their book.”
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BAHAMAS — The installation of the Rev Dr Carl Rahming as Chairman of the Bible Society of the West Indies (BSWI) auxiliary in the Bahamas took place in August. The service marking the occasion was attended by a large cross- section of the church community, and included many warm tributes to the outgoing Chairman, the Rev Dr Emmette Weir. The latter presented a Bible symbolising the baton of leadership to his successor. A pastor for 25 years, the new chairman currently serves as the statistician of the Bahamas Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention, as Executive Secretary of the Newlight Baptist Association and as a member of the Bahamas Christian Council. He is also well-known as a Christian broadcaster. He and his wife Evangeline have five grown-up children. His agenda as chairman of the BSWI auxiliary includes ministering to the very large Haitian population of the Bahamas and also to people affected by HIV/AIDS. (WR 364/IB2 - 11.01)

ENGLAND — UBS has announced that Jean-Alain Moussié is to be its new Publishing Services Coordinator. Mr Moussié is currently the UBS Inter-Regional Services Coordinator and is based in Nairobi, Kenya. He will take up his new role later this year and will continue to work from Nairobi until a move to the UBS World Service Center in Reading becomes possible.
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