Society collaborates with Christian firemen and others

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — The Bible Society in Northern Ireland’s recent work is touching the lives of people in a range of different circumstances.

The Society has teamed up with Firefighters for Christ to produce a Firefighters' New Testament, which uses the text of the Contemporary English Version and includes some additional guidance about reading and understanding the material.

Members of Firefighters for Christ began distribution of this special New Testament, which is based on a concept first used in New York, to serving firefighters at the end of 2001, with the Bible Society providing bridging finance. It has now been possible to print enough copies to ensure that people who enter the Fire Service in the future will also be able to receive the Firefighters’ New Testament as a gift.

Visual impact

The special features of the Firefighters’ New Testament, including the modern language and the guidance notes, have ensured that it has been very well received. The dramatic cover photograph of firefighters tackling a serious blaze has proved particularly effective, giving visual impact and emphasising the relevance of the material to members of the Fire Service.

The positive response has been very encouraging to the Bible Society, as this is its first complete New Testament.

Another Bible Society project within Northern Ireland has been the publication of a Bible Focus Pack in collaboration with Scripture Union, Wycliffe Bible Translators and Scripture Gift Mission. This pack is designed to provide clergy with background material for use in creating a wider context for the Scriptures and in relating the Scriptures to everyday life.

The pack has already been despatched to almost 200 churches, where it will be used in worship and midweek meetings.

MegaVoice

Looking beyond Northern Ireland, the Bible Society is planning to raise funds to buy MegaVoice units for distribution in countries where the ordinary print Bible cannot be used effectively because of low literacy levels or unreliable electricity supplies.