Strengthening family values
through the Bible

Photo: Left: A child at a school outside Kampala eagerly awaits his turn to purchase his own New Reader Scripture Portion. Kampala, Uganda. Photo: UBS/Larry Jerden (UGA02DJ-96.JPG) . Right: Children at the Christian Values School in Bacoor proclaim the importance of God’s Word in the streets through streamers, placards and the distribution of Scripture Selections. The parade took place as part of the Philippine Bible Society’s National Bible Week celebrations in January 2003. Bacoor, Philippines. Photo: Philippine Bible Society/Mark Castro (PHI03DJ-1.JPG)
Children at the Christian Values School in Bacoor proclaim the importance of God’s Word in the streets through streamers, placards and the distribution of Scripture Selections. The parade took place as part of the Philippine Bible Society’s National Bible Week celebrations in January 2003. Bacoor, Philippines. Photo: Philippine Bible Society/Mark Castro (PHI03DJ-1.JPG)

MANILA, Philippines — Making God’s Word an integral element of family life was the main theme of the Philippine Bible Society’s National Bible Week in January. At a time when the future of the family is being widely debated in the Philippines, the Bible Society adopted the slogan “The Word of God Strengthens Family Values” and worked with the print and broadcast media to promote the Scriptures and their role in supporting families.

Radio

Bible Society representatives participated in several radio and television programmes, while a two-page Bible Week supplement promoting Bible reading among families, produced in collaboration with CBN-Asia, was also published in a leading daily newspaper, The Philippine Star.

Both Protestant and Roman Catholic churches ran activities locally to boost awareness of Bible Week and of the values contained in the Bible. These events, which included parades, competitions, quizzes and dances, culminated in Bible Sunday on January 26, when families brought their family Bibles to church to have them dedicated at special Bible enthronement ceremonies.

Bible Week in the Philippines has been protected by presidential proclamation since 1986. In 2002, official support for Bible Week took the form of a Bible presentation during a flag-raising ceremony attended by employees at City Hall in Manila (see World Report 368/34). This year, Bible Society representatives attended an audience with Conrado Limcaoco, the Presidential Assistant for Media and Religious Affairs, at which General Secretary Dr Medarlo Rivera presented copies of Scriptures produced specially for poor families, drivers, children at risk and prisoners.

Flag-raising

“Watching the queue of students marching in one line, placards and Selections in hand for distribution, I felt a sense of awe. Everybody encountered the Word of God from the hands of schoolchildren”

Schools across the Philippines marked Bible Week by holding Bible study sessions as part of their daily flag-raising ceremony. Some schools went further in their support for Bible Week. At the Christian Values School in Bacoor, for example, a whole day was devoted to events including a parade, a Bible quiz and the distribution of Selections to local people. The distribution was witnessed by the Rev Mark Castro, the Bible Society’s Resource and Relationships Officer, who was very moved by what he saw.

“Watching the queue of students marching in one line, placards and Selections in hand for distribution, I felt a sense of awe,” he commented. “Everybody encountered the Word of God from the hands of schoolchildren doing their part in celebration of National Bible Week.” (WR 377/13 - 6.03)