PBS Participates in Asia Bible Advocacy Conference in SG
September 8, 2014
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British and Foreign Bible Society Trustee John Griffiths (left) welcomes the delegates on behalf of Group CEO James Catford, while United Bible Societies General Secretary Michael Perreau delivered the a lecture on “The Role of the Bible for the Betterment of Societies in Asia.”
“I long and pray for the day when people from all walks of life turn to the Bible as their resource for life.”
This was one of the aspirations of Philippine Bible Society General Secretary Dr. Nora G. Lucero that was highlighted following the Bible Society’s participation to the recently-concluded Asia Bible Advocacy Conference (ABAC) in Singapore, from August 14-18, 2014.
The conference, which was hosted by the Bible Society of Singapore, also saw delegates from the following Bible Societies: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United Bible Societies.
The aim of the conference was to take stock of what Bible Societies in the Asia Pacific region have been doing to advance the Bible cause in their respective areas of operations. It also became a venue for delegates to swap ideas and share best practices that work under various circumstances. Finally, the conference also outlined ideas and initiatives for what’s ahead for the Bible Societies in terms of advocating God’s Word to the people.
PBS General Secretary Dr. Nora G. Lucero (foreground right) and Resource Development Supervisor Pearl Grace Cabrera (foreground left) with some of the delegates to the Asia Bible Advocacy Conference.
Dr. Lucero also shared that the four-day conference reiterated to her, on a more personal level, the importance of the Bible’s impact to one’s daily life. “It challenged me to look for ways to expand the reach of the Bible so that people would go to it for direction in their lives,” she explained.
For her part, Resource Development Supervisor Pearl Grace Cabrera, who joined Dr. Lucero at the conference in the city state, said she appreciated learning more about how Bible Societies in the region promote God’s Word to their people. “There is much to learn from our collective experience, which can be translated into something we could use to advance the Bible cause in the Philippines,” she said.
She added that PBS is blessed to have “open doors to engage not only the different Christian faith councils but even the government as well. Other countries are not as fortunate,” Cabrera explained, “this is why I hope that by God’s grace, we (in PBS) grow deeper in our relationship with our partners and are able to reach every Filipino to give them their own copy of the Bible.”
Leaders from the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Bible Society of Singapore blow out the candle on the cake celebrating 210 years of Bible missions.