Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

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Not just for Christmas

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

In the run up to Christmas, everything gets busy. It seems that from the start of November onwards, no-one has anything else to talk about! And many take time during that busy period to support Bible translation around the world by getting their Christmas cards from Just Cards Direct. But Just Cards (and Bible translation) are not just for Christmas…

Just Cards bring beautiful, handmade cards made by women in Rwanda, South Africa and Kenya to the UK. When they are sold here, 10% of the sales go towards the purchaser’s charity of choice.

But, you don’t have to wait until November 2012 to buy these elegantly designed cards! Just Cards produce cards for all sorts of occassions – including birthdays and Easter – and blank cards for all your other card-sending needs.

To view the latest cards and support charities in your card-sending, visit justcardsdirect.com. (And if you’re really desperate to start thinking about Christmas, visit soon while Christmas cards are on sale!)

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Where in the wordle…?

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

This poster (right) was used to advertise the Wycliffe and Me event in Belfast recently. Perhaps the image concept intrigues you – do you see yourself in the Wordle? What part could you play in the Bible translation team with Wycliffe Bible Translators?

Well, Wycliffe and Me on Saturday 25 February was hosted by Saintfield Road Presbyterian Church – a big thank you to all our friends there! And it was a success!

17 participants came. Some we’ve known for years… others we’ve never met before:

  • There was a Spanish & Portuguese languages student who only signed up online on the Friday afternoon and was fascinated by the linguistics and grammar slot.
  • There was a farmer with an IT interest and an IT guy with a grammar interest.
  • There was a mother of 4 who wants to tell others in her church about what Wycliffe does – and another lady who came all the way from Dungannon for the same reason.
  • There was an accountant with a wife interested in Spanish and translation.
  • There was an English student wanting to know more about our MA in Field Linguistics.
  • There was someone who wants to know more about translation consulting.
  • There was a PhD Translation student exploring a dissertation on Bible translation.

Wycliffe staff in Belfast will be praying for these people, following them up, being alongside them as they listen to God guiding their futures.

To find out when and where Wycliffe and Me will run again in the UK, go to wycliffe.org.uk/give/go where you will find lots of options to help you fit into your slot in the Wordle.

John Hamilton is the coordinator of Wycliffe in Northern Ireland. To read more from him, visit his blog at nornirn.wordpress.com.

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Run for a vision

Sunday, February 5th, 2012

It’s a huge encouragement to hear about people all around the world supporting Bible translation. In Kenya next month, thousands of people are gathering to ‘Run for the Bibleless’, in a sponsored run in the captial, Nairobi.

This video, from Bible Translation & Literacy Kenya (BTL), our Kenya partner organisation, speaks about some of the work already going on and how vital it is for churches to get involved in God’s mission.

“Though we have a ministry that takes long time, lots of money, we have a calling to ensure that we fill that part in the body of Christ, that each and every man and woman be able to hear God’s word in their heart language, that they may embrace God as their Father, their God. I think if we call certain things as ‘basic needs’, I think that should be the most basic need for every people.“

In the last 30 years, BTL have completed 6 New Testaments and are currently involved in projects in 14 languages. Find out more about BTL and their ‘Run for the Bibleless’ on their website.

Through partnerships with national Bible translation organisations and churches worldwide, the global partnership of Wycliffe organisations want to see a project for Bible translation started in every language where one is need by 2025, because we believe the Bible is a basic need.

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Posted in Africa, Events, Languages | 1 Comment »

Window on Wycliffe (13-18 February 2012)

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

The Window on Wycliffe (WOW) event is an amazing opportunity for those thinking about short or long-term service with Wycliffe Bible Translators. It shows what makes up a Bible translation project and the different ways people can be involved.

Three main threads run through the week:

  • The Biblical basis of mission — looking at subjects like ‘the will of God’ and whether we are called to mission.
  • An overview of the Bible translation process — what is phonetics? what if it’s an oral language that’s never been written down? who does translation and how?
  • Non-language related roles — if you don’t see yourself as a gifted linguist there are still plenty of opportunities for you within Wycliffe Bible Translators.

This is going to be a brilliant event where I hope God will speak to us and show us what the next steps are. Currently there are 23 people from all over Europe signed up to join us at The Wycliffe Centre, near High Wycombe, for the event.

If you want to find out more about the WOW event, visit our website: wycliffe.org.uk/wow. Have a look around, and discover the many ways you could play a part in providing the Bible for someone who’s never heard God speak their language.

Blog post by Steve Thomas.

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Grab on to the Bible

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Many churches in the UK focused on getting back to Bible basics last year, as part of the celebrations for the anniversary of the Authorised Version. But in all the excitement, it’s easy to overlook the parts that made it hard to stay in the Bible in the first place.

There are all those genealogies, laws and prophets to get your head around. But that’s just difficult to read because we don’t understand them — sometimes the bits that we do understand are even harder to take in. How do we deal with issues like evolution, or the genocide that God appears to condone?

Last year, Biblefresh ran a series of classes and published a book called Get a Grip, made to tackle these kind of questions. The book is still available from Biblefresh here, and half of the profits go towards Bible translation.

If you missed the classes, you can still experience a bit of that too – videos from some sessions held at Kings College London are available, with experienced scholars and pastors answering some of the hard or ‘I-never-thought-of-that’ questions about the Bible.

Catch the videos here.

You know those parts of the Bible you don’t understand? There are Christians around the world longing to read them who can’t because the Bible isn’t in their language. Help translate the Bible.

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Saturday 4th February is ‘The Bible: the Story everybody needs’ day

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

Wycliffe Bible Translators are spending a whole day (well, from 10:30) telling people all about the marvelous ways God is transforming lives through the work of Bible translation and what accompanies it, including literacy and applying the Bible to art, HIV/AIDS, trauma, church and more.

The free day will be held at Union Baptist Church, in High Wycombe. As well as spending times celebrating, learning, singing and praying, you could find out more about…

  • why a New Testament translation takes an average of more than 10 years
  • how young people can be involved with Bible translation
  • what it’s like to adapt to life on another continent
  • how computers are changing the process of translation
  • the linguistic training that Wycliffe workers undertake
  • how a language would use 26 words for ‘carry’
  • supporting the work of God’s mission overseas from the UK by finding academic journals, keyboarding, sending magazines to workers, or more.

To find out more or to sign up, go to wycliffe.org.uk/conference.

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Cameroon Celebrating 25 years

Friday, January 6th, 2012

CABTAL, the Cameroonian Association of Bible Translation and Literacy, celebrates its 25th year of existence this January. Translation work and Cameroonian involvement in the Bible translation task began in earnest as early as the 1970s when translation work in neighbouring Nigeria was closed down, and several Bible translators relocated from there to Cameroon.

CABTAL New Testament dedicationOver the years, passionate Cameroonians have taken their place in leading the work of Bible translation for their country, as CABTAL has gained legal status from the government as an organisation, and a growing influence amongst the Cameroonian churches that it serves.

Here in the UK, Wycliffe Bible Translators are particularly happy to be celebrating with them, as we have close links with several language projects that they oversee. Along with the many other agencies that work shoulder to shoulder with the Cameroonian translation agency, Ann Austin from the InFocus church partnership office in the UK was invited to send greetings:

“We are delighted to send our warmest congratulations on this auspicious occasion, to give thanks and praise to God for His faithfulness and goodness over these 25 years, and to celebrate our friendship and partnership with our brothers and sisters in CABTAL in the work of Bible translation for the peoples of Cameroon…”

Ann speaks on behalf of supporting churches in the UK who have committed to support language projects in Cameroon through prayer and financial giving. In some cases, members of the supporting churches have been able to travel and visit the projects personally, to see firsthand what God is doing in these areas through Bible translation.

Perhaps your church may be interested in fostering a link through an InFocus church partnership?  Find out more.

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Resources with a seasonal reason

Monday, December 5th, 2011

It’s almost clichéd how easily we can slip away from the real meaning of Christmas, as much as we may hate to confess it. A new spin on the Christmas story can catch our attention back to the real reason. Here are some of our resource suggestions to keep you focused and having fun this advent.

Paperless Christmas and Natwivity are back by popular demand. Paperless Christmas is an innovative series of nine videos, dramatizing the nativity story as you’ve never seen it before (unless you caught up with the Wise Bikers and angelic postal workers last year!). Another new spin on the old story is Natwivity: follow Mary, Joseph, Herod and more as they tweet their thoughts in the days leading up to Jesus’ birth.

There are also resources for your church services. Scripture Union have developed a free all-age service plan, complete with videos and Bible talks. Another family interaction for services is the latest music video from Friends and Heroes, ‘He chose the shepherds’.

Or maybe you’re feeling creative and want to put your own spin on the Christmas story this year. With The Nativity Factor, you can contribute your own short-film interpretation. Prizes of up to £5,000 are up for grabs.

Find these and many more Christmas resources on our website.

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Why the Bible is the Story everybody needs: 7 December

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

As we draw near the end of the year, we also – sadly – draw near the end of our series of evening classes, Understanding the Scriptures. Throughout the year, we have been hosting classes to challenge and equip local churches in their approach to the Bible.

Wednesday, 7th December sees the last of these classes, for 2011 at least. Roger Welch will be speaking about how we apply the Bible to all of life. Roger has pastored Merland Rise Church in Surrey for the past 30 years, and is the chair of the board for Wycliffe Global Alliance.

Join us at The Wycliffe Centre, near High Wycombe, for this class as we consider why and how the Bible applies to all of our lives.

To find out more about Understanding the Scriptures evening classes, go to wycliffe.org.uk/eveningclasses. You can see more about the speakers, catch up on previous classes and book for a discount.

Understanding the Scriptures classes are Biblefresh events. Biblefresh is a movement of churches, organisations and individuals encouraging passionate interaction with the Bible in churches throughout the UK.

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400 years on…

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Yesterday, the Queen and others gathered at Westminster Abbey for a service to mark the anniversary of the King James Bible. The service marked the end of a year of celebratory events to observe the date.

Talking about the translation, Archbishop Rowan Williams said that, while no perfect translation could ever be completed, the majesty of the language in the KJB can focus our minds back on God and grace:

Photo: Chris Jackson/AP

“The temptation is always there for the modern translator to look for strategies that make the text more accessible.

“When that temptation comes, it doesn’t hurt to turn for a moment—for some long moments indeed—to this extraordinary text, with its continuing capacity to surprise us into seriousness, to acquaint us again with the weight of glory – and, we hope and pray, to send us back to the unending work of letting ourselves be changed so that we can bear just a little more of the light of the new world, full of grace and truth.”*

Also at the celebration was the People’s Bible, a collection of handwritten verses from all around the country. Read more about it in this earlier blog.

As we draw to the end of a year commending this influential and beautiful Bible translation, we continue to look to those who still don’t have the Bible in their own language. They number more than 300 million. Celebrations of the KJB this year have played a part in sharing the Bible, through Biblefresh support of translation in Burkina Faso. Find out more about translation in Burkina Faso and about Biblefresh.

*Read the source article from The Telegraph.

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