BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 16 June 1936, Page 10

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY

BRIGHT WATER BRANCH The annual meeting of the Brightwater branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society was held in Public Flail, Brightwater on Sunday afternoon. There was a good, though not a record, attendance and the spirit of the gathering was excellent. The speaker was the Rev. D. Calder, the General Secretary for New Zealand and Canon Quintrell was in the chair. Mr Phipps and Mr P. Houghton were also on the platform. Mr Calder delivered an impressive address outlining the story of the English Bible, the magnificent work of Tyndall in its translation and the difficulty of obtaining for it official recognition. lie told the story of the inauguration of the great British and Foreign Bible Society and its splendid conception of giving to every member of the human race a copy of the sacred Scriptures in his own tongue and the remarkable progress made, in about a hundred and thirty years, • towards the attainment of this end. The output of this Society alone, he said, is about ten and a half million copies per year and the Bible is published in just over seven hundred languages and dialects. The latter part of the address was given to the narration of several stories of remarkable conversions through the simple reading of the Bible all of which was greatly appreciated. Some remarks in lighter vein by the chairman on the important subject of the collection resulted in the taking of the sum of £8 at the meeting which is a new record for this branch as is also the total of over £29 for the year.