Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Apostolate

i-Proclaim! on National Bible Week 2010 

ThePhilippine Bible Society which yearly spearheads the National Bible Week (NBW) celebrationlaunches i-Proclaim! on NBW 2010. A campaignto conduct public oral readings of the Bible in as many locations across thecountry, I! Proclaim is a co-operative effort by the Philippine BibleSociety and local churches to bring God’s Word closer to Filipinos and toencourage everyone to explore it riches and relevance to their lives.

National Bible Week is a yearly national celebration empowered by Proclamation No. 44 by President Corazon C. Aquino and by Proclamation No. 1067 by President FidelV. Ramos. Both edicts recognize the important role played by the reading andstudy of the Bible in molding the moral fiber of our citizenry and encourageevery Filipino to do so daily. National Bible Week 2010 is scheduled forJanuary 25-31 and National Bible Sunday on January 31, 2010.

This year, the highlight of the celebration will be i-Proclaim!—an historic,ecumenical, public oral reading of the Bible that seeks to draw Filipinos together during these trying times, under the banner of God’s Word. i-Proclaim! also offers aunique opportunity to support the MayThey Be One Bible Campaign which seeks to produce and distribute 5 million Bibles to 5 million poor Filipino families within the next 5 years.

i-Proclaim! is patterned after the Canadian Bible Society’s Proclamation which began in Quebec, Canada. Over 200 readers came together in 1995 to read the Holy Scriptures in 12 different languages. It has grown since and in 2001, more than 60 communities coast to coast participated.

Mrs. Nora G. Lucero, PBS General Secretary and Chairperson of the Global Board ofthe United Bible Societies says “This is what we want to duplicate in the Philippinesthrough i-Proclaim!– for Filipinosto personally experience the Word of God! We want to encourage our kababayans to set aside differences, cometogether and be one in reading God’s Word. This is a public confession – I, andwe hope you and all other Filipinos too — will proclaim that we as a people,are putting God’s Word in the center of our national life and that we submit tothe Lordship of Jesus Christ!”

i-Proclaim!, the Bible reading campaign which is similar to the Holy Week "Pabasa" or "Pasyon", will be launched at the Bonifacio Shrine in Manila on January 25, 2010, the first day of National Bible Week. Among the readers will be national and local officials, the PBS Board members and staff, partner churches, representatives from governmentoffices, schools, business organizations and other sectors of society. The activity is open to all who wishes to read the scriptures.

i-Proclaim! activities may also be staged anywhere by anyone. Interested groups may seek the help of the Philippine BibleSociety in conducting their own Bible proclamations.  “With the launch at the Bonifacio Shrine, wewill show how i-Proclaim! is done,” adds Mrs. Lucero.  “But we are hoping and praying that people,groups, churches and organizations will follow suit and do their own publicBible readings all throughout the year, not just during National Bible Week.God’s Word must be a part of our daily life, especially at such a time as thesewhen we are faced with so many challenges. We have to seek God in everything wedo, personal or national.”

This early, the campaign is already being picked upand participated in by various groups. The Roman Catholic Church through the Episcopal Commission for theBiblical Apostolate (ECBA) of the CBCP intends to hold a simultaneous biblereading in all its 87 dioceses nationwide on the evening of January 30, 2010.Fr. Oscar Alunday, executive secretary of ECBA says, “With the participation ofthe Basic Ecclesial Communities, we are aiming to have the whole bible readsimultaneously all over the country. Each diocese/parish will be assigned aportion to read orally. These will be done simultaneously and in about 15-30minutes, the bible will be read completely from Genesis to Revelations all overthe Philippines.  We will have a wonderful covering of God’sWord all throughout the land!”

i-Proclaim!readings will comefrom the Bible, and will be featured in its pure form with no preaching orsermon. Readers – from age 7 to 97 – may read for 5, 10 or 15 minutes accordingto their wishes. They may read more than once in the course of any hour, with abreak between their readings.

Any bible version may be used for personal privatereading but the Bible Society highly recommends that all Bibles to used duringthe proclamation be from the MagandangBalita Biblia (MBB) Collection which comes in eight (8) major Philippinelanguages and in English. This will not only standardize the text and allow forthe smooth flow and transition between readers, it will also ensure that the readingswill be understood and appreciated even by new and young readers. (Hazel Alviz)