Bibles Shipped To ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ Personnel (NAPSA)—American military personnel involved in “Operation Enduring Freedom” have been the recipients of some 10,000 easy-to- read Good News Translation Bibles. According to Colonel Henry A. Haynes, Pentagon chaplain, the Bibles—provided by the American Bible Society and distributed through military chaplains—have been well received. “No one rejected a Bible,” he says. “There has been a great need to make sense out of what’s happened. People are searching for answers.” Thanks to this program, many soldiers are now reading the Bible for the first time. Haynes adds that Scripture materials are regularly taken off a rack in his office andreadby staff at the Pentagon, which was attacked September11. The Bible distribution program continues a long American Bible Society tradition. In 1817, only a yearafter its founding, the Society made a donation to the fledgling U.S. Navy. In the Mexican-American War, the Society provided Bibles to both U.S. and Mexican forces. That samepolicy continued in the Civil War, when Bibles were provided to both Union and Confederate forces. American Bible Society Bibles were distributed to military personnel in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm. Dr. Joseph V. Crockett, director of research for the American Bible Society Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship, is coordinating the A _ Peis For nearly 200 years, the American Bible Society has been providing Bibles to American military personnel. military Bible distribution effort. He notes that the Bible is perhaps most needed by military people facing dangers overseas. “There are times when werealize that our faith isn’t just in our heads. The Bible provides both a human response and the hope of heaven to that existential situation,” he explains. Colonel Haynes concludes, “What has happened at the Pentagon wasterrible and damaged us all. But in a wonderful way it has made us stronger, more considerate, more loving of others. The Pentagon, as a result, is a better place. Blessings have flowed from tragedy and the American Bible Society has been crucial in all that.” Founded in 1816 and headquartered in New York City, the American Bible Society is a non-profit, interconfessional organization with a rich Judeo-Christian heritage committed to the translation, publication and distribution of the Holy Scriptures. The American Bible Society distributes more than 107 million copies of the Bible, New Testaments and Scripture Portions in the United States each year. Its mission is to provide the Scriptures to every person in a language and format each can readily understand and afford. The American Bible Society Web site is www.americanbible.org. Also available on the Web is ForMinistry.com, sponsored by the American Bible Society. ForMinistry.com provides links to thousands of churches across the United States as well as articles offering continuing education in effective ministry.
