wfn.org | Bible Society issues 'Y2K: Hope for the New Millennium'

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Aug. 25, 1999  News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.  10-71B{438}

By Elaine Nole*

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Will there be a worldwide crisis? Will technology fail?
Will there be a shortage of food and other resources? Are these the final
days? 

These are some of the questions addressed by the American Bible Society in a
new Scripture publication titled Y2K: Hope for the New Millennium.

Available free of charge, the special edition of the New Testament with
Psalms and Proverbs seeks to provide comfort and offer renewed hope as the
year 2000 approaches.

Y2K: Hope for the New Millennium confronts the basic question: Is the coming
millennium giving you high anxiety? While some people feel a sense of
impending doom, the publication encourages readers to be reassured by God's
love.

"We are told in Romans 15:4, 'The Scriptures were written to teach and
encourage us by giving us hope'," said American Bible Society President
Eugene B. Habecker. "Y2K: Hope for the New Millennium is a way for the
American Bible Society to remind individuals of God's ever-present love and
the encouragement to be found in the Scriptures, not only as we enter a new
millennium but every day in every age."

In addition to the New Testament in the Contemporary English Version, Y2K
includes the complete books of Psalms and Proverbs, plus introductory
material selected to reassure people troubled by the potential impact of the
year 2000 on technology and on humankind.  Introductory passages are grouped
under such subheadings as God Understands Your Anxieties and Your Fears; God
Knows Your Needs; Trust the Future to God; Live in Hope; Nurture Youth
Faith; and Pray and Give Thanks to God.

The publication also provides a suggested reading plan to follow into the
new millennium. The five-minute-a-day schedule covers the entire New
Testament, all chapters from Proverbs and each Psalm. By the end of the year
2000, readers will have covered the entire New Testament, each chapter from
Proverbs and each Psalm twice.

Individuals can order up to five copies of the Y2K publication free of
charge by calling the American Bible Society at (800) 32-BIBLE and referring
to source code #99GGRU05AN or by visiting the World Wide Web site at
www.americanbible.org. Organizations that want more than five free copies
should fax their requests on official letterhead indicating the quantity and
the source code number to the American Bible Society, Scripture Grants
Program, (212) 408-1554.  Organizational requests may also be mailed to
American Bible Society, Scripture Grants Program, 1865 Broadway, New York,
NY 10023-7505.

Founded in 1816 and based in New York City, the American Bible Society is a
non-profit, non-denominational organization with a rich Judeo-Christian
heritage committed to the translation, publication and distribution of the
Holy Scriptures.  The society distributes more than 64 million Bibles, New
Testaments and Scripture portions in the United States each year. The
society's mission is "to provide the Scriptures to every man, woman and
child, in a language and form each can easily understand, at an affordable
price."   

# # #

*Nole is assistant director, media relations, for the American Bible Society
in New York. 

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