Songs of Praise features Scottish Bible Society in bicentenary year

The BBC has chosen to feature the work of the Scottish Bible Society is in a special edition of Songs of Praise to be broadcast this Sunday.

Presenter Sally Magnusson visited the Bibleworld Experience at the society’s headquarters in Edinburgh where a group of primary school children were filmed learning about the Bible through hands-on activity and interactive displays.

The programme also contained footage of the society’s international work. In China, where the Bible was banned 30 years ago, the Amity Press now produces around nine million Bibles per year, 3.5 million for use in China and 5.5 million for export.

The programme included interviews with screenwriter Murray Watts on his powerful drama The Walk and Garry Brotherston, who was converted during his time in prison and is now a singer songwriter who tours Scotland warning of the dangers of knife crime.

A brand new hymn, Light On The Path, A Lamp About Our Way, especially written to mark the occasion by Timothy Dudley Smith was also featured. The hymn, sung to the well-known tune of Highland Cathedral, is a reminder of the importance of the Bible in Scottish society over 200 years.

To celebrate 200 years of work at home and abroad, the Scottish Bible Society aims to raise £200 000 to fund a high-tech trailer for Brazil. The trailer will take education, primary healthcare and Bibles to remote rural areas of Brazil, and is one of the projects highlighted by Songs of Praise.

Says Elaine Duncan, Chief Executive of the Scottish Bible Society: “We are passionate about the importance of the Bible in connecting people with God and we are thrilled to have our work featured by the BBC in this way.”

Songs of Praise is part of a national programme of events being organised throughout 2009 by the Scottish Bible Society to mark its 200th anniversary.