National Bible Week - November 18-25, 2007

National Bible Week in the United States is annually observed from Sunday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week, this year November 18-25, 2007. It has been so observed since 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the first national proclamation. In the sixty-six years since, every president has issued a national proclamation, as have many governors and mayors.

According to Wikipedia, the Bible continues to be the best selling book of all times. It is estimated to have sold between five and six billion copies. By comparison the second all-time bestseller is Quotations from Chairman Mao, with 900 million copies; third is The Qur’an with 800 million copies. The Bible’s perpetual bestseller status has caused it to be eliminated from weekly and periodic lists of bestsellers. One atheist website observes that of all the books regularly appearing on such lists, the Bible is the only one that isn’t read.

The emphasis in the local church has also been to encourage reading and study of the Bible and learning of biblical history and content. The United Methodist Hymnal has a section called “The Book of the Church: Holy Scripture,” numbers 594- 603. ........ Center for Worship Resourcing www.gbod.org/worship

World Aids Day - December 1, 2007

The statistics surrounding AIDS are still overwhelming. Women are most infected because of lack of protection and education or by the forces of society, war and conflict. Across the globe, women and men are learning to live positively with AIDS because of gifts to the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund. Through education, prevention, care and treatment programs, people with HIV/AIDS now have hope.

United Methodist are stepping up to provide a tangible response to the HIV/ AIDS crisis through the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund. The fund was established at the 2004 General Conference to raise $8 million by 2008. The plan specifies that 25% of what each annual conference raises should be used in that conference for AIDS work, locally or globally. Help fight AIDS around the world by giving on World AIDS Day.