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Bible Society Centenary Celebrations
The Bible Society began to prepare early to ensure that its hundredth birthday was not only joyfully celebrated but that the event made the appropriate impact throughout the world. A Centenary Grand Committee, chaired by Caleb Kent, the Society's treasurer, met regularly from 1 October 1901 and began sending delegations to many countries.
By May 1903 centenary editions of the Bible and New Testament in the English Revised version were in circulation and those of the Welsh Scriptures appeared later. The Society presented nearly 10,000 Sunday Schools in England and Wales with a new desk bible as a Centenary memorial.
On Friday 4 March 1904, the Centenary celebrations themselves began with a simple noon meeting for prayer at what was then known as 'new Bible House' in Queen Victoria Street. That evening, the President of the Society, the Marquis of Northampton, and Caleb Kemp welcomed hundreds of delegates and friends representing Bible Societies at home and abroad to the hall of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, London bridge - just a stone's throw from the memorable room at Swan Stairs where the formation of the Society had been conceived.
On Saturday afternoon, 5 March, the Royal Albert Hall was packed for the first of two meetings there (the Guildhall was considered too small). The Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London attended complete with medieval sword-bearer, Sergeant-at-Arms and City Marshall. Princess Christian cut a huge birthday cake. The massive crowd sung the stirring centenary hymn written by Horace F Moule 'We thank thee for a hundred years/ Or mercy, Lord, and blessing....' led by a fifteen hundred voice choir.
Dawn on 6 March heralded the long planned-for worldwide Bible Sunday. Several years of preparation had led to agreement on the proposition that Christian communions from all over the world should unite in praise and prayer on the same day. This proposal had been promoted by the two English Anglican archbishops on behalf of nearly all the bishops; it had been enthusiastically endorsed by all non-conformist Conferences and Assemblies; it was adopted without exception by all missionary societies and worked hard for by churches in Europe, the British colonies, mission fields of Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Canada, the United States and Protestant congregations in Central and South America.
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