Texas community publishes historic, handwritten bible
By Craig Krueger , Special to The Layman, May 24, 2012
It certainly takes commitment to read all the way through the Bible. Many Christians rarely pick up their Bible. Many others read only their favorite verses. Only a handful read through the whole Bible, even if it takes a lifetime.
However, imagine going one step further. Imagine writing the whole Bible … by hand!
Ennis, Texas recently celebrated a special dedication for a project that helped bring the community together in reverence with the unveiling of a plaque highlighting the dedication of the more than 350 individuals who spent several years writing and illustrating the whole Bible by hand.
Former President Ronald Reagan declared 1983 the Year of the Bible in the United States, inviting communities across the country to be a part of the observance. Ennis dove into the effort, with individuals from the city’s churches joining together to hand-write and illustrate a copy of the Bible. The completed work is now adequately honored and displayed in the city library.
Carmen Osterheld was a key player in rounding people up and making sure each person completed their assigned section. She recruited people from almost every church in Ennis and across all age groups.
Osterheld said the importance of the Bible in the lives of many Ennis residents is illustrated by the outpouring of support for the project when it originated. For her part, she says the effort showed her a lot about faith and fellowship.
“It was not only the precious people who I met, taking pages with them, (the book contains more than 1,200 pages) not only getting to see the joy of those who wrote from their hospital beds or the little children adding to it,” Osterheld said. “It was taking the finished collection of parchment for binding to the book-binders in Waco.”
Osterheld said Library Binding Company in Waco, Texas hand-sewed the book over 11 hours of effort with a needle and thread.
“This volume was the biggest book they ever bound,” Osterheld said. The company went so far as to request permission to take a photo of the Bible, their largest book, with the smallest binding job they had ever done as well.
Artwork was a key part of the project, she said. Panel work by local grade-schoolers stands out in her memory, particularly a pen-and-ink drawing of a warrior that fit into the Scripture in Ephesians – a panel page by itself in the text.
Overall, the project touched hundreds of lives in the town and continues to do so today. This Bible is truly inspirational. Ray Lowry, Ennis’ head librarian, will be glad to show off one of the library’s greatest acquisitions. He flipped through the large pages taking time to show me the two verses scrawled by a young child just learning to write in the midst of a passage of beautiful, flowing cursive handwriting by a senior citizen in a nursing home.
Ennis has a strong Czechoslovakian heritage. The Bible preserved a piece of that by having several chapters written in Czech as well.
Opened, the Bible measures 15 inches by 23 inches and weighs close to 50 lbs. Between the Old and New Testament sections is a section in braille for the Lord’s Prayer, the Apost
le’s Creed, and the Ten Commandments.
The Ennis Bible Project is not just about reproducing the Bible, it is about getting people to read and apply the Bible in their lives, so it took little thought to decide where the Bible should be displayed.
It wasn’t to be tucked away in a single church, or even rotated between the participating churches. It was decided that the people there would not read it. It wouldn’t be put in the court house because people would be too busy to stop and read it. It was decided to put it in the library where it becomes the first book among many others. While the librarians do request that you ask for assistance in handling the Bible, they are more than willing to help if you want to read, browse or take pictures.
The project, with the presentation of the plaque on May 20, 2012, is now fully complete and leaves a legacy of faith and fellowship spanning denominational lines across the decades.
Background for this article is used with permission by Ennis Daily News. The EDN article was written by Nick Todaro.