NEWS RELEASE

Waxhaw, N.C., October 17, 2005—JAARS will join with Gullah guests in celebrating the completion of the Gullah New Testament in a day-long celebration open to the public November 5 at the JAARS center in Waxhaw, N.C.

Gullah, or Sea Island Creole, is a creole language spoken by the descendants of West African slaves brought to America from the late 1600s until the mid 1800s to work on rice plantations along the sea coast in South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida. The Gullah language therefore is derived from an older form of English and West African language forms.

Sometimes referred to as Sea Islanders or “Geechees,” an estimated 250,000 Gullah people live in this southern coastal region. With encouragement from Wycliffe Bible Translators translation consultants Pat and Claude Sharpe, the Gullah Bible translation effort began in 1979. The Sharpes worked with a Gullah translation team at the Penn Center in St. Helena Island, S.C., to help write the Gullah language and begin translating the Bible into Gullah.

Gullah translator Ardell Greene said, “At first when the Sharpes wanted to help us translate the Bible into Gullah we said no. At that time people were often told not to speak Gullah. But as we began to translate I became very excited. When I read Gullah Scripture to others now they get excited, sometimes expressing that feeling in laughter. They can identify with it.”

Mary Ravenell, a middle school teacher and youth minister in Orangeburg, S.C., upon reading preliminary translated portions of the New Testament in Gullah for the first time just a few weeks ago said, “My heart just swelled within me when I read it. This is the way I had interpreted it to the older people who can’t read or write. It was like I had come home to the Word of God, because it was the way my grandmother read it to me!”

The Gullah Gospel of Luke was published in 1995 and the Gospel of John in 2003. Upon Pat Sharpe’s death in 2002, Wycliffe translators David and Lynn Frank joined the translation team, having previously helped translate the New Testament into St. Lucian Creole. Dr. Frank, a creole languages expert, guided the translation team through to the final editing of the entire New Testament.

Elmer and Ruth Ash, Wycliffe members assigned at JAARS, provided practical help to the project, and JAARS provided some monetary help. Wycliffe member Josephine Makil researched Gullah stories and assisted in literacy efforts.

Several Gullah speakers served on the translation team, and Ardell Greene and Vernetta Canteen worked hard the last few years to complete the translation. Greene and Canteen will share aspects of the translation effort along with Frank at the celebration.

Frank says, “The translation will stand up to the scrutiny of scholars, but the church will be the target audience for this new translation. It will mean that preachers will not have to makeup translations into Gullah on the spot, and the translations will not be different each time.”

The new translation will be highlighted at the Penn Center Gullah Heritage Days November 10-13 (www.penncenter.com). The Gullah New Testament is being published by the American Bible Society, and distribution will begin during the Gullah Heritage Days Festival November 12. The Townsend Gift Shop at JAARS will have copies available in mid-November.

The Gullah celebration activities at JAARS will take place 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., November 5. The featured program will be Gullah New Testament dedication at 10:00 a.m.

Dr. Emory Campbell will speak on Gullah culture and history at 3:00 p.m. Dr. Campbell was executive director of the Penn Center in St. Helena, S.C. for 22 years. The Center’s mission is to promote and preserve the history and culture of the Sea Islands. Dr. Campbell is the founder of Gullah Heritage Consulting Services, which provides training, consulting, and lectures on the history and preservation of the Gullah culture.

Other highlighted programs will be performances by Ron and Natalie Daise, formerly of the “Gullah Gullah Island” television show, and De Gullah Singers who will sing and give rice-planting demonstrations. Gullah sweetgrass baskets can be purchased.

The usual “JAARS Day” activities will take place, including opportunities to learn about many aspects of Bible translation support services, a Helio Courier short take-off and landing airplane demonstration, and an opportunity for airplane ($15.00) or helicopter ($18.00) rides.

A Chick-fil-A lunch will be served ($6.00).

More information on the day’s activities, directions to JAARS, and a consent form for anyone taking aircraft rides can be found at www.jaars.org. Additional help can be provided by calling 704-843-6095.

Office Phone: 704-843-6048, Cell phone: 704-608-3033.
E-mail: arthur_lightbody@sil.org