Rev. Lucien Accad retires from BS-Lebanon

 

Beirut, LEBANON: After almost 28 years of serving the Word of God, the Rev. Lucien Accad retired from his position as General Secretary of the Bible Society in Lebanon. Rev. Accad, who has been Executive / General Secretary of the Bible Societies in the Levant since 1980, will turn 65 this month.

 

An official farewell dinner party was held for him in Beirut on the evening of March 4, 2005. Around 150 people were present to honor him: Board and General Assembly members, staff members, Christian leaders and Church representatives. Also present was the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut, Bishop Elias Awdeh. The evening commenced with a word of greeting from the Bible Society’s Chairman, Mr. Amine Khoury, followed by a prayer led by the Honorary Chairman Rev. Dr. Salim Sahiouny, President of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Churches in Syria and Lebanon.

 

During the dinner, several words of appreciation were shared. Mr. Ramez Atallah, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt and United Bible Societies (UBS) Global Board member shared a few words and read a letter sent by the UBS General Secretary, Rev. Miller Milloy, for this occasion. This was followed by another word from a colleague, Mr. Jamal Hashweh, General Secretary of the Bible Society in Jordan and outgoing chairman of the NAWAT sub-region.

 

The Chairman, Mr. Khoury, spoke on behalf of the Board and General Assembly, commending the many years of dedicated hard work for the Bible cause. “You have inspired all of us with your devotion and commitment to the Bible Society work,” said Mr. Khoury, “and you have left behind you a huge legacy.” Mr. Khoury continued to explain that the Board and General Assembly, and upon Rev. Accad’s recommendation, have nominated Mr. Mike Bassous as the General Secretary of the Bible Society last January. Mr. Bassous has been the Deputy, and lately the Acting General Secretary during Rev. Accad’s illness, and asked for prayers for both the outgoing and the incoming general secretaries.

 

Mr. Bassous shared briefly about the personal and work relationship with Rev. Accad over the past six years. “Three attributes come to mind when thinking of Lucien,” added Mr. Bassous, “utter trust in his colleagues, total support for their work, and overwhelming love to each one.” He concluded with a personal challenge that he faces as he “wears the shoes” and “walks in the footsteps” of this great man. On behalf of the staff, a plaque with all the names of current and previous staff was given to Rev. Accad as a constant reminder of his love for the Bible Society team.

 

Some of the guests took this opportunity to share their own appreciation for Rev. Accad, mainly His Eminence Bishop Elias Awdeh who talked about the long history of work between the Orthodox Church and the Bible Society. Rev. Accad concluded the evening with a few words of gratitude for all who had come and to all who have shared. Several farewell gifts were handed to him during the evening as an expression of admiration and as souvenirs for his many years of service in the Christian community.