People of different faiths came together at Mercy Hospital Fort Smith Jan. 7 to celebrate the arrival of a significant piece of art.

Mercy held an interfaith prayer service in its St. Edward Chapel to mark the beginning of the Heritage Edition of the St. John's Bible's stay in Fort Smith. Representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths spoke at the event.

Martin Schreiber, Mercy vice president for mission, said having the St. John's Bible at the hospital was the first event of its kind in Arkansas.

"When Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy, one of the central themes of that congregation was Scripture, and it was not just Scripture as, 'I will read it and then hopefully memorize it,'" Schreiber said. "It was Scripture that, 'It would be infused in my entire life,' and what was one of the formative points of Catherine McAuley's life was that she sat and she read the Bible to some family members, people, the Callaghans, who were taking care of her, and she actually was steeped in this Quaker faith, so there was a sense of many different faiths in her formation, and that the word of God was from many faiths, many faiths that inspired her."

The Times Record reports that St. John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota, commissioned Donald Jackson, one of the world's foremost calligraphers and the senior scribe to Queen Elizabeth II's Crown Office at the House of Lords, to produce the hand-written, hand-illuminated Bible in 1998, a Mercy news release states. It was created by scribes in a scriptorium in Wales under Jackson's artistic direction, and is the first monumental, illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine monastery in the modern era. It was completed in 2011. Its permanent home is the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at St. John's Abbey and University.

"The St. John's Bible incorporates many of the characteristics of its medieval predecessors: It was written on vellum, using quills, natural handmade inks, hand-ground pigments and gild such as gold leaf, silver leaf and platinum," the release states. "Jackson has described an 'illumination' as the way light plays off the pages as they are turned."

Russ Parish, a congregate at United Hebrew Congregation, said each faith community represented at the event understands the importance of sacred text.

"We should cherish the heritage that has been given to each of us by our forebearers, but we should also respect and acknowledge the texts and the interpretations of the texts of our neighbors," Parish said.

Parish said the St. John's Bible project has produced something more than beautiful art.

"The skilled calligraphers and illuminators have created something more than an artifact of a particular religion or group," Parish said. "Their decade of loving labor has crafted a sacred item that can be admired and valued by people of all faiths and traditions. May we all take this opportunity to appreciate this unique expression of love, dedication and beauty."

Norman McFall, chaplain at Mercy Hospital Fort Smith and associate pastor at Christ the King Catholic Church, said in the religious world, people spend a significant amount of time trying to decide who fits in and who does not, who they can and will not accept, and with whom they can and cannot pray.

?And today, it isn't a surprise to me that as we come to celebrate this fabulous work centered around God revealing himself in written word, that we have people here from various faiths, and it reminds us that God is a God for all people," McFall said. "He wants us to know Him so much so that he's called people throughout the ages in various ways to know him, so that we can order our lives around him."

McFall said ignorance of the word is ignorance of God.

"And so today, we get to be a part of celebrating together what we all share in common, and that's this one God," McFall said. "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of Muhammad. He is God, and there is only one."

Other religious leaders who spoke Sunday included Tim Sullivan of Northside United Pentacostal Church, Dane Womack of First United Methodist Church, Greg Pair of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Mike Lager of St. John's Episcopal Church and Tasha Blackburn of First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Ahmad Kaako, a hospitalist at Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, also spoke at the event representing the Fort Smith Muslim community.

Mercy will host the St. John's Bible through March 14 and offer viewings for the public, according to the news release. It will be displayed in a case at different locations in the main hospital, and pages will be turned at various times during its stay. It will also be displayed at Mercy Orthopedic Hospital, Mercy Tower West and Mercy's four hospitals in Ozark, Paris, Booneville and Waldron. Bible mentors will be available to supervise visitors while they handle the Bible and turn pages during certain hours it is on display.

A closing ceremony is planned for 2 p.m. March 14 in the Hennessey Education Room at Mercy, the release states. The St. John's Bible will go to Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas for viewing March 15 through May 31.

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Information from: Southwest Times Record, http://www.swtimes.com/

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