McPhersons brings the good book to Australia's Anglicans

A massive printing run of bibles for the Anglican church's Connect 09 festival is a godsend for printers in Melbourne and Sydney.

It might seem like a miracle but to the printers involved, the advent of the church's "prayer festival" keeps the presses running around the clock. 650 000 copies of the Essential Jesus (Connect09’s Gospel of Luke) are being printed by McPhersons in Victoria.

But even the prayers of the printing industry could not prevent much of the print run going offshore. Anglican church spokesperson, Russell Powell, confirmed that a Chinese version has also been printed by the Bible Society in Hong Kong. He confirmed that other language versions, notabley in Arabic, and promotional material for the event has been printed in "various places across Sydney."

The Gospels of Luke will be distributed throughout Sydney, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains. So far, Anglican parishes have placed orders for 200,000 of the gospels.