According to the news release from Baptist World Alliance (BWA), two key leaders from Myanmar Baptist Convention (MBC) Mahn San Thein Tun, Treasurer and and A. Ko Lay, the former Treasurer are visiting abroad to encourage members in other countries to participate in the celebration.
The two leaders visited the BWA Center in Virginia in the United States on 2 July where Lay spoke about the bicentennial celebration and told BWA that the celebration will be a time of "honouring those who have sacrificed their lives for the mission in Myanmar."
According to BWA, Myanmar, which had its name changed from Burma in 1989, has the largest Baptist convention on the Southeast Asia region, with more than 1.1 million members, most of whom are ethnic minorities such as the Chin, Kachin and the Karen. Myanmar Baptists also holds a distinct position as the second largest Baptist convention in Asia continent after India's which has over 2 million members.
The BWA news says Adoniram and Ann Judson, who were among the first American Baptist missionaries to travel overseas, arrived in what is now Myanmar in 1813. They labored in that country for almost 40 years, establishing a number of Baptist churches and translating the Christian Bible into Burmese.
The celebratory events already begun in 2009 with the theme "Thy will be done in Myanmar." Each succeeding year will have its own emphasis and theme on faithfulness, transformation, preservation and holiness, culminating in 2013.
Some 10,000 persons are expected to attend the major celebration in Yangon, the country's former capital, formerly known as Rangoon, the news stated.
In addition, each of the 18 language and regional conventions that make up the Myanmar Baptist Convention (MBC) will have its own regional celebration. A major publication, a chronicle or history of Baptist witness in the country, will also be published, following on a similar publication several decades ago.
The Myanmar celebration will include Burmese who live in other countries. Tun and Lay are visiting the countries where thousands of Burmese live in exile, many of whom are Baptists, to join the celebration.
In the months of June and July, the Christian leaders visited the cities of Buffalo, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, in the United States. There are an estimated 80,000 Burmese, many of them refugees who fled repression in their country, living in the United States.
The two leaders also plan to visit Singapore and Thailand to invite Myanmar Baptists in those countries to come and join in the celebration.