We chose October 14 for the CMJ USA Day of Giving because it is the day the Church commemorates Bishop Joseph Schereschewsky—a remarkable figure whose life was transformed through CMJ's early ministry.
Born into a Jewish family in Lithuania in 1831, Joseph left his home at age 15 for Zhitomir (in modern-day Ukraine). While studying at the Zhitomir Rabbinical School, a fellow student handed him a Hebrew New Testament published by the London Jews Society—known today as CMJ UK.
That copy of the Scriptures planted a seed. Joseph spent years pondering the story of Jesus. Later, while in Germany, he met a CMJ worker who helped him work through his deepest questions.
Joseph eventually traveled to the United States, where he made a public profession of faith in Yeshua as the Messiah. He went on to become a pioneering Bible translator and the Anglican Bishop of Shanghai, leaving an enduring legacy in China. (Read more of the story.)



