Anabaptist World call for submissions: “Service — Loving by doing”

Deadline: February 23.

Length: About 600 to 1,200 words. With photos, if possible.

Send submissions to editor@anabaptistworld.org.

Voluntary service is highly valued in Anabaptist circles. Beyond meeting human need, it opens our eyes to different ways of life and diverse people. It can transform those who serve.

Anabaptist World invites submissions on thoughts and experiences of service. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

— Mother Teresa said, “Love cannot remain by itself. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.” Who has loved you with the kind of love described by Mother Teresa? What did it teach you?

— How does service shape Anabaptist spirituality? Did it shape yours?

— How does your congregation serve? In the community? On trips to places of need? (Are there pluses and minuses to such trips?)

— Have you experienced the Holy Spirit during a service experience? What did it feel like? How did you know it was the Holy Spirit?

— Is doing service inaccessible to certain people? How does this play out in Anabaptist communities?

— Have you experienced paternalism or white supremacy while serving? What did you learn from it? Did you only realize it later? How would you serve differently today?

— What assumptions did you make before a service experience? Were they confirmed or challenged?

— Can good intentions be dangerous?

— What is the relationship between meeting physical needs and spiritual needs? Can service and evangelism connect? Does Christian service need to be explicitly Christian?

— Did service impact the direction of your life? How?

— Did you serve because you needed an alternative to the military when there was a draft? How did this “involuntary service” impact your life?

— Did you have a transformative experience while serving? Tell the story.