Deadline: April 27.

Length: About 600 to 1,200 words. Photos would be a bonus!

Send submissions to editor@anabaptistworld.org.

Anabaptism started 500 years ago as a movement of lay people who desired to study the Bible together. Today, biblical literacy is declining in North America. In this issue theme, we are looking for stories of what congregations are doing to promote biblical literacy through Bible study or other forms of communal teaching and discernment. We also welcome stories of personal experiences or reflections.

• Do you have a personal experience of spiritual growth or practical application from studying Scripture together?

• Are Mennonites people of the Word? With the decline in biblical literacy, how can Mennonites be people of the Word?

• Biblical discernment in community is an Anabaptist value. How has your congregation done this? Was there a specific purpose? What was the outcome?

• Have practices like Lectio Divina (Latin for “divine reading”) impacted your personal or communal understanding of biblical texts?

• We probably can’t go back to how vacation Bible school used to be done. But how can we go forward?

• How can the early Anabaptist experience of laypeople studying the Bible together continue to define Anabaptism in the 21st century?

• As the pandemic lessens, how have Zoom and other online gatherings continued to impact Bible study in your church?

• How does your congregation do Sunday school? Is it different from the past? How has it changed, and why?

• How does your congregation help children and youth learn the Bible?

• How does your congregation promote Bible study for adults?