A hundred or so people joined together in Strasbourg to read the Bible aloud, in alternation, from 12 to 18 May. The “Bible marathon” forms part of the “Bible Year” currently in progress in France, and was promoted by the local Mennonite Church. Founded in the 16th century as part of the Protestant Reformation, the Mennonite Church now has roughly half a million members worldwide, and two thousand in France subdivided into thirty local communities. “We wish to remain silent before the biblical text, limiting ourselves to listening in silence”: that’s how the event was explained by Pastor Michel Sommer, head of the local Mennonite church and organizer of the Bible marathon. The biblical readings were held throughout the week, from six in the morning to ten in the evening; the readers always “worked” in pairs. The success of the event was judged positive by Sommer: “It was open to everyone. Some Catholics chose to join us and participated in the readings. The event also aroused a good deal of curiosity on the part of the local media. It gave an enormous impetus to our local community”. The Psalms were read in ten languages, including Serbo-Croato, Arabic and Chinese “to testify to the universal dimension of the Church”, continued the pastor. Also as part of the celebrations of the “Bible Year”, in which some Catholic dioceses are also participating, a meeting is planned from 10 to 12 October. “All Christians in France says the coordinator for communications of the country’s Protestant Federation, Myriam Delarbre are invited to bring the Bible to as wide a public as possible”.
