A group of Lutheran leaders and scholars are in the process of creating a new translation of the Bible in time for the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Known as the Evangelical Heritage Version, the project is being overseen by John Brug, professor-emeritus of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.

Brug is serving as general editor and Old Testament editor. The Rev. Brian Keller, pastor of St. Stephen Evangelical Lutheran Church of Adrian, Michigan, is serving as the New Testament editor.

Known as the Wartburg Project, Brug described the process to The Christian Post as a “grassroots translation,” which means they are making “extensive use of parish pastors and lay people in the editing and evaluation of the translation.”

“We want to keep the Bible close to the Church and involve the Church in the evaluation and refining of our translation,” explained Brug.

“Congregations can make free use of the weekly readings for the Church year, which can be downloaded from our Wartburg Project website.”

On Oct. 31, 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg. Among his many issues with the Roman Catholic Church, one was the lack of a widely-distributed Bible in the common language.