12th annual Bridgefolk conference meets in Waterloo

Collegeville, MN (BRIDGEFOLK) — Meeting for the first time in Canada, the 12th annual Bridgefolk conference was held July 25-28 at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario under the theme, “Reconciliation: A Way to Peace.”

Bridgefolk is a movement of sacramentally-minded Mennonites and peace-minded Roman Catholics who come together to celebrate each other’s traditions, explore each other’s practices, and honor each other’s contribution to the mission of Christ’s Church.

Previous conferences have alternated between Catholic and Mennonite locations in the United States.  Of the sixty participants gathered for this year’s conference, about thirty-five were Mennonite and twenty-five Catholic.  Half the participants were from Canada, with the other half being mainly from the United States in addition to a couple participants from outside of North America.

The conference’s keynote speakers were Christian McConnell, who teaches Liturgical Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto, and John Rempel, director of the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre, both of whom spoke on practices of reconciliation within their respective churches’ traditions.

McConnell gave an informative overview of what the Catholic tradition now calls the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or penance, before connecting its historic and current practice to the church’s mission of reconciliation in a broader sense.  He emphasized that the practice of penance was originally intended for the purpose of recovering baptismal identity and thus enabling renewed participation in the church’s mission.

The following day, Rempel spoke about how Mennonites have reconciled with errant members of their communities, as well as the practice of peacemaking that is central to the Mennonite tradition.  Whereas McConnell used baptism as a focal point, Rempel chose the Lord’s Supper.  Rempel said, “In Jesus’ meal we make memory of his laying down his life in love and receive it sacramentally.  Our response is to pledge to lay down our lives in love for sister, brother, neighbour, stranger, and enemy.”

An additional featured guest was Dr. Mohammad Ali Shomali, an Iranian Islamic scholar who has been involved in interreligious dialogues with both Mennonites and Catholics.  Dr. Shomali, together with Susan Kennel Harrison (Toronto School of Theology) and Fr. William Skudlarek (Saint John’s Abbey), began to explore the possibility of a “trialogue” among Mennonites, Catholics, and Shiite Muslims.  Recognizing Jews, Christians, and Muslims as all belonging to the Abrahamic family of faith, Shomali told the group that he approaches dialogue with Christians as someone seeking his “missing cousins.”

The conference also highlighted fruits of ecumenical exchange in the past and efforts for ecumenical dialogue in the present.  Gerald Schlabach and Margaret Pfeil presented their new book, Sharing Peace: Mennonites and Catholics in Conversation, published this year by Liturgical Press, which collects contributions to a 2007 conference at the University of Notre Dame in response to Called Together to Be Peacemakers, the 2003 joint statement of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and Mennonite World Conference.  Msgr. John Radano, who served two decades with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and participated in the five-year international Catholic-Mennonite dialogue, reported on the recently inaugurated Catholic-Lutheran-Mennonite “trialogue” on baptism.

Common worship was woven throughout the conference in several forms, including morning prayer services, lectio divina exercises, and midday prayer in the pattern of Benedictine monastic psalmody.  Ken Nafziger led a hymn sing, which has become a well-loved feature of Bridgefolk gatherings.  Another regular Bridgefolk feature was the footwashing and Agape meal, which in recent years has been developed into a liturgy that is specific to Bridgefolk but draws on ancient liturgical forms.  For many participants, this has become a poignant way to ritualize their unity in Christ even as they are as yet unable to share in full Eucharistic communion.

This year’s conference also saw the observance of a “double Eucharist,” first introduced to Bridgefolk at last year’s conference.  The purpose of the “double Eucharist” is to honor each tradition’s communion ritual while at the same time living with the tension that Mennonites and Catholics cannot at present take communion together on a regular basis.  This innovative liturgy comprises two distinct rituals—a Roman Catholic Eucharist and a Mennonite Lord’s Supper—celebrated sequentially within a unified service.  Fr. John Meoska (Saint John’s Abbey) and Rev. Eleanor Kreider (Mennonite ChurchUSA) presided over the Catholic and Mennonite rituals, respectively.

The conference also provided the opportunity for Bridgefolk to thank Marlene Kropf, one of the Bridgefolk founders and former Mennonite co-chair, for her years of leadership and service.  Marilyn Stahl was then introduced as the new Mennonite co-chair and official representative of Mennonite ChurchUSA to the Bridgefolk board.   In addition, Bridgefolk welcomed Msgr. John Radano, Muriel Bechtel, and Samantha Lioi as new board members.

The 13th annual Bridgefolk conference is planned for July 24-27, 2014, to be held at Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Julia Smucker, Bridgefolk communications coordinator

Darrin W. Snyder Belousek, Bridgefolk executive director