Bridgefolk Conference 2010 information
Information related to the Bridgefolk 2010 Conference at St. John’s Abbey is now posted on the conference tab of the Bridgefolk website. You may access the information at the conference tab above or click here for the main conference page.
Bridgefolk revamps leadership, announces 2010 conference
COLLEGEVILLE, MINNESOTA (Bridgefolk.net) – Bridgefolk had much to celebrate as it held its 10th anniversary conference in Laurelville, Pennsylvania last August, but is also entering a crucial time of transition. That was the sentiment Bridgefolk Board members shared as they met in mid-October at St. John’s Abbey in Minnesota to plan their next conference and discern how to guide their grassroots ecumenical movement of Mennonites and Roman Catholics through its next steps. Read more
Bridgefolk 2009 conference schedule now available
The schedule for our 2009 conference, “Between Memory and Hope: Bridgefolk at Ten Years,” is now available. The conference will be held August 21-24 at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center in Western Pennsylvania where 25 Mennonites and Catholics gathered in 1999 around the question: “How do we bridge the Mennonite and Catholic traditions?” For more information including the schedule and how to register, please visit http://www.bridgefolk.net/conferences/2009bridgefolk.
Bridgefolk 2009 conference registration now open
2009 summer conference registration is now available on the Bridgefolk website at http://www.bridgefolk.net/conferences/2009bridgefolk/. You are welcome to register online or to print out the registration form and send it by mail. If you have special concerns regarding your arrangements for the event, please contact Kent Yoder at info@bridgefolk.net. A schedule for the event is soon to follow.
Goshen College performs plays on the lives of the saints
Last summer the theme of the 2008 Bridgefolk conference was “Saints and the Spirituality that Sustains Them.” News of a specially-commissioned series of short plays being performed this coming weekend at a Mennonite college is particularly striking, therefore.
Read more
Saints and Heroes in the Faith Sustain, Don’t Divide
News release on 2008 Bridgefolk conference
by Kent Yoder
Collegeville, Minnesota (Bridgefolk) — On July 24-27, forty-five Mennonites and Catholics gathered at Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota for the seventh annual Bridgefolk conference. Under the theme “Holiness the Road: Saints and the Spirituality that Sustains,” participants explored common and divergent threads between Catholic and Mennonite traditions regarding the role of saints and heroes of the faith. Despite recognizable differences between the two traditions on this topic, the group agreed that this is not a unity breaking issue. Opening presentations by Gerald Schlabach, Marlene Kropf and Ivan Kauffman, several of Bridgefolk’s founding members, introduced listeners to Mennonite and Catholic perceptions of the saints and holiness in the other’s tradition. Schlabach contributed a role-play dialogue between “Ana B” (Anabaptist) and “Cathy” (Catholic), in which the conversation characterized perspectives of each tradition. Kropf then offered a personal reflection on the witness of Saint Francis and Saint Claire of Assisi from a Mennonite perspective in which she expressed her gratitude for their stories. Read more
Listening Committee report from summer conference now available!
The Listening Committee report for our summer conference is now available online. Many thanks to Listening Committee members Brenda Bellamy, Ed Kauffman and Corinne Kehrberg!
Here are a few excerpts: Read more
Bridgefolk 2007 featured in National Catholic Reporter
Many of us have been catching our breath after two great conferences in Northern Indiana last month, but freelance writer Heather Grennan Gary has done some great reporting on our 2007 Bridgefolk conference. National Catholic Reporter featured her article in its August 17 issue, giving Bridgefolk what may be its widest exposure in the Catholic press to date.
You can read the NCR article online at http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2007c/081707/081707l.php> at least for a few weeks. (During August and September, you should be able to click on the “Special unrestricted access” button without actually subscribing.)
Another version of Grennan Gary’s article is available on the website of our host, the Associated Mennonite Biblical Se minary: http://www.ambs.edu/news-and-publications/news/bridgefolk. A permanent link to this story will be available on our own website, www.bridgefolk.net.
New energy and initiatives emerge from Bridgefolk Board meeting
Bridgefolk leaders found renewed energy as they met December 15-17 at Saint John’s Abbey in Minnesota. The Bridgefolk board of directors chose a theme for next summer’s conference, initiated a process for revamping communication efforts, and took decisive first steps toward putting the ongoing work of Bridgefolk on a sustainable footing. Adding to the meeting’s energy are three new members, Mary Schertz and Darrin Snyder Belousek of Indiana, and Ron Pagnucco of Minnesota. Read more
