When Bridgefolk formed in 2002, Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN – under the leadership of Abbot John Klassen – offered to be a home for this fledgling movement. Initial annual conferences were hosted by the Abbey. After several years, some of the Catholic participants expressed interest in visiting Mennonite settings. Conferences began to alternate between the abbey (as well as Saint Benedict’s Monastery) and various Mennonite institutional settings locations in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Manitoba, Washington, and Indiana. Over the years, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Ind. hosted three conferences and several of its faculty members served key roles in Bridgefolk leadership and on the board.
In 2024 the Bridgefolk board initiated conversations with AMBS leadership about the possibility of establishing a formal institutional relationship, so that Bridgefolk would have both Catholic and Mennonite “homes.” This has now been formalized in a memo of understanding, signed in summer 2025.
Some of the items of mutual benefit outlined in the agreement include:
- a designated Bridgefolk board member appointed from the AMBS teaching or administrative faculty.
- opportunities to co-sponsor events of shared interest and to collaborate in the development of biblical and theological resources that further our shared call to peacemaking.
- providing a safe space for Catholics and Mennonites who wish to study and worship in each other’s milieu, together with Saint John’s Abbey
The bylaws of Bridgefolk specify that one director of the board be “an official representative of a recognized body or institution within the Mennonite tradition.” This agreement formalizes AMBS as this “recognized institution body or institution,” for the sake of continuity and accountability.