Gene Stoltzfus, founding director of Christian Peacemaker Teams, died March 10 at age 70. Stoltzfus was a friend of Bridgefolk and attended our conference at Saint John’s Abbey in 2008. To read more, visit http://www.cpt.org/speakers/gene_stoltzfus.
Author: gws
Pope’s theme for Lent: “Justice founded in love”
Pontiff Encourages Work With the Poor
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 14, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is affirming that Jesus satisfies man’s “thirst for justice,” through his Divine love rather than political revolution.
The Pope stated this today in a public address before he prayed the midday Angelus with the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
He reflected on today’s liturgy and the Gospel reading of the Beatitudes.
“The beatitudes are based on the existence of a divine justice,” the Pontiff affirmed, “which raises up those who have been wrongly humiliated and casts down those who have been exalted.” Continue reading “Pope’s theme for Lent: “Justice founded in love””
An Iraq Journey: Remembering Rutba, seeing Jesus
by Weldon Nisly
Pastor, Seattle Mennonite Church
Bridgefolk board member
Every day for nearly seven years I have remembered Iraq and envisioned returning to that war-torn occupied land. I have longed to return to Iraq with Christian Peacemaker Teams and dreamed of going back to Rutba, a desert city in Western Iraq. Rutba holds a special place in my heart. I will always remember Rutba as the place where Iraqi people bandaged our wounds in a time of war. Continue reading “An Iraq Journey: Remembering Rutba, seeing Jesus”
Duke Center for Reconciliation invites applications to summer institute
Applications are now being received for the 2010 Duke Divinity School Summer Institute, online at www.divinity.duke.edu/summerinstitute. This summer’s Institute will focus on the theme “The Ministry of Reconciliation in a Divided World” and will be held from May 31 – June 5, 2010 on the campus of Duke Divinity School. The 2010 Summer Institute will create a community of learning among diverse peers and offer intimate interaction with a world-class faculty of scholars and practitioners. You will experience in-depth teaching, prayer and worship, shared meals, real-world contexts and challenges, and an opportunity to reflect on your own vocation and ministry setting. Continue reading “Duke Center for Reconciliation invites applications to summer institute”
A prayer for Haiti
by Rose Marie Berger
Most Holy Creator God, Lord of heaven and earth,
we bring before you today your people of Haiti.
It is You who set in motion the stars and seas,
You who raised up the mountains of the Massif de la Hotte
and Pic La Selle. It is You who made her people in your very image:
Their gregarious hearts and generous spirits,
their hunger and thirst for righteousness and liberty. Continue reading “A prayer for Haiti”
Bridgefolk Board member returns to Rutba, Iraq
Weldon Nisly, pastor of Seattle Mennonite Church and Bridgefolk Board member, returned to Rutba, Iraq in January as part of a Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). As part of a CPT delegation that visited Iraq in 2003 during the US invasion, Nisly was injured in an automobile accident and treated at a clinic in Rutba. He and other members of the delegation returned this year in order to express their gratitude to their Iraqi hosts and medical personnel. For CPT news releases on the recent trip, click here.
Italian Catholic bishops call for nonviolence
War Is Irrational, Italian Bishop Affirms
Conference Considers Priority of Disarmament
ROME, FEB. 8, 2010 (Zenit.org).- War is irrational and inhuman, and non-violence needs to become a language, reconciliation a style of life.
These were some of the conclusions at the Italian episcopal conference’s convention last month on “For a World of Peace: the Dream of Isaiah and the Proclamation of Christ.”
Caritas-Italy and Pax Christi co-sponsored the event.
An official from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Tommaso Di Ruzza, told the conference participants that disarmament is an ethical question that involves everyone, not just governments. Continue reading “Italian Catholic bishops call for nonviolence”
“Forgiving Lutherans could be a temptation for self-righteousness,” says Mennonite theologian
The request of our historic persecutors for forgiveness presents us Mennonites with a temptation and an opportunity, warns Jeremy Bergen, assistant professor of Religious Studies at Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, Ont. In response to a previous article in Canadian Mennonite, Bergen publsihed the following commentary on the magazine’s website. Continue reading ““Forgiving Lutherans could be a temptation for self-righteousness,” says Mennonite theologian”
Mennonite Church Canada represented at Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
WINNIPEG, Manitoba —Mennonite Church Canada leaders gathered with those from other denominations on January 24/2010 for the opening service of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Among the other denominations represented were Anglican, Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, United Church of Canada, Evangelical Lutheran, United Church of Christ, Salvation Army, Presbyterian and Ukrainian Orthodox. Continue reading “Mennonite Church Canada represented at Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”