John A. Lapp, Mennonite historian and former executive secretary of Mennonite Central Committee, writes favorable review of a Follow Me: A History of Christian Intentionality by Bridgefolk co-founder Ivan J. Kauffman in this week’s issue of Mennonite Weekly Review. Click here to read.
Author: gws
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. Continue reading “Bridgefolk revamps leadership, announces 2010 conference”
Mennonite-Catholic news from Mennonite World Conference
Mennonite World Conference met last summer in Asunción, Paraguay for its every-sixth-year general assembly. While the central purpose of the assembly was to strengthen bonds of communion between Mennonites from around the globe, the assembly also welcomed guests from other Christian traditions, including the Anglican Church, the Baptist World Alliance, the Catholic Church, the Lutheran World Federation, the Methodist Churches, African Initiated Churches, the Salvation Army, the World Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance. Here are a couple of items gleaned from MWC news releases that will be of particular interest to Bridgefolk: Continue reading “Mennonite-Catholic news from Mennonite World Conference”
4th Annual Celebration of St. Marcellus announced for N. Indiana
Mennonites and Catholics will again be joining together in Northern Indiana October 30-31 to celebrate the Feast of St. Marcellus, the late fourth-century saint who was martyred for refusing military service, and whose relics are embedded under the altar at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame The keynote speaker and workshop facilitator will be Dr. Mary Jo Leddy, director of the Romero House Community for Refugees in Toronto, and adjunct professor at Regis Colllege, University of Toronto. The event is organized by the Center for Peace and Nonviolence of St. Joseph County around the theme, “Living with Spirit in the Midst of Empire” For more information or to register for the workshop online, visit http://www.cpnv.net/Events.htm. To download a flier on the event, click here.
Eastern & Oriental Orthodox churches debate ethics of peace
The World Council of Churches news service reports on a recent meeting in Romania in which representatives of Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches examined the ethics of peace. Click here to read.
“Pro-life, Pro-peace” seminar at Mennonite Church USA convention
Bridgefolk Board member Darrin Snyder Belousek helped lead a “Pro-life, Pro-peace” seminar earlier this month at the 2009 convention of Mennonite Church USA, together with Ann Graber Hershberger of Eastern Mennonite University. The seminar sought to identify “faithful responses to abortion presented in the framework of a consistent life ethic.” Continue reading ““Pro-life, Pro-peace” seminar at Mennonite Church USA convention”
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.
German Mennonite theologian on short list to lead World Council of Churches
According to a recent news release from Ecumenical News International, German Mennonite theologian Fernando Enns is on the “short list” of church leaders under consideration to become the next General Secretary of the World Council of Churches. He has served on the executive committee of the WCC and has been the visionary behind the Decade to Overcome Violence, an effort by churches around the world to call all the world’s people to engage in violence prevention, the pursuit of justice and peacemaking. “Fernando is a friend for many of us,” notes Bridgefolk board member Weldon Nisly. “Having a Mennonite pacifist as head of the World Council of Churches would be a real milestone.” Click here to read more.
May 15: International Day for Conscientious Objectors
Anticipating an international day to honor conscientious objectors to war and military participation, the World Council of Churches has released results of a study on the current status of legal recognition for COs worldwide. In spite of a global trend to better recognize the right to conscientious objection to military service, those who exercise that right are often discriminated, persecuted, repeatedly punished or sent to prison in many countries. The report cites advocacy by both Anabaptist and Catholic groups. Click here to read more.