We are pleased to announce that the Mennonite Catholic Theological Colloquium has opened a new round of conversation on the topic of Sacramentality, appearing at http://www.bridgefolk.net/theology/colloquia.

Since Bridgefolk assumed responsibility for the colloquium our intention has been not only to begin holding face-to-face meetings, as we did last July, but to continue inviting responses to selected papers.  We have modified the format of our earlier colloquia in a couple of important ways, however:

• While previous exchanges occurred quietly behind the scenes, we will now be using an “open source” approach.  Papers and will appear on our website even as the conversation enfolds.
• While Mennonite and Catholic scholars are especially invited to participate, others are welcome to contribute as well — including interested scholars from other traditions and all participants in the Bridgefolk movement.

Our new colloquium opens with a paper by Mennonite theologian Thomas Finger on “Sacramentality.”  Certainly there is an anti-sacramental tendency in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition, Finger acknowledges.. Yet if sacramentality names the promise that God’s grace can permeate and transform all of creation, he argues, then “historic Anabaptists were extremely sacramental,” for “they insisted, at least as strongly as any current religious movement, that grace inform all their concrete, material activities and relationships.” Finger identifies Anabaptist strands and thinkers who offer theological insights that could lead towards a fuller Mennonite affirmation of sacramentality. He also discusses recent proposals by Roman Catholic theologians attempting to explain sacramental theology in the modern world that might resonate with Mennonite theology. He points out similarities between some of these proposals and key Mennonite convictions about the presence of Christ in the church community and the need for liturgical practices to be ethically and socially transformative.

Initial responses come from two Roman Catholics.  In a paper by Dennis Martin of Loyola University in Chicago entitled  “Two Trains Passing in the Night,” the author insists that for Mennonite theologians such as Finger to engage in serious ecumenical dialogue with Roman Catholicism, they must engage settled  magisterial teaching, not just “cherry-pick” the Catholic theologians that attract them.  To do otherwise is to “converse with one’s Mennonite self, disguised superficially in ‘Catholic’ garb.”

Margaret R. Pfeil of the University of Notre Dame takes a different tack in “Liturgical Asceticism: Where Grace and Discipleship Meet.”  Pfeil especially calls fellow Catholics to practice “liturgical asceticism.” Rooted in the liturgical life of the worshipping community, liturgical asceticism connotes contemplative awareness of the mystery by which God transforms a “frail human community of believers into the Body of Christ,” so that individually and communally believers become icons of Christ in service to the world.

Here is where we invite others to continue the conversation, by responding either to Finger or to others or to both. Specific guidelines appear along with papers at http://www.bridgefolk.net/theology/colloquia.php. Responses should be sent to mctc@bridgefolk.net

Gerald Schlabach
Bridgefolk Executive Director
info@bridgefolk.net
www.bridgefolk.net