Joetta Handrich Schlabach, pastor of Faith Mennonite Church in Minneapolis, recently spoke at the Third Way congregation in nearby Saint Paul about Mennonite-Catholic relationships. Click here or on screenshot below to listen or watch.
Author: gws
Mercy in the borderlands
Homily for Bridgefolk footwashing service, 30 July 2016
Joetta Handrich Schlabach, pastor, Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis
From The Mennonite, 15 August 2016
Highways can be dangerous places. I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where highways were snow- and sometime ice-covered-for up to five months of the year. I have memories of being in cars that landed in a snow bank in both clear and stormy weather. During the five years that my husband and I lived in Central America, we had our share of breathtaking moments when the bus we were riding in decided to pass on a curve along a mountain road or when we were riding in the back of a pick-up at high speed.
But I’ve never been fearful that a highway encounter with the police might be dangerous. Thankfully, those encounters have been few in my life, but I am increasingly coming to understand that my sense of safety is not simply a matter of always following the speed limit, but also has to do with the color of my skin. I’ve also come to know that the highway that I get on each day, I-94, which many of you may have driven on to come to this gathering, endangered a whole neighborhood in its very creation, as it bored through the heart of St. Paul’s African-American Rondo neighborhood in the 1960’s.
Last month the nation—and many parts of the world—have become familiar with the name of Philando Castile. Philando was the young man shot by a policeman during a “routine” traffic stop in Falcon Heights, just north of St. Paul, Minnesota. Continue reading “Mercy in the borderlands”
15th annual Bridgefolk conference highlights common practices of mercy
This article has also appeared in The Mennonite.
St. Joseph, Minn. (BRIDGEFOLK) — The 15th annual Bridgefolk conference was held July 28-31 at Saint Benedict’s Monastery and the College of Saint Benedict in Saint Joseph, MN. The conference proceeded under the theme, “‘I Desire Mercy:’ Practicing the Works of Mercy.”
Bridgefolk is a grassroots movement of sacramentally-minded Mennonites and peace-minded Roman Catholics who come together to celebrate each other’s traditions, explore each other’s practices, and honor each other’s contribution to the mission of Christ’s Church.
Previous conferences have alternated between Catholic and Mennonite locations in the United States and Canada. Of the forty-five participants gathered for this year’s conference, about thirty were Mennonite and fifteen Catholic.
On the opening evening of the conference, following welcoming words from Sister Michaela Hedican, OSB (Prioress of Saint Benedict’s Monastery), this year’s conference featured Father Columba Stewart, OSB¸ a distinguished scholar of early Church history, especially the evolution of early monastic and other forms of intentional community. Continue reading “15th annual Bridgefolk conference highlights common practices of mercy”
Reconciliation recounted at regional ELCA gathering
SOUTH BEND, Indiana (Mennonite Church USA) — Events in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2010 brought Lutherans and Mennonites to tears and embraces in northern Indiana this month.
During the June 9–11 annual assembly of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in South Bend, Indiana, more than 500 synod members and 25 local Mennonites heard the story of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation that happened between Lutherans and Mennonites at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) assembly in 2010, regarding the historic persecution of Anabaptists by Lutherans.
“The drama and significance of this 30-year process of reconciliation moved the audience,” said André Gingerich Stoner, director of interchurch relations for Mennonite Church USA, who shared the story along with Kathryn Johnson, director of ecumenical and inter-religious relations for the ELCA, during a presentation to the assembly on Saturday morning, June 11. Continue reading “Reconciliation recounted at regional ELCA gathering”
Mennonite Catholic Theological Colloquium to discuss intercessorary prayer, October 1 at Notre Dame
Mennonite Catholic Theological Colloquium:
Intercessory Prayer
October 1, 2016
University of Notre Dame
Geddes Hall Auditorium
8:30 am to 5 pm
This daylong symposium will feature scholars from the Mennonite and Catholic traditions engaging in discussion of the historical context and contemporary liturgical practices around intercessory prayer. Formal presentations will lay the groundwork for informed engagement among participants, with the goal of advancing ecumenical dialogue through rigorous theological exploration.
Invited Speakers:
- Marlene Kropf, Emerita, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary
- John Cavadini, University of Notre Dame
- Kim Belcher, University of Notre Dame
- Karl Koop, Canadian Mennonite University
There is no charge for participation. Refreshments will be provided, and participants will take meals on their own.
Questions? Please contact Margie Pfeil at mpfeil1@nd.edu.
This event is sponsored by:
- The Institute for Church Life, University of Notre Dame
- The Mennonite Catholic Theological Colloquium of Bridgefolk
Major new resource documents Mennonite ecumenical dialogue
Ecumenical dialogue is not an end in itself. It serves as an indispensable instrument to overcome the divisive, mutual misinterpretations of the past. Ecumenical encounters pave the way toward healing painful memories and lead to a deeper understanding of the church’s given unity, thus becoming a more credible witness of that truth.
Edited by Fernando Enns and Jonathan Seiling, Mennonites in Dialogue is a collection of all conversation texts involving Mennonites on international and national levels, covering forty years of encounters with Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed, Baptists, and Seventh-Day Adventists, among others. The texts illustrate growth in agreement as well as identify the remaining convictions that still divide. Continue reading “Major new resource documents Mennonite ecumenical dialogue”
Bridgefolk announces 2016 conference
Dear Friends of Bridgefolk,
I am pleased to announce the upcoming Bridgefolk conference for 2016!
Theme: “‘I Desire Mercy:’ Practicing the Works of Mercy”
Speakers: Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, and Dawn Ruth Nelson
Location: St. Benedict’s Monastery and College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN
Dates: July 28-31
Description: Inspired in part by Pope Francis’ Year (Jubilee) of Mercy, this conference will explore how we joyfully receive mercy from God and how we practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Stories illustrating the practice of mercy will be drawn from the third century to today.
Registration information and conference schedule will follow soon on the Bridgefolk website.
We hope to see you there!
Peace,
Darrin W. Snyder Belousek
Bridgefolk executive director
“If Any Become Followers” – Living the Disarmed Life
We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine
no. 12
by Weldon D. Nisly
Preached at Seattle Mennonite Church
on March 16, 2003
(the week before Nisly left to join a Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq)
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Romans 4: 13-25; Mark 8:31-38
Something is wrong
I don’t usually begin with a story, but today I cannot resist. A young pastor was nervously preparing for his first Sunday worship with his new congregation. He checked and double-checked everything to make sure every detail was in place. As worship began, he went to the pulpit for the call to worship. Wouldn’t you know it? The microphone wouldn’t work. He began to panic and said, “Something is wrong with this microphone.” And the people responded, “And also with you.”
Sisters and brothers, something is wrong – terribly wrong in our world. There are those who think something is wrong with us or with me. Why would anyone go to Iraq today?
The Apostle Paul unequivocally told the early Christians that they were called to be “fools for Christ’s sake” and that the wisdom of God exposed the foolishness of the world. “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).
To cut through the illusion and see what is wrong, we must as always be rooted in Scripture. We must be biblical people — holding the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other hand. Together, as faithfully as we know how, we live a disarmed life in a world that best knows an armed life. That’s how foolish Christ and the cross are to the world. Continue reading ““If Any Become Followers” – Living the Disarmed Life”
Remembering Ivan J. Kauffman, Bridgefolk co-founder
Bridgefolk co-founder Ivan J. Kauffman died on July 15 in Philadelphia, surrounded by family, after suffering a massive stroke 11 days earlier. A funeral mass for Ivan was held on Monday morning, July 27 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Philadelphia, PA. A memorial service was also held in Goshen, Indiana, on Sunday, August 2, at College Mennonite Church. The family requested that memorial donations be made to Catholic Relief Services (crs.org) or Mennonite Central Committee (mcc.org).
Two other Bridgefolk co-founders shared their tributes to Ivan at the recent Bridgefolk conference: