Category: Discussions

Mennonite Catholics and Catholic Mennonites, part two: bearing pain for the good of the church

The following interview was first published on the blog of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, “On Our Minds.” To see the original post go to http://collegevilleinstitute.org/blog/mennonite-catholics-catholic-mennonites-part-two.

By Janel Kragt Bakker, Collegeville Institute

Mennonite Catholics and Catholic Mennonites: Bearing Pain for the Good of the Church

In Part One of our interview with Gerald Schlabach, Ivan Kauffman, and Weldon Nisly, all of whom are leaders in Bridgefolk (the North American Mennonite-Catholic dialogue), we discussed the origins of contemporary Mennonite-Catholic exchange as well as the gifts the two traditions offer to each other. Though sources of attraction between the Catholic and Mennonite traditions vary, Schlabach, Kauffman, and Nisly identified Mennonite strengths in service and lay participation, and Catholic strengths in sacramental life. Participants in Mennonite-Catholic dialogue are often united by their shared commitment to peace and justice as well as their desire to build understanding and a sense of common purpose across the two traditions. In Part Two of the interview, we discuss how those involved in Mennonite-Catholic dialogue navigate painful divisions and cultural trends hostile to community and tradition.

Continue reading “Mennonite Catholics and Catholic Mennonites, part two: bearing pain for the good of the church” →

Mennonite Catholics and Catholic Mennonites: bridging, not splitting, the difference

The following interview was first published on the blog of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, “On Our Minds.” To see the original post go to http://collegevilleinstitute.org/blog/mennonite-catholics-catholic-mennonites-bridging-splitting-difference.

By Janel Kragt Bakker, Collegeville Institute

Mennonite Catholics and Catholic Mennonites: Bridging, not Splitting, the Difference

In one sense, Stearns County, Minnesota is no hub for Mennonite Christians. Heavily German and Catholic, with a smattering of Lutherans, evangelicals, and Somali Muslims, the county is home to nary a Mennonite congregation or Anabaptist community to speak of. But in another sense, because of what has been happening at the Collegeville Institute and Saint John’s Abbey, Stearns County has become a Mennonite landmark. Bridgefolk, the North American Mennonite-Catholic dialogue, meets regularly at Saint John’s Abbey, and the Collegeville Institute has attracted a number of Mennonite scholars and workshop participants over the years. Terms like “Mennonite Catholic” and “Catholic Mennonite” are commonly spoken on our campuses. In conjunction with a recent Bridgefolk gathering, we prompted a conversation among several leaders of the Mennonite-Catholic dialogue—each of whom has been affiliated with the Collegeville Institute and somehow claims the dual identity of Mennonite and Catholic.

Continue reading “Mennonite Catholics and Catholic Mennonites: bridging, not splitting, the difference” →

Article explores hospitality in worship

Bridgefolk participant Heather Grennan Gary explored hospitality and worship in a recently published article in U.S. Catholic. Heather shares with the following introduction for the article:

The hospitality I’ve encountered within a Mennonite context has been a special and surprising gift. I wrote the following article in part to uphold it as an example worth emulating especially within Catholic parishes, where there’s frequently a need to step up the level of hospitality toward visitors, newcomers, regular attendees, and longtime members alike.

While this article necessarily focuses on the inhospitable feeling I experienced at a specific parish, it’s certainly not just about this parish—nearly every parish community I’ve visited or attended over the years has room for improvement. And while I chose not to mention the denomination of the hospitable church for the purposes of this article, I hope Bridgefolk recognize it as Mennonite.

Read the article here.

Visit us on Facebook to discuss questions from the author.

Tell us your “Bridgefolk moments”

Bridgefolk Conference planners are working to prepare for this summer’s conference.  As we set the schedule and discern the shape of our gathering, we want to hear from you.  At each conference, there are special moments of grace – some carefully prepared and others spontaneous – that shape us individually and as a community.  We want to remember those stories as we plan this summer’s conference.

That means it’s time for a bit of nostalgia: What are your Bridgefolk moments?  What are the memories that stay with you from year to year?  Share your responses in the comment section.

Discussion: Movements and Institutions

During our most recent conference, frequent conversations focused on how we relate to our larger church institutions. Do we take on the role of prophet, calling institutions to new ways of thinking?  Or do we work within the systems in place to make small but meaningful steps in reconciliation?  Can we do both?

A recent post, found at the Interchurch Relations page of the Mennonite Church USA offers some reflection:

Movements and institutions need each other.

This summer and early fall I met people who are part of movement Christianity.

In August I attended a Jesus Radicals gathering hosted at Portland (Ore.) Mennonite Church.

In September I attended a gathering of community networkers convened by Reba Place Fellowship in Evanston, Ill., a Mennonite Church USA congregation, to discuss how to support newer discipleship communities.

Later I flew to Southern California and participated in a west coast Catholic Worker retreat. These Catholics live together in houses of hospitality, emphasizing the importance of Christian peace witness.

I also spent time with Urban Village, an intentional community birthed out of a Sunday school class at Pasadena (Calif.) Mennonite Church.

At the Abundant Table Farm Project in Oxnard, Calif., I was inspired by the integration of work, church and life as an organic farm, intentional community and worshiping community all use the same land.

In each case these groups are alternative communities interacting with the institutional church in a variety of ways.

After these visits I landed in Pittsburgh for MC USA’s Leaders Forum, a gathering of conference representatives, agency board members and denominational staff. I was there in my staff role with MC USA, feeling the tensions of working within the institutional church while also being in relationship with movements on the margins. I thought of how different we look today from the “leaders forum” that met in a barn, secretly, to draft the Schleitheim Confession in 1527.

Given our Anabaptist origins, I wondered, how are our institutions accountable to movements at the margins? Have we given increasing power to institutions while limiting movements in our midst? How have movements, at times, refused to engage with institutional structures?

Have we become either cynical about institutions or dismissive of movements? What could it look like for there to be mutual accountability between movements and institutions, recognizing that institutions often carry disproportionate amounts of power?

Let’s be open to the Spirit’s creativity and wisdom, wherever it is found.

Joanna Shenk, of Elkhart, Ind., is associate for interchurch relations and communications with Mennonite Church USA.

While written from a specifically Mennonite perspective, this post has some things to say about the broader issues at work here.  As we continue to discern and move forward in this second decade of Bridgefolk, what are your thoughts?