Bridgefolk is a 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.
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA– Representatives of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the Mennonite World Conference held the first of several theological conversations June 28 to July 1, 2011 at the world headquarters of the 17 million-member Seventh-day Adventist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. Continue reading “Mennonites begin ecumenical dialogue with Seventh-Day Adventists”→
Bridgefolk co-founder Ivan Kauffman speaks during discussion following panel on common worship. Panel members, left to right: Stanley Kropf (moderator), Mary Schertz and Alice Noe.
Akron, Pennsylvania (BRIDGEFOLK) – “The Holy Spirit works in and through human failure, not around it,” Mennonite biblical scholar Mary Schertz told Catholics and Mennonites gathered at the headquarters of Mennonite Central Committee August 4-7 for the 2011 conference of Bridgefolk, a grassroots movement for dialogue and unity between Mennonites and Roman Catholics.
Peter was in a position to deny Jesus only because he was trying to be faithful to his promise, Schertz explained. He risked his life to follow Jesus into the courtyard near where he stood trial. “God worked the birth of the church out of human failure,” noted the Bridgefolk board member and professor of New Testament at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. “Failure will always be present in the life of the church, but it doesn’t have to have the last word. So too with Bridgefolk. God has been at work through our failure.”
Schertz’s insight helped conference participants name the mix of joy and pain that they continue to share as Bridgefolk enters its second decade as a movement. “This was Bridgefolk’s tenth annual conference,” Bridgefolk co-founder Weldon Nisly commented later, “and I think we have matured. We feel the pain of church disunity as acutely as ever. But holding that pain together has also led to a deep trust and mutual love. We are clearer than ever that it is only ours to live in hope, not to ‘fix’ the church’s disunity. Yet we find ourselves celebrating the fruit that God has brought from our failure.” Continue reading “Bridgefolk celebrates the fruit God brings through human failure”→
In the lead-up to Bridgefolk’s recent conference, the Vatican’s daily newspaper published a short article on Bridgefolk, and Vatican Radio followed up with a summary:
Click here for L’Observatore Romano August 10 article, then go to page 6.
We have just received news of the death of Doris Murphy, a Bridgefolk friend who contributed enthusiastically to some of our early conferences. Her obituary follows.
Doris Helen Murphy, age 74, of Ellsworth, Wis., passed away at home on Aug. 11 after a short illness.
She was cared for in her final weeks by her family.
Doris was born on Feb. 7, 1937, in Big River, to the late Edward Bernard Murphy and Edna Anna (Schommer) Murphy.
She was a member of the Benedictine Religious Community until 1987. She earned a degree in education from Viterbo College, a master’s degree in music history with a concentration in liturgical music from The Catholic University of America, and a master’s degree in theology from St. John’s University School of Theology. Continue reading “Death of Doris Murphy”→
Bridgefolk brings 2 churches together for dialog, worship
Dorothy Harnish
Dorothy Harnish is one of the local organizers for this year’s Bridgefolk conference in Akron, Pennsylvania. A local paper in Lancaster did the following feature story on her:
WATERLOO, Ont. and SCOTTDALE, Pa. (Herald Press)— When he was a young adult, Arthur Boers’ 17 year-old sister died of leukemia. Torn by grief and unable to understand how God could allow such a terrible thing, he found himself unable to pray.
“At times I had nothing to say to God or did not know how to voice my prayers,” says Boers, author of the new Herald Press book Day by Day These Things We Pray: Uncovering Ancient Rhythms of Prayer.
“Sometimes I could think of things that I wanted to tell God, but was not sure whether they were legitimate or blasphemous,” he says. “So I clamped my mouth and my mind shut when thoughts turned toward God.”
Then a friend introduced him to the practice of using a prayer book for daily prayers.
“I was comforted because that volume gave me words to pray,” he says. “It helped me voice laments and also encouraged me to put my situation into a wider context. Slowly I learned to pray again.”
Pope: God’s Love Is Cure for Ills of Society
Offers Reflection on “Yoke” of Christ
VATICAN CITY, JULY 3, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The answer to the many situations of injustice, poverty and suffering around the world lies in the love of God, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this today in a reflection on the “yoke” of Christ, which he delivered before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“In today’s Gospel,” the Holy Father began, “the Lord Jesus repeats to us those words we know well, but which always move us: ‘Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.'” Continue reading “Benedict XVI calls for simple lifestyles, nonviolence”→
The final message of the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, held in Jamaica in May, closes by highlighting the witness of historic peace churches, and insisting that all churches can teach peace to the powerful:
History, especially in the witness of the historic peace churches, reminds us of the fact that violence is contrary to the will of God and can never resolve conflicts. It is for this reason that we are moving beyond the doctrine of just war towards a commitment to Just Peace. It requires moving from exclusive concepts of national security to safety for all. This includes a day-to-day responsibility to prevent, that is, to avoid violence at its root. Many practical aspects of the concept of Just Peace require discussion, discernment and elaboration. We continue to struggle with how innocent people can be protected from injustice, war and violence. In this light, we struggle with the concept of the “responsibility to protect” and its possible misuse. We urgently request that the WCC and related bodies further clarify their positions regarding this policy.
We advocate total nuclear disarmament and control of the proliferation of small arms.
We as churches are in a position to teach nonviolence to the powerful, if only we dare. For we are followers of one who came as a helpless infant, died on the Cross, told us to lay aside our swords, taught us to love our enemies and was resurrected from the dead.
The schedule for the 2011 Bridgefolk Conference has been finalized. Please click here to view the 2011 Conference page, or click here to directly access the updated schedule.
Doris Helen Murphy, age 74, of Ellsworth, Wis., passed away at home on Aug. 11 after a short illness.
