Category: News

Report from Mennonite – Catholic Dialogue now available

“Called Together to Be Peacemakers,” the final report of the international dialogue that occurred from 1998-2003 between representatives of the Mennonite World Conference and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Church Unity, was released in February.  Thanks to the gracious help of the MWC office in Strasburg, France, we have been able to make the report available on the web.  You will find a link to the document at http://www.bridgefolk.net/theology/dialogue.

The release of any such document would be a major event in Mennonite – Catholic relations, but the document makes major substantive contributions on many points.  Chapter 1 endeavors to narrate the history that separated Mennonites from Catholics in a way that both can accept.  Chapter 2 takes up three key theological concerns: the nature of the church, understandings of sacraments/ordinances, and the call to peacemaking.  Chapter 3 closes with confessions of past sin that invite Mennonites and Catholics to move forward through a “healing of memories.”

While reading and reflecting on the document, begin thinking about how you might use it to encourage local dialogues between Mennonites and Catholics in your own setting.

Mennonite-Catholic International Dialogue Report Going to Churches

NEWS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference

For Immediate Release
April 7, 2004

At first thought, a small group of Mennonites and a Vatican delegation seem to be unlikely conversation partners. But maybe not. Five-plus years after they first met for a formal Dialogue, seven representatives from Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and seven from the Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity have issued a Report of their conversations. Its title hints at the intention of the meetings, as well as their tone–“Called Together to Be Peacemakers.”

But the conversations and the Report are only one part of the process for MWC. Another part is just beginning. Mennonite World Conference is forwarding copies of the Report to all of its member churches for their “study and reaction.” The English document has been translated into French; a Spanish translation is underway.

“On the MWC side, we are now entering a broadening stage in the process,” explained MWC Executive Secretary Larry Miller, who was one of the participants in the conversations. “This Report is not a kind of Encyclical handed down from the MWC office. Instead, it is intended to be reviewed and explored by Mennonites and Brethren in Christ around the world–from the point of view of their own contexts and convictions.” Continue reading “Mennonite-Catholic International Dialogue Report Going to Churches” →

Mennonites and Catholics Gather at Bridgefolk Conference to Discern Spiritual Practices for Violent Times

by Melanie Zuercher

Collegeville, Minn.(BRIDGEFOLK)-History may show that Mennonites and Catholics have had little to say to each other for the past 500 years. But not all members of these two groups see it that way today.

When Mennonites and Catholics sit down together, the Catholics bring a long and rich tradition of liturgy and strong institutions. Mennonites bring a distinctive practice of four-part a capella singing and a historic peace witness.

Bridgefolk, a grassroots group of Catholics and Mennonites, convened July 17-20 at St. John’s Abbey (Benedictine) to examine these and other “Spiritual Practices for Violent Times.” It was the second “Catholic-Mennonite peace dialogue” at St. John’s in two years, and the group expects to meet there annually through at least 2006. Continue reading “Mennonites and Catholics Gather at Bridgefolk Conference to Discern Spiritual Practices for Violent Times” →

Anabaptist Martyrs Studied at Joint Mennonite-Catholic Conference

by Marilyn Stahl

Collegeville, Minn.- Mennonite and Catholic scholars gathered to begin a joint historical study of the sixteenth-century Anabaptist martyrs in mid-July at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn. Many of the martyrs were condemned to death by Catholic civil and church authorities.

Abbot John Klassen of St. John’s began his welcoming remarks by citing the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu in describing the work of South Africa’s Commission for Truth and Reconciliation: “For forgiveness to occur, the past must be reconstructed and acknowledged.” To achieve a real accommodation between Mennonites and Catholics, said the Abbott, “an analogous process is utterly essential.”

The conference was the first time that Catholics have publicly confronted these historical incidents, and the first time that Mennonites have reexamined this aspect of their foundational history in an ecumenical setting. Continue reading “Anabaptist Martyrs Studied at Joint Mennonite-Catholic Conference” →

Speakers urge creative use of arts in worship

by Ann Graham Price

STURGIS, Mich. (MC USA) —

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,
in the beauty of holiness, in the beauty of holiness.
Oh, glory hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,
O come before his presence and glorify his name.
(No. 124, Hymnal:  A Worship Book)

Art is so beautifully open that worshipers can put themselves into an artistic work — a dance, poem or drama, for example — and the Holy Spirit can honor each individual response to it, Sally Morgenthaler told her audience the weekend of April 25 for the annual “Art of Worship” program at Amigo Centre.

Yet a long-standing suspicion of incorporating the creative arts in worship is deeply rooted in some aspects of Anabaptist traditions, said Marlene Kropf, director of the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board Office of Congregational Life. She is also associate professor of spiritual development and worship at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart. Continue reading “Speakers urge creative use of arts in worship” →

An update from Bridgefolk in the Newton, KS area

It was good to return home from the July meeting at St. John’s and have other “bridgefolk” to meet with for debriefing, reflecting, and brainstorming options for bridge-building work right here in our own community.

Like many of you we have individually tried to find ways to communicate our experience to friends, family, and members of our churches and parishes. Gordon Houser certainly has the widest reach as an editor of The Mennonite, and some of you may have read the article he wrote on the Bridgefolk gathering.

We have made a couple of attempts to do some of this sharing as a group. Several of us shared at New Creation Mennonite Fellowship here in Newton as part of a Sunday morning worship service. Gordon also called us together to help lead a chapel service at the Mennonite Church USA offices in town.  Our reflections on the July gathering and our need as Mennonites to help create stronger relationships with our Catholic sisters and brothers seemed to be well received.

More recently, C. Arnold Snyder (another Bridgefolk participant) came to Newton and offered the Menno Simons Lectures at Bethel College (Nov. 3-5). Myrna Krehbiel learned that Arnold is a gifted jazz pianist and set up a special evening concert at Peace Connections in Newton where she serves as the director.  It was a fun night of connecting with others through music. Thank you Arnold for the many gifts you shared with us!  (Why didn’t we hear you tickle the ivories this summer??  Maybe next time!)

Our current national and international environment is, of course, causing us to reflect in some new ways on what it means to be disciples and Christian peacebuilders in our world today.  A number of recent actions and activities in the Newton community have allowed us to build bridges with people of many stripes who are working for peace.

The July 2002 Bridgefolk gathering was a meaningful event for each one of us, and we will continue to seek ways to keep the spirit of hospitality, peace, and understanding we encountered there alive and moving here on the Kansas prairies.  Blessings to all of the bridgefolk out there!  May God’s fierce love and enduring peace move in this beautiful and unsettled world.

(Bridgefolk 2002 participants from Newton were Gordon Houser, Myrna & Randy Krehbiel, Don & Corinne Kehrberg, and Eric Massanari):

 

Catholic and Mennonite scholars announce joint project to study Anabaptist martyrs, 2003

A group of prominent Mennonite and Catholic scholars will gather this summer at St. Johns Abbey to begin a joint historical study of the sixteenth-century Anabaptist martyrs, many of them condemned to death by the Inquisition.

It will be the first time Catholics have publicly confronted these incidents, and the first time that Mennonites have engaged in historical study of the martyrs in an ecumenical setting.

Entitled “The Anabaptist Martyr in an Ecumenical Context” the conference is an outgrowth of the international Mennonite Catholic dialogue that has been taking place for the past five years under the auspices of the Mennonite World Conference and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.  Continue reading “Catholic and Mennonite scholars announce joint project to study Anabaptist martyrs, 2003” →