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”
Tag: Ecumenical news
Bridgefolk celebrates the fruit God brings through human failure
News release on 2011 Bridgefolk conference
By Gerald W. Schlabach
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”
Bridgefolk in the news at the Vatican
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.
- Click here for Vatican Radio report.
Message of International Ecumenical Peace Convocation:
“Churches can teach nonviolence, if we dare”
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.
To read the entire document click here.
For a reflection on the IEPC and its message by Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, click here.
MWC’s Larry Miller to lead Global Christian Forum
Strasbourg, France (MWC)–The Global Christian Forum (GCF) has appointed Larry Miller to become its first full-time Secretary when he completes nearly 22 years as the General Secretary of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC).
The GCF, formed in 1998, is a growing global initiative that seeks to bring leaders of all Christian churches in the world together to foster mutual respect and to address common challenges.
Miller will begin officially with the GCF on January 1, 2012, at the same time that César García, MWC’s next General Secretary, assumes the position after a time of transition. Continue reading “MWC’s Larry Miller to lead Global Christian Forum”
Conference on “just peace” in the Netherlands later in June
An Amsterdam university and a Dutch Mennonite seminary will host a conference on “just peace” later this month. The occasion will also follow up on a recent international convocation on peace in Kingston, Jamaica, and inaugurate the professorship of Mennonite ecumenist Fernando Enns. Continue reading “Conference on “just peace” in the Netherlands later in June”
Canadian Mennonite reports on ecumenical peace convocation
Canadian Mennonite magazine has just published a report on the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation held in May in Jamaica. The article draws on some of the news releases already posted here at Bridgefolk.Net, but also provides a helpful summary. Click here to read.
Peace message closes convocation, but work has only begun
KIngston, Jamaica (WCC) — Participants at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) released a message on Tuesday expressing their unified experience of a week-long exploration of a just peace and to navigate a path forward as they return to their homes and churches across the world.
Attempting to take into account each other’s contexts and histories, IEPC participants were unified in their aspiration that war should become illegal and that peace is central in all religious traditions.
The message states: “With partners of other faiths, we have recognized that peace is a core value in all religions, and the promise of peace extends to all people regardless of their traditions and commitments. Through intensified inter-religious dialogue we seek common ground with all world religions.” Continue reading “Peace message closes convocation, but work has only begun”
Peacemaking can be rooted in theology and mission
Mennonite ecumenist Thomas Finger leads workshop
Kingston, Jamaica (WCC) — Making peace, as an integral part of the life of church mission and witness, has not been as common as one might think.
Rather, the opposite seems to be true, as, throughout history the church has found itself pointing the sharper rather than the blunt edge of the sword, many times using violence in the name of God. Following closely behind has been mission and theology – either justifying it or keeping silent.
Is it possible there is a non-coercive expression of mission and theology that can move the church toward being a peacemaker?
For Rev. Dr Thomas Finger, who is a member the Mennonite church, this was the point of discussion in a workshop at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC), held in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday, 23 May. Continue reading “Peacemaking can be rooted in theology and mission”