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.
Having forwarded a few press releases from the WCC Assembly that were of most interest to Bridgefolk, it seems appropriate to pass on a final summary report.
Gerald Schlabach
Bridgefolk Executive Director
info@bridgefolk.net
www.bridgefolk.net Continue reading “Summary report from WCC Assembly”
World Council of Churches – Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release – 22/11/2005
A TRIED AND TRUE EXPRESSION OF PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION, THE JOINT WORKING GROUP BETWEEN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE WCC SET TO TACKLE NEW CHALLENGES
Becoming a “trusted partner” for one another “has been perhaps the most enduring achievement of the past four decades” of collaboration between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC), and this continued cooperation “must be considered one of the significant achievements of the modern ecumenical movement”. Continue reading “Roman Catholic Church & World Council of Churches recommit to dialogue and collaboration”
On Tuesday, August 23, funeral services will be held for Brother Roger of Taizé. At the age of 90, he was attacked with a knife by a woman, most probably mentally disturbed, in the midst of community prayer in the Church of Reconciliation at Taizé, France. He died shortly afterward.
The son of a Swiss Reformed pastor, at age 25 he left his native Switzerland and came bicycling into the tiny, poor hamlet of Taizé in France, seeking a place where he could quietly devote himself to a life of prayer and contemplation. A peasant woman, keeper of the keys to the run-down house and property which Roger Schutz had come to look at, begged him to buy the house and stay. Later on, when asked, “Why Taizé?” Roger Schutz was to say: “I chose Taizé because the woman was poor. Christ speaks through the poor, and it’s good to listen to them. Anyone who begins with the poorest of the poor is not likely to go wrong.” Continue reading “A Tribute to Brother Roger of Taizé”
For Immediate Release
July 8, 2005
LUTHERAN-MENNONITE INTERNATIONAL STUDY COMMISSION BEGINS WORK ON CONDEMNATIONS OF ANABAPTISTS
Strasbourg, France – The first meeting of the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission took place at the Institute for Ecumenical Research here June 27 to July 1. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) sponsor this Study Commission.
The mandate of the commission is to consider the condemnations of Anabaptists in Lutheran confessional writings and their applicability to the teaching of Anabaptists/Mennonites today.
The commission heard major papers by Lutheran Prof. Dr. Gottfried Seebass, Heidelberg, Germany, and Mennonite Prof. Dr. John Roth, Goshen, Indiana, (USA) on “The Condemnations of Anabaptists in the Augsburg Confession and the Book of Concord: Their Historical Meaning, Purpose and Effect.”
Through its deliberations the commission became more deeply sensitive to the lasting memory of the suffering of Anabaptists at the time of the Reformation as a result of persecution by civil authorities in Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed areas. For Mennonites, the condemnations in Lutheran confessions have played a role in this regard. The commission is also aware that Christians of all confessions were victims of persecution in that period. Reflection on this matter raises serious questions concerning the theological rationale for pursuing religious and social goals by violent means, including torture and killing. Continue reading “Update on Lutheran Mennonite Dialogue”
The following news release concerns an ecumenical dialogue between Mennonites and Lutherans that in many ways parallels the dialogue between the Mennonite World Conference and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Church Unity. Many of you will find it of interest.
NEWS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference
For Immediate Release
June 20, 2005
MENNONITES AND LUTHERANS WEIGH
16TH CENTURY ANABAPTIST CONDEMNATIONS
Strasbourg, France – Does the condemnation of Anabaptists spelled out in the
1530 Augsburg Confession apply to Mennonite World Conference member and
related churches today?
Mennonite and Lutheran scholars, theologians and historians will offer their
perspectives on this question at the first international MWC and Lutheran
World Federation Study Commission to be held at the Ecumenical Institute
here June 27 – July 1.
Planning for the international commission began in 2004 and will build on
national dialogues that have already been held between Mennonites and
Lutherans in France, Germany and the United States over several years. Those
discussions touched on similarities and differences between the faith groups
around issues such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper and relations between
church and state. But they also dealt with the Augsburg Confession and its
condemnation of Anabaptists, which is still foundational in Lutheran liturgy
and theology worldwide.
What connections exist between the Augsburg Confession’s condemnation of
Anabaptists and their execution in Lutheran lands in the 16th century? Does
the confession perpetuate mistaken images of Anabaptists and justify the
violence against them? What consequences emerge for relationships between
today’s Mennonites and Lutherans?
Questions such as these were raised in national dialogues. The commission
will consider whether conclusions reached there on these and other questions
can be received internationally.
The Study Commission’s primary work in Strasbourg will be on the Augsburg
Confession and its impact on today’s MWC and related churches. The
commission’s conclusions will be reported to the governing bodies of MWC and
the LWF for further action and possible official statements. Planners
anticipate three annual international dialogues.
Co-chairing the commission will be Rev. Rainer Burkhart, Mennonite church
leader in Germany, and Dr. Gottfried Seebass, Lutheran theologian, also
from Germany. Co-secretaries for the commission are Dr. Larry Miller from
Strasbourg, MWC executive secretary, and Rev. Sven Oppegaard from Geneva,
LWF Associate General Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs.
Study Commission members include participants from each of the previous
national dialogues. Other Mennonites among them are Dr. Claude Baecher,
theologian and professor from France; and Dr. John Roth, church history
professor from Goshen College (USA). New to Lutheran/Mennonite discussion is
Hellen Bradburn, a Mennonite theologian from Arusha, Tanzania, an area that
has approximately three million Lutherans.
—
Ferne Burkhardt, News Editor
Mennonite World Conference
NEWS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference
For Immediate Release
June 14, 2005
Fernando Enns lectures in Canada address
‘A peace church in conversation’
Waterloo, Ont. (Canada) — “Our insights do not only belong to ourselves,
but are our gifts to the whole church.” This was Dr. Fernando Enns’
challenge to Anabaptist/Mennonites in his March 16 address at Conrad Grebel
University College here. The evening lecture, entitled “The Peace Church:
Dialogue and Diversity in the Ecumenical Movement,” was part of the fifth
annual Bechtel Lectures in Anabaptist/Mennonite Studies. Continue reading “German Mennonite theologian Fernando Enns lectures on the role of peace churches in ecumenical movement”
Mennonite Church USA
News Release:
NEWTON, Kan. (MC USA) — Believing that Christ wants the church to be one is
one thing. But it’s quite another to believe that working for the common
cause of Christ with other faith traditions is good for Mennonite Church
USA.
Andre Gingerich Stoner, pastor of missions at Kern Road Mennonite Church in
South Bend, Ind., knows the difference — and he’s made the leap. What’s
more, he’s inviting his Anabaptist faith family to work with other faith
traditions to build up Christ’s body and to sharpen their own expression of
God’s reign in the world.
In his new role as director of interchurch relations for Mennonite Church
USA, Andre coordinates efforts on behalf of Executive Leadership. In a
one-eighth time-position, he helps Mennonite Church USA to enter into
relationship and conversation with other Christian denominations. Continue reading “Mennonite Church USA names new director of
interchurch relations”
The following conference announcement may be of interest to some Bridgefolk participants.
————————————————————–
Collaborative Ministries
April 18-21, 2005 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – Sheraton Cavalier Hotel
The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism in Saskatoon is planning the conference, with a team consisting of Mennonite, United Church, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic members. We are building on the strength of two highly successful national shared ministry events (Winnipeg 1993 and Edmonton 2002) and also on annual “ecumenical institutes”, the most recent one held in May 2004 in Winnipeg, which have been held across the prairies for the past several years, attracting participants from a wider number of denominations who are interested in learning about and promoting ecumenical sharing in their congregations and regions. Continue reading “Mennonite ecumenical conference”
PRESS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference
August 12, 2004
COLLEGEVILLE, Minnesota — Mennonite and Catholic historians and theologians continued the study of 16th-century religious martyrdom that began last year. Discussions at Saint John’s Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Minnesota, July 26-28, included plans to form an ecumenical institute for on-going scholarly research on this topic.
The conference was entitled, “Sixteenth century martyrdom in ecumenical perspective.” Ivan Kauffman, a Washington, D.C.-based writer and one of the conference organizers, provided this framework: “The church today stands between a past marred by extensive violence and a future committed to peacemaking. We must somehow connect our historical past to our very different future.”
Sixteenth-century martyrdom became a topic of ecumenical discussion when, in 1998, the Mennonite World Conference entered into a five-year dialogue with the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Two major contributors to the international dialogue, Drew Christiansen, S.J., and Helmut Harder, spoke at this year’s martyrs conference.