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.
Shawn Storer, director of Catholic Peace Fellowship, has issued the following public invitation:
Peace. The Saint Marcellus Day 2013 events that will take place in South Bend and Notre Dame, Indiana on Marcellus’ feast day, Wednesday, October 30th, are as follows: Continue reading “Schedule of events for the celebration of the Feast of Saint Marcellus 2013”
Collegeville, MN (BRIDGEFOLK) — Meeting for the first time in Canada, the 12th annual Bridgefolk conference was held July 25-28 at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario under the theme, “Reconciliation: A Way to Peace.”
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.
Previous conferences have alternated between Catholic and Mennonite locations in the United States. Of the sixty participants gathered for this year’s conference, about thirty-five were Mennonite and twenty-five Catholic. Half the participants were from Canada, with the other half being mainly from the United States in addition to a couple participants from outside of North America.
The conference’s keynote speakers were Christian McConnell, who teaches Liturgical Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto, and John Rempel, director of the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre, both of whom spoke on practices of reconciliation within their respective churches’ traditions. Continue reading “12th annual Bridgefolk conference meets in Waterloo”
By Carol Zimmermann, Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Christian Brother Jeffrey Gros, a leader in the ecumenical movement and former official with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, died Aug. 12 at age 75. For more than a year, he struggled with pancreatic cancer.
For decades, Brother Gros participated in an untold number of dialogues with religious groups, delivered keynote addresses around the world, edited numerous books and wrote hundreds of book reviews. He has been remembered by colleagues for his zealous work in broadening the scope of ecumenism.
An online posting described him as “a public thinker” in theology, ecumenism and catechesis. Continue reading “Catholic News Service on the life and work of Bro. Jeffrey Gros”
Brother Jeffrey Gros, 75, died in Chicago, IL on August 12, 2013. A De La Salle Christian Brother for 58 years, he was born John Jefferson in Memphis, TN, the son of Jeff and Faye (Dickinson) Gros. He graduated from Price College in Amarillo, TX, entered the novitiate of the Brothers in Glencoe, MO, in 1955, and professed his final vows in 1963. He received a BA and a MEd from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.
Brother Jeffrey earned an MA in Theology from Marquette University and a PhD in Theology from Fordham University. During his years as an educator, he taught in Evanston and Romeoville, IL, Glencoe and St. Louis, MO, and Memphis, TN. He was well known in the ecumenical movement for broadening its scope, published widely in theological journals and periodicals, edited numerous books on ecumenism, and spoke to various religious and educational groups throughout the world. Continue reading “Brother Jeffrey Gros, RIP”
Papers from our 2007 conference at the University of Notre Dame on the Mennonite-Catholic dialogue report “Called Together to be Peacemakers” have now been published. Edited by Gerald Schlabach and Margaret Pfeil, Sharing Peace: Mennonites and Catholics in Conversation, is available directly from Liturgical Press or other booksellers. Copies will also be available at the upcoming Bridgefolk conference in Ontario.
Sharing Peace brings together leading Mennonite and Catholic theologians and ecclesial leaders to reflect on the recent, first-ever international dialogue between the Mennonite World Conference and the Vatican. The search for a shared reading of history, theology of the church and its sacraments or ordinances, and understandings of Christ’s call to be peacemakers are its most prominent themes. Continue reading “Sharing Peace: Mennonites and Catholics in Conversation now available”
(Reuters) – Senior Roman Catholic and Lutheran officials announced on Monday they would mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 as a shared event rather than highlight the clash that split Western Christianity.
The Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) presented a report in Geneva admitting both were guilty of harming Christian unity in the past and describing a growing consensus between the two churches in recent decades.
The 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, the doctrinal challenge that launched the Protestant Reformation, will be the first centenary celebration in the age of ecumenism, globalization and the secularization of Western societies.
“The awareness is dawning on Lutherans and Catholics that the struggle of the 16th century is over,” the report said. “The reasons for mutually condemning each other’s faith have fallen by the wayside.”
They now agree belief in Jesus unites them despite lingering differences, it said, and inspires them to cooperate more closely to proclaim the Gospel in increasingly pluralistic societies.
“This is a very important step in a healing process which we all need and we are all praying for,” LWF General Secretary Martin Junge said at the report’s presentation in Geneva.
“The division of the church is something we cannot celebrate but we can see what is positive and try to find ways towards the future together,” said Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Vatican’s department to promote Christian unity. Continue reading “Catholics, Lutherans jointly to mark Reformation anniversary”
The question of whether Pope Francis will emphasize ecumenical dialogue and promote efforts for church unity has already been answered. It is no accident the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, attended Francis’ inauguration mass in St. Peter’s Square. This marked a first since the Great (East-West) Schism that divided the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions in the 11th tentury,. Upon Francis’ election, Bartholomew I, who had friendly relations with John Paul II and Benedict XVI, commented confidently that the new Pope “will give a new impetus to the two Churches’ journey towards unity.”
Giving substance to that expectation, Francis held a special audience the day after his inaugural for delegations from various non-Catholic Christian churches and communities, at which Bartholomew I offered the opening address. In his prepared remarks, Francis recalled the significance of the Second Vatican Council, now marking its fiftieth anniversary, “for the progress of ecumenism.” He quoted John XXIII’s opening address to the Council: “The Catholic Church considers it her duty to work actively for the fulfillment of the great mystery of that unity for which Jesus Christ prayed”—ut unum sint [“that they may all be one,” John 17:21]. Francis then confirmed that “in continuity with my predecessors, it is my firm intention to pursue the path of ecumenical dialogue” and thanked the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which has conducted dialogues with various ecclesial bodies (including Mennonite World Conference), for its work in service of the church.
Personally, I am encouraged by Francis’s election. His message and demeanor evidence the humble spirit of a disciple and the gentle heart of a pastor, which is precisely what the church needs—a shepherd who can lead “the people of God’s pasture” toward one another in love and toward Jesus Christ in faith and hope.
Darrin W. Snyder Belousek is executive director of Bridgefolk.
A significant aspect of the complex office and ministry of the Pope is his ministry of unity. As Bishop of the local Diocese of Rome and in his universal ministry as Pope of the Catholic Church throughout the world, he must foster the unity of Christ’s people in the one apostolic faith and sacramental life. Because of their office, popes have also felt the ecumenical responsibility of fostering the unity of divided Christians in response to Christ’s prayer for the unity of his disciples’ (John 17:21), of promoting interfaith harmony with members of other great world religions, and of fostering good relations and peace among the nations of the world.
Over the last century, especially starting with Pope Leo XIII (+1903), popes have contributed to the unity of Christians in different ways. This is especially true of the popes of Vatican II. John XXIII, after calling for Vatican II in 1958, ensured, before it began in 1962, that the pastoral concern for Christian unity would be part of it. In 1960 he established the Secretariat For Promoting Christian Unity, and in 1961 he approved the invitation to other churches and communities to send delegates to the Council. Pope Paul VI approved the Council’s Decree on Ecumenism, and together with Athenagoras I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, put aside the mutual condemnations of 1054 which led to the schism of East and West. John Paul II published the great papal encyclical on ecumenism Ut Unum Sint, and pushed for the Lutheran-Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. Benedict XVI supported these and many ecumenical activities.
Pope Francis I, in accepting this office with its ministry of unity, stands on the ecumenical shoulders of those Popes. Let us pray for him as he fosters unity.
Rev. Msgr. John A. Radano teaches in the School of Theology at Seton Hall University. Having served in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity at the Vatican for twenty-four years, he now serves on the Bridgefolk board.
March 21, 2013
His Holiness, Pope Francis I
The Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City State
EUROPE
Your Holiness:
On behalf of Mennonite Church USA, we offer heartfelt blessings to you in the new ministry to which you have been called. We are grateful for your choice of a name that reminds us of Francis of Assisi, a follower of Jesus who loved peace, cared for the poor, and cherished creation. We are heartened by your choice to live humbly and simply and by your desire to reach across boundaries to people of faith in many traditions. Most of all, we appreciate your profound commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the years ahead we hope that relationships between Roman Catholics and Mennonites will continue to be strengthened. We commit ourselves to pray for you and for our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers.
May you be blessed with abundant wisdom to guide the church, with strength to persevere even in daunting and difficult times, and with a loving shepherd’s heart as you represent the church in the world. May God grant you a long and joyous ministry!
Yours in Christ,
Richard Thomas, moderator, Mennonite Church USA
Ervin Stutzman, executive director, Mennonite Church USA
cc:
Secretariat of State, the Vatican
Fr. John Crossin, OSFS, USCCB Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs