January 22,
2003
Dear
Bridgefolk,
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This letter of invitation to the
second Bridgefolk gathering at Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota,
July 17-20, 2003, is being sent to all who participated in last year's meeting,
to those who were invited to that gathering but were not able to take part, and
to those who heard about our gathering and asked to be included in the
invitation to the 2003 event. The
Bridgefolk Steering Committee (Ivan Kauffman, John Klassen, O.S.B., Marlene
Kropf, Regina Wilson, Sheri Hostetler, Weldon Nisly, Gerald Schlabach, and
William Skudlarek, O.S.B.) met at Saint John's November 8-10. Lois Kauffman and Stan Kropf were also
present with us and contributed significantly to our meeting. Among our tasks
were crafting a mission statement and initiating planning for the 2003
gathering.
We agreed that while further
refinement is possible, the statement appearing on our website (Bridgefolk.net)
captures the overall sense and spirit of what our movement is about:
Bridgefolk is a movement of Mennonites and Roman Catholics who are
indebted to, interested in, or exploring one another's traditions. Some of us search for better ways to embody
a commitment to both traditions. All
share a vision for making Anabaptist/ Mennonite practices of discipleship,
peaceableness and lay participation more accessible to Roman Catholics, while
sustaining those practices by reconnecting them to their spiritual, liturgical
and sacramental roots in the Catholic tradition.
The theme of
our 2003 summer gathering is
Spiritual Practices for Violent Times:
Catholics and Mennonites Bridging the
Divide.
During our time together we will
listen to three presenters telling the stories of
1.
How Saint
John's Abbey responded to the violence of sexual abuse
2.
How to live
as peacemakers in the midst of oppression, war, and violence
3.
How to live
as peacemakers amid the violence of consumerism
Following each story we will engage
in small group conversation to discern the spiritual practices that are
embedded in the story and the tradition from which it comes, the way in which
these practices invite and sustain a peaceable Christian response to violence,
and the benefits these practices offer us and our churches.
During our time together we will
also take part in common worship (for example, a foot washing service, an agape
meal, hymn singing) and group spiritual practice. We will also consider together the wide range of spiritual
practices that support peacemaking.
There will be ample time for visiting and enjoying the lakes and woods
of the Saint John's campus.
You may wish to forward this letter
of invitation and attached registration form to someone you think would be
interested in participating in this conference. If you do so, however, please indicate that since we have decided
on an upper limit of 100 participants, we may not be able to accept all those
who apply. The earlier the
registration, the more likely the possibility of being accepted.
If you plan to attend this summer's
gathering, please print out the attached registration form, complete it, and
send it in with your $25.00 registration fee.
If you wish, full payment may accompany your registration.
As this letter of invitation goes
out, the threat of war against Iraq looms ever larger. While we fervently hope and pray that
violence will be averted, it is possible that this summer's gathering will take
place during a time of armed conflict initiated by our country. We trust that
our continuing commitment to dialogue and Christian growth may increase our
understanding of how to foster within our communities the spiritual practices
needed to initiate and sustain the blessing of peace in violent times.
Yours in
Christ,
William
Skudlarek, O.S.B. (on behalf of the Steering Committee)
PS: There are
flights from Minneapolis to St. Cloud.
If you fly Northwest, the fare is very reasonable.