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.”
Schertz was speaking as part of a panel on “common worship,” one of nine practices that Bridgefolk leaders believe are crucial in the formation Christians as active peacemakers. Over a course of three years, Bridgefolk conferences are exploring these practices, along with the shared rite of footwashing. The practices of hospitality, forgiveness and common worship were the themes of this year’s conference.
For Bridgefolk participants, the topic of common worship inevitably raises painful reminders that full communion at the table of Eucharist or Lord’s Supper is not currently possible. Bridgefolk leaders have struggled for years to discern how to respect the theologies and policies of their respective churches, while responding pastorally to the desire of Bridgefolk participants to celebrate their shared sense of Christian community as fully as possible.
“Out of desperation, we turned to footwashing,” noted Ivan Kauffman, another of Bridgefolk’s co-founders. Bridgefolk conferences have included a footwashing service followed by an agape meal from the beginning.
Over time, Bridgefolk came to experience footwashing as its shared “sacrament,” and board members crafted a Liturgy of Footwashing, which they have now used for a second year.
Serving as part of a conference listening committee, church historian Alan Kreider affirmed the Bridgefolk footwashing liturgy as an example not only of “failure” bearing fruit, but of how Bridgefolk is finding that “one plus one is greater than two.” Echoing Schertz, Kreider noted that Bridgefolk has come to a practice and understanding of footwashing that is deeper than either tradition had previously known:
“In footwashing, we no longer have something Mennonite or something Catholic; we have something Christian! In microcosm we have the church united. When we rediscover hidden treasure in John 13, where Jesus commands his unwilling disciples to wash each other’s feet, we may be taking a big step forward on the long journey of fulfilling John 17, in which Jesus prays that we may be one.”
Bridgefolk continues struggling with the pain of “division at the table,” however. Julia Smucker, another listening committee member, noted wryly that “We do not shy away from agonizing; instead we embrace it, saying, ‘Here’s where our most painful division is, so let’s dedicate three hours to it!’ This seems counterintuitive, but it also seemed natural in the context of Bridgefolk.”
Smucker was referring to the Saturday afternoon session in which participants engaged in an extended “World Café” process of conversation. As part of the process, Bridgefolk co-chairs Marlene Kropf and Abbot John Klassen began by comparing the official positions of their two churches regarding intercommunion. Later Bridgefolk Executive Director Gerald Schlabach and his wife Joetta Handrich Schlabach shared their experiences struggling with the issue as an interchurch couple.
The session closed with discussion of a proposal from Canadian ecumenical theologian Margaret O’Gara. O’Gara, reported on a “Double Eucharist” in which she participated at the conclusion of the Catholic-Lutheran international dialogue and asked whether Bridgefolk should try something similar. “This would reflect our unity – real but incomplete,” she noted. “It would emphasize our equality as traditions in this dialogue. It would not solve everything, but it would be both honest and edgy.” The group strongly affirmed moving in this direction in coming years.
As the conference closed, a number of participants commented on Bridgefolk’s own practice of hospitality. For many returning participants, the conference has the quality of a family reunion, noted Matthew Rissler. Yet first-time participants noted how quickly they too felt themselves “becoming Bridgefolk,” and a number of participants noted the intergenerational quality of the group as a younger generation joins with older returnees.
Bridgefolk Co-chair Marlene Kropf agrees: “Each year my commitment to this group is revived at our annual gathering – sisters, monks, priests, university and seminary faculty, pastors, lay leaders in both churches, and ordinary folk who long for the unity of the church. What was especially visible this year was the presence of a number of gifted young adults who are passionate about ecumenism – surely an encouraging sign for the future.”
The 2011 Bridgefolk conference also enjoyed an unusual number of significant guests. Larry Miller and César García, outgoing and incoming general secretary of Mennonite World Conference, attended a couple of sessions. Arli Klassen, executive director of Mennonite Central Committee, was present for several sessions and made a presentation.
Also attending was Monsignor John Radano, who served for many years on the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Radano gave a presentation on “The spiritual foundations of ecumenism” and also led an affinity group on interreligious dialogue, focusing especially on the numerous dialogues that the Roman Catholic Church has initiated.
Informal guests of honor at the conference, however, were Margaret Pfeil and Biff Weidman of South Bend, Indiana. Having celebrated their wedding the previous weekend, Pfeil and Weidman are the first Catholic/Mennonite couple to meet through Bridgefolk.
Bridgefolk’s next conference will take place in Minnesota on July 26-29, 2012, and will explore the practices of service, engagement with scripture, and church community.
Photos available from the 2011 Bridgefolk conference are available at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10150281106806600. To request high-resolution photos, write to info@bridgefolk.net.