Local dialogues continue to emerge

Bridgefolk Briefs took a break last fall, but Mennonite / Catholic dialogue did not!

Three new local dialogue groups have emerged:

  • A group of 20 Mennonites and Catholics have been meeting monthly in Smithville, Ohio to study Called Together to be Peacemakers, the final report of the international dialogue that took place from 1998 to 2003. Because Catholics in the group want to see how Mennonites do service together, the group is also planning a service trip to New Orleans to work together in flood clean-up with Mennonite Disaster Service. Contact person is Norma Duerksen, pastor of Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville.
  • A small Bridgefolk group has now formed in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Initially prompting the group’s formation was the desire of couples in (or considering) Mennonite-Catholic marriages to share their experiences and support one another. Eventually the group hopes to organize larger public events promoting Mennonite-Catholic dialogue. Contact person is Gerald Schlabach, gwschlabach@stthomas.edu.
  • Canadian Mennonite magazine carried a brief report of a new congregationally-based dialogue in Winnipeg. Six people each from Charleswood Mennonite Church and St. Ignatius Catholic Church are meeting to become acquainted and to learn about one another’s statements of faith. The article appeared in the December 18 issue, which will be available online in mid-February at http://www.canadianmennonite.org/pastissues/issues2006.php.

Meanwhile, two other reports on Mennonite-Catholic dialogues have come to our attention:

  • Mennonite and Catholic students at the Toronto School of Theology have been meeting regularly since early 2006. Catholic student Leah Perrault briefly shares her experience in a recent newsletter from the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre, available online at http://grebel.uwaterloo.ca/tmtc/Newsletters/2006fall.pdf.
  • The January issue of livingCity, the North American magazine of the Focolare movement, features an article by Dr. Helmut Harder, co-chair of the international dialogue between Mennonites and Roman Catholics, and organizer of local dialogues in Winnipeg.

The same issue of livingCity also includes an article on the Amish community in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania that suffered the tragic school shootings of five children in early October. The striking witness of forgiveness by the Amish community has prompted reflections in a number of Catholic periodicals. Two prominent examples: