Collegeville, MN (Bridgefolk) – For the ninth consecutive year a voluntary group of North American Mennonites and Catholics will meet for three days this summer for conversations about the faith which unites them—and the issues which divide them.  The Benedictine community at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville MN will host the gathering, as it has six previous conferences.

Called the Bridgefolk conferences, these annual gatherings seek to build bridges between these two long-estranged Christian communities.  This summer’s conference will be held on July 22-25.  It is open to the public.

This year’s topic is the practice of footwashing, which has emerged in previous conferences as a common practice which both groups have traditionally shared, and which participants in the Bridgefolk movement have found they can share despite the divisions which still exist between their two communities.

This summer’s conference will be the first in a series focusing on the common spiritual practices which sustain both Catholic and Mennonite life.

The 2010 Bridgefolk Conference is subtitled “Practices for our Life Together in Christ.”  It will explore issues such as service, hospitality and non-violence. Speakers will include scholars, pastors and laypersons from both Mennonite and Catholic traditions offering theological, academic and personal reflections on the practice of footwashing and its role in discipleship and Christian formation. Continue reading “Press release: 2010 Bridgefolk conference explores footwashing” →