After the first ten years of the annual conferences of Bridgefolk, the board realized that we could not resolve the question of eucharistic intercommunion. There were simply too many ecclesial and liturgical differences.
As a result, the board charged Professor Mary Schertz and Abbot John Klassen with the task of creating a liturgical frame for footwashing. As is well known, in John’s Gospel, chapter 13, where we would expect to find an account of Jesus handing on the Eucharist to his disciples, instead he washes their feet.
Mary and John created a full liturgy: a formal opening with the sign of the cross, a formal liturgical greeting (from Saint Paul), a specially crafted opening prayer, followed by a Liturgy of the Word (first reading, responsorial psalm, Gospel, and homily). The also composed a major prayer modeled after a eucharistic prayer which includes an institution account, an epiclesis, and anamnesis. After this prayer follows the invitation to the sacrament of footwashing. The rite concludes with a sign of peace, intercessions, a concluding prayer, and an invitation to an agape meal.
We created an agape meal with formal prayers and scripture that echoes eucharistic language from the early Christian centuries (Didache, chapters 9 and 10). The liturgy opens to a simple meal shared by all participants. We surround these rites with a variety of hymns and chants from both Mennonite and Catholic traditions. We also created a menu of possible scripture readings that could be used in different situations.
We have found that this foot washing-agape rite has served us well as a body because we have freedom to choose preachers and presiders, men or women, from either tradition. The celebration of this rite has become the highpoint of our conferences each year because it embodies our unity in the mission of Jesus Christ.
This experience of taking an existing rite and shaping it for our specific purposes brought us to a fundamental insight for the work of mutual exchange. In formal ecumenical dialogues, there tends to be little formal prayer and liturgical experience because usually those very elements are contested and adequate ecumenical agreement does not yet exist to practice them. As Bridgefolk, we found it essential to create and shape some existing liturgical experiences to help us celebrate our being together.
- Leader’s guide for Bridgefolk footwashing and agape meal.
- Sample worship guide for Bridgefolk footwashing and agape meal (copyrighted material obscured).
- “Why Footwashing: Biblical Teaching and Liturgical Practices” by Dr. Mary H. Schertz, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary
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