Bridgefolk is a movement of sacramentally-minded Mennonites and peace-minded Roman Catholics who come together to celebrate each other's traditions, explore each other's practices, and honor each other's contribution to the mission of Christ's Church.
Bridgefolk participant and former board member Margaret Pfeil will speak on intercessory prayer in Mennonite and Catholic traditions at Seton Hall University on October 19 at 5 p.m. EDT. Her talk will be available virtually. Pfeil is co-editor of the recently published book Intercessory Prayers and the Communion of Saints: Mennonite and Catholic Perspectives, based on a conference and a colloquium organized by Bridgefolk. In the first, many witnesses described the story of Jun Yamada, and the circumstances surrounding the miracle of his healing. The second explored Mennonite and Catholic theological perspectives on the key theological themes which help to interpret what happened, namely intercessory prayer and the communion of saints. For more information and a link to join the event, click here.
Bridgefolk has announced a theme for its 2022 conference, to be held at St. John’s Abbey in Minnesota July 21-24, that will both look back at the movement’s 20 years of dialogue between Mennonites and Catholics, while committing to further work together. “Standing at the Crossroads: Mennonites and Catholics in Dialogue” will continue the ongoing exploration of what it means for Mennonites and Catholics who seek a Just Peace to address issues of racial justice, which it began at its 2018 Conference.
The current crossroads in this work find Mennonites and Catholics engaging with indigenous communities, acknowledging the legacy of injustice and harm done by the historic removal of indigenous communities from traditional homelands by European settlers and the forced attendance of indigenous children at residential schools. That task is all the more urgent and timely in light of Pope Francis’s recent apology to indigenous peoples in Canada for the abuse of church-run boarding schools, debates over whether apologies are enough, and discernment concerning next steps for Christian churches.
“This miracle will be one of the bridges between Roman Catholics and Mennonites in an ecumenical point of view,” said Pope John Paul II in 2003 on the occasion of the canonization of Joseph Freinademetz, S.V.D. He was speaking of the miraculous healing of Jun Yamada, son of a Japanese Mennonite pastor, through the joint intercessions of Catholics and Mennonites united by faith in Jesus and love of God. That miracle, as John Paul predicted, has inspired ongoing ecumenical friendships, dialogues, and engagements between Mennonite and Catholics, leading to this volume. Moved by this healing story, Bridgefolk, a Mennonite-Catholic ecumenical movement in North America, centered its annual conference in 2015 on that story. Following that conference, the Mennonite Catholic Theological Colloquium convened in 2016 to consider the Christian practice of intercessory prayer and doctrine of the communion of saints from the perspectives of both traditions. This volume collects the presentations from those two events, including the personal and theological reflections of Nozomu Yamada, brother of Jun, and Alfonso Fausone, S.V.D., who initiated the intercessions for Jun.
Praise for Intercessory Prayer and the Communion of Saints
“In a culture where the “praying hands” emoji is nearly ubiquitous, this mind-blowing collection—narratives surrounding an amazing healing and carefully articulated theological reflection—is a must read, whether or not we have an established prayer practice. Here we are offered the fruit of decades of Mennonite-Roman Catholic conversation. And although the volume does not directly address this, Intercessory Prayer reminds Euro-American Anabaptist descendants of rich and faithful insights blossoming among siblings in Christ in other cultures.”
—Nancy R. Heisey, Professor at Eastern Mennonite Seminary and Past-President of Mennonite World Conference
“This book constitutes an excellent contribution to what was once thought to be church-dividing and off limits: the communion of Saints and intercessory prayer. While written as part of Mennonite-Catholic dialogue, and not least, stemming from the ecumenical conversations of Bridgefolk, this work is of benefit to all Christians. Clear articulations of both Mennonite and Catholic positions in dialogue add to the value of this book. I highly recommend it.”
—Maxwell E. Johnson, Professor of Theology, The University of Notre Dame
The Board of Bridgefolk is delighted to introduce Joetta Handrich Schlabach as the newly-appointed Executive Director of Bridgefolk. The Board confirmed Joetta’s appointment at their meeting in early March 2022.
Joetta retired in 2018, following eleven years of pastoral ministry at Faith Mennonite Church in Minneapolis, MN. Previously she worked as a program coordinator at the University of Notre Dame, Bluffton (OH) University, and at St. Catherine University (MN), where she completed an MA in Theology and Certificate in Pastoral Ministry.
Together with her husband Gerald Schlabach, Joetta served with Mennonite Central Committee in Nicaragua and Honduras in the 1980s. She is the author of Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook. Since retiring, Joetta and Gerald divide their time between Grand Marais, MI, where she grew up, and Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, where Gerald developed friendships during 20 years of taking students to Guatemala. Joetta also serves as a long-term volunteer with Mennonite Disaster Service.
Joetta has been an active participant in Bridgefolk events since its inception, giving presentations at two of the annual conferences. Her sermon, “Communion and Peace” is included in the Bridgefolk website anthology We Are Each Other’s Bread and Wine.
“We look forward to Joetta’s leadership and contribution to the work and vision of Bridgefolk as we enter the third decade of the organization’s existence,” comments Bridgefolk co-chair Muriel Bechtel. “We hope all Bridgefolk participants will join us in welcoming her to her new role.”
Joetta can be contacted at coordinator@bridgefolk.net.
Franciscan Fr. Daniel P. Horan — the director of the Center for Spirituality and professor of philosophy, religious studies and theology at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana — has reviewed a recent book by Mennonite authors Regina Shands Stoltfus and Tobin Miller Shearer for National Catholic Reporter. Entitled Been in the Struggle: Pursuing an Antiracist Spirituality, the book was recently published by Herald Press. Horan writes:
In the book’s introduction, Stoltzfus and Shearer recount the challenges they faced and resistances they encountered, including from church leadership, which will resonate with the many observations and experiences of those engaged in the work of racial justice in the Catholic Church.
I believe that Been in the Struggle has a lot to offer Catholics seeking resources to address the “soul-sickness” of racism.
Many of the key themes presented in the book — the dynamics of systemic racism, its presence in popular culture, the meaning of whiteness and a culture of white supremacy — will be familiar to readers who have engaged anti-racism resources in other venues. What is distinctive about Stoltzfus and Shearer’s approach is the attentiveness to the spiritual implications for the work of anti-racism.
Catholics and Mennonites need each other. This is the conviction that animates the ecumenical group Bridgefolk, in which Doris Murphy was an enthusiastic participant. On October 4th, Dr. Gerald W. Schlabach will share lessons from Mennonite-Catholic dialogue at the 8th Annual Doris H. Murphy Memorial Lecture at St. Bridget Catholic Church in River Falls, Wisconsin, with online streaming at https://www.youtube.com/saintbridget.* His talk, entitled “Pilgrim People of Peace: Looking for a Map,” will conclude with his vision for how Catholics can heed their call to be peacemakers by being the “pilgrim people” that the Second Vatican Council envisioned. The lecture will begin at 6:00 p.m. CDT.
This lecture series was established in 2014 in memory of Doris H. Murphy (1937-2011), a former Faith Formation Director at St. Bridget Church and a teacher, writer, lecturer, and mentor who had a passion for catechesis, social justice, scripture study, liturgy, the Eucharist, Vatican II, and Environmental Spirituality. In her own words, most of her work was “trying to put together theology and the people of God.” 2021 is the 10th anniversary of Doris’ death.
Because of safety concerns and the sheer uncertainty of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, both here in Minnesota and across the nation, the Bridgefolk board made the decision to POSTPONE the 2020 Bridgefolk summer conference (July 23-26) at Saint Benedict’s Monastery and the College of Saint Benedict.
We are proposing postponing the conference to July of 2021, close to the usual dates for the Bridgefolk conference.
In the meantime, please be safe and proceed through friendship!
Marilyn Stahl Abbot John Klassen
Co-chairs of Bridgefolk
Bridgefolk (committed to ecumenical dialogue and sharing between Mennonites and Roman Catholics) seeks a part-time Coordinator to assist the Board of Directors in guiding the mission and vision of its ecumenical work.
The Coordinator will assist the board co-chairs in planning and preparing for board meetings; attend to requirements for maintaining non-profit status in Minnesota; oversee the finances of the organization with the support of the treasurer; assist the board with fundraising initiatives; assist in the planning of the annual conference; and coordinate with planners of the Mennonite Catholic Theological Colloquium regarding the timing and themes of the colloquia.
The ideal candidate will be conversant with the work of Bridgefolk, energized by issues related to a sacramental life and a commitment to social justice, and able to balance both collaborative and independent effort. The Board welcomes applicants who can volunteer their time as well as those in need of a stipend. Bridgefolk is willing to cover conference fees and travel expenses associated with board functions, plus a negotiable annual stipend of up to $2,000.
The Mennonite Catholic Theological Colloquium, a Bridgefolk project, invites participation in a one-day conference at the University of Notre Dame, 19 October 2019. Presenters will trace the sources and significance of Mennonite-Catholic collaboration in peacebuilding, as well as its future prospects: As both Mennonite and Catholics in the field become more skillful practitioners and more sophisticated social-science researchers, what do they owe to the peace theologies that led to their historic collaboration? And what should be the contribution of theology in the future? Click here for more information.
