An Anabaptist liturgy of hours

book review by Doris Murphy

St. Bridget’s Parish, River Falls, Wisconsin

Boers, Arthur Paul, Barb Nelson Gingerich, Eleanor Kreider, and Mary H. Schertz, eds. Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer Book. Co-published with the Institute of Mennonite Studies. Scottdale, Pa.; Waterloo, Ont.: Herald Press, 2005. 226 pp. ISBN: 0-8361-9334-2. Price: $10.00; in Canada $12.00.

for more information and to order go to
http://www.ambs.edu/prayerbook or
http://www.mph.org/hp/books/takeourmoments.htm

Lionel Blue wrote: “To know another religion you have to experience it, taste it, join in its prayers.” Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer Book gave me an opportunity during Lent to experience, taste, and join in the prayer of the Anabaptist communities. This prayer book is guided by the peace, goodness, truth, and beauty reflected by that community and by the Spirit that is God. No matter one’s denominational affiliation, it is a call to prayer that can truly make anyone feel at home. Continue reading “An Anabaptist liturgy of hours” →

Pentecostal leader at WCC welcomes closer ties with other Christian traditions

When I sent out a Brief earlier this week on Cardinal Kasper’s address to the WCC Assembly, what had caught my eye was his identification of Pentecostalism as a new challenge to ecumenical dialogue, given the vast complexity of the movement and the difficulty knowing with whom to talk. The relevance of that to Bridgefolk may not be obvious, but some scholars consider the 16th century Anabaptist movement to be the forerunner not only of groups like the Mennonites, but also to the 20th century Pentecostal movement.* One of our hopes for Bridgefolk is that it might contribute in some way to the wider ecumenical movement by developing a model of grassroots dialogue appropriate to churches like these in the so-called Free Church tradition.

Now comes a news release reporting on a speech by Ghanaian Pentecostal leader Dr. Michael Ntumy, welcoming closer ties not only between Pentecostals and WCC churches, but also with the Roman Catholic Church. Also reported is an analysis of developments in Latin America.

Gerald Schlabach

Bridgefolk Executive Director
info@bridgefolk.net
www.bridgefolk.net

*For more on these connections see the presentation I made at our first Bridgefolk conference in 2002, on “Globalization and ‘Catholicity-from-Below'” at http://www.bridgefolk.net/conferences/past/2002bridgefolk/schlabach/

World Council of Churches – News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

For immediate release – 20/02/2006

EVANGELICAL AND PENTECOSTAL VOICES HEARD AT ASSEMBLY

More articles and free photos at
www.wcc-assembly.info
Evangelical and Pentecostal participants in the World Council of Churches 9th Assembly have welcomed better relationships with WCC churches and called for greater co-operation in the future.

Speaking to journalists on Monday February 20 were three leading evangelical figures. Rev. Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director and CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), said that the WEA “parallel network” of 400m Christians identified with many of the WCC’s themes, such as work on HIV/AIDS, violence and poverty. Continue reading “Pentecostal leader at WCC welcomes closer ties with other Christian traditions” →

Bridgefolk participant Marilyn Stahl, peace church representative at WCC

Expect a few more Bridgefolk “Briefs” this week, as we continue noting of news of interest coming out of the WCC Assembly in Brazil. This article features Bridgefolk participant Marilyn Stahl of Seattle Mennonite Church, as well as German Mennonite ecumenist Fernando Enns, a friend of Bridgefolk.

Historic Peace Churches offer a unique voice for nonviolence

by Walt Wiltschek (*)

Marilyn Stahl has noticed recently that people have a growing interest in her church. “People hear I’m Mennonite, and they say, ‘I wish our church was a peace church’,” said Stahl, who has come to the 9th Assembly of the WCC from the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University in the United States. Continue reading “Bridgefolk participant Marilyn Stahl, peace church representative at WCC” →

Cardinal Kasper addresses WCC assembly

Addressing the World Council of Churches assembly currently meeting in Brazil, Cardinal Walter Kasper reiterated the Catholic Church’s commitment to ecumenism. Here is the WCC’s news release.

World Council of Churches – News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

For immediate release – 16/02/2006

CARDINAL KASPER: ROMAN CATHOLICS COMMITTED TO ECUMENISM

More articles and free photos at
www.wcc-assembly.info
The president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has stressed the “irreversible” commitment of the Roman Catholic Church to ecumenism.
Continue reading “Cardinal Kasper addresses WCC assembly” →

Wise counsel on “bridging” many divides

The latest cover story in Sojourners magazine caught my eye for an obvious reason — it is about “bridging.” No, it is not about Mennonite-Catholic or even Catholic-Protestant bridging. It is about left-right, blue-state-red-state bridging. Those divides are quite familiar within both the Mennonite and the Catholic Church, however. And the article offers some wise counsel for any Christian in any kind of bridging ministry. So here are the opening paragraphs, and a link to the entire article for those who are interested in reading on. — Gerald Schlabach Continue reading “Wise counsel on “bridging” many divides” →

MWC magazine on Mennonite-Catholic dialogue

The fourth quarter issue of the Mennonite World Conference Courier is now available online. The issue includes a major feature “Toward the Healing of Memories” that interviews delegates to the international dialogue between Mennonites and Catholics, along with an eloquent and historic sermon by MWC Executive Secretary Larry Miller on the importance of relating to other Christian communions.

English: http://www.mwc-cmm.org/Courier/2004/2004Courier4.pdf
Spanish: http://www.mwc-cmm.org/Correo/2004/2004Correo4.pdf
French: http://www.mwc-cmm.org/Courrier/2004/2004Courrier4.pdf

Common threads: Mennonites in dialogue with the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome

by Marilyn Stahl and Dirk Giseburt

In early May, several Mennonites from the United States paused in the 16^th century Church of Sant’Egidio in Rome. In the 1970s, after many years as an adjunct to a Carmelite convent, the church became the gathering place of the new Community of Sant’Egidio, a loosely organized group of young people who had come together in prayer and in dedication to service to the poor. With simple, white walls, the church is in the form of a cross. The altar on the left side is piled with Bibles in all the languages of countries where the Community has active membership. The altar on the right is decorated with a multitude of crosses made by craftspersons in many countries. The altar in front bears a very old Russian icon of Christ that had been found at the church.

“We pray here, between Holy Scripture and the poor, facing Jesus,” explained Claudio Betti, a Sant’Egidio member. When Sant’Egidio was founded in 1968, this twin devotion to the Bible and the poor had set the Community apart in Rome. But today, with 40,000 members worldwide, the Community has the support of Church leaders and has become a widely respected advocate both for the poor and for peace.

The tour continued: In the former convent dining room, Sant’Egidio members once acted as mediators between the factions in a civil war in Mozambique that had taken several hundred thousand lives. The negotiations lasted over two years but finally resulted in a peace agreement, signed in the dining room in 1992. The Community has several times been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as a result.

Sant’Egidio had invited American Mennonites to visit their community in Rome after making contact through the Mennonite-Catholic Bridgefolk conversations in the U.S. Continue reading “Common threads: Mennonites in dialogue with the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome” →

Introducing Regina Wilson, New Steering Committee Member

As far as I know, I had never met a Mennonite until August 1990 when my husband Jeff Nixa and I were blessed to meet Gerald and Joetta Schlabach at Notre Dame. Aside from the pleasure and blessing of meeting Gerald and Joetta, no fireworks occurred from this meeting. In fact, I only learned a little bit about the Mennonite Church at that point. Gerald and I were in a class together at Notre Dame and our paths occasionally crossed at various ND theology functions along the way. Little did I expect what would unfold in Jeff’s and my life in subsequent years. In fact, in some ways this is more Jeff’s story than mine, but I was definitely along for the ride.

Jeff and I are what is known as cradle Catholics. Catholicism is what I know. I basically eat, sleep and breathe it, and, though I am unhappy about some aspects of the Catholic Church, it’s family. Jeff, on the other hand, came to a point where the sins of the Catholic Church far outweighed the grace for him, and he decided to take a break from Catholicism. Gerald and Joetta had invited us several times to worship at Kern Road Mennonite Church here in South Bend. Due to my responsibilities as a pastoral associate, it is difficult for me to get away on a Sunday. Jeff, however, decided to give it a go and went one Sunday to Kern for worship. One Sunday led to another worshipping at Kern Road. Of course, he would give me glowing reports about community life, women preaching, the singing, and the commitment to justice. Of course, I was jealous. Before long that first worship experience had led to five years with Kern Road for Jeff.

During this time, we both met many other Mennonite folks and developed friendships along the way. I also grew more impatient with the division between not only the Mennonite and Catholic Churches but between all Christian Churches. As my associations with Mennonites grew and deepened and as we occasionally shared worship, I grew more uncomfortable and embarrassed by the division we were “celebrating” (in a sense) at Sunday worship. Sharing the pain of this division has sharpened my desire to be part of the work for unity.

Our girls were both baptized in the Catholic Church. As time passed and they grew older, issues about which church to raise them in became more pressing for us. Eventually, Jeff decided to return to the Catholic Church but, of course, neither one of us has been the same since. Meeting Gerald and Joetta on a balmy August day in Indiana was the beginning of an experience that has deeply formed my ministry in the Catholic Church and has been life changing for our family.

Serving on the steering committee for Bridgefolk is a way for me to continue to share in the blessings and gifts of the Mennonite Church as well as to engage in the work for Christian unity.

— Regina Wilson