Nigerian EMU graduate building peace

Nigerian grad has had huge impact on peace in West Africa

Gopar Tapkida (left) is transitioning from his role as Mennonite Central Committee’s regional peace advisor for West and Central Africa to jointly serving with his wife Monica (right), a former teacher, as MCC’s country representatives for Zimbabwe. Tapkida, a former pastor who holds an MA in conflict transformation from EMU, has seen his seeds of peace take root and grow well despite adverse conditions in Nigeria and the surrounding region. (Photos by Bonnie Price Lofton)

After decades spent establishing a network of Muslim and Christian peacebuilders in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, Gopar Tapkida says he is ready to leave his home country for the challenge of doing leadership and peace work in Zimbabwe, one of the poorest countries in Africa.

Tapkida, who earned a master’s in conflict transformation from Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in 2001, has seen Nigeria move from having virtually no leading citizens committed to peacebuilding to having a network of Muslim and Christian peace practitioners who monitor their neighborhoods and faith communities for signs of budding violence and who intervene to head it off. Continue reading “Nigerian EMU graduate building peace” →

Sharing Peace: Mennonites and Catholics in Conversation now available

Papers from our 2007 conference at the University of Notre Dame on the Mennonite-Catholic dialogue report “Called Together to be Peacemakers” have now been published. Edited by Gerald Schlabach and Margaret Pfeil, Sharing Peace: Mennonites and Catholics in Conversation, is available directly from Liturgical Press or other booksellers. Copies will also be available at the upcoming Bridgefolk conference in Ontario.

Sharing Peace brings together leading Mennonite and Catholic theologians and ecclesial leaders to reflect on the recent, first-ever international dialogue between the Mennonite World Conference and the Vatican. The search for a shared reading of history, theology of the church and its sacraments or ordinances, and understandings of Christ’s call to be peacemakers are its most prominent themes. Continue reading “Sharing Peace: Mennonites and Catholics in Conversation now available” →

John Dear describes his experience at a Catholic Worker house in California, quotes Mennonite volunteer

In a two-part series on National Catholic Reporter, John Dear, SJ writes about his current experience as a short-term volunteer at Kelly Avenue Catholic Worker house in Half Moon Bay, California.

In part one (available in full here), Dear quotes Mennonite volunteer Katerina Friesen as she explains what motivates her involvement there:

I came to the Catholic Worker because, as a follower of Jesus, I wanted to learn how to live a different way of life…. The Catholic Worker tradition of resisting war and serving the poor made sense to me, and it’s turned out to be a really liberating experience. Now, when I see a homeless person, I feel free to talk with him or her, to ask what they need rather than walking past or feeling afraid. And I used to be bound by anxiety about my life, but now I see how my needs are taken care of even as I help care for other people’s needs. Continue reading “John Dear describes his experience at a Catholic Worker house in California, quotes Mennonite volunteer” →

Catholics, Lutherans jointly to mark Reformation anniversary

(Reuters) – Senior Roman Catholic and Lutheran officials announced on Monday they would mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 as a shared event rather than highlight the clash that split Western Christianity.

The Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) presented a report in Geneva admitting both were guilty of harming Christian unity in the past and describing a growing consensus between the two churches in recent decades.

The 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, the doctrinal challenge that launched the Protestant Reformation, will be the first centenary celebration in the age of ecumenism, globalization and the secularization of Western societies.

“The awareness is dawning on Lutherans and Catholics that the struggle of the 16th century is over,” the report said. “The reasons for mutually condemning each other’s faith have fallen by the wayside.”

They now agree belief in Jesus unites them despite lingering differences, it said, and inspires them to cooperate more closely to proclaim the Gospel in increasingly pluralistic societies.

“This is a very important step in a healing process which we all need and we are all praying for,” LWF General Secretary Martin Junge said at the report’s presentation in Geneva.

“The division of the church is something we cannot celebrate but we can see what is positive and try to find ways towards the future together,” said Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Vatican’s department to promote Christian unity. Continue reading “Catholics, Lutherans jointly to mark Reformation anniversary” →

Pope Francis preaches on loving our enemies

Preaching on the lectionary readings for June 18, 2013, Pope Francis proclaimed “the hard lesson of loving our enemies” to those gathered for daily Mass in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta (text courtesy of Vatican Radio):

“We too often we become enemies of others: we do not wish them well. And Jesus tells us to love our enemies! And this is not easy! It is not easy … we even think that Jesus is asking too much of us! We leave this to the cloistered nuns, who are holy, we leave this for some holy soul, but this is not right for everyday life. But it must be right! Jesus says: ‘No, we must do this! Because otherwise you will be like the tax collectors, like pagans. Not Christians.'” Continue reading “Pope Francis preaches on loving our enemies” →

Amen to it all: my first Holy Communion and then what happened

by John Kotre

My first Holy Communion was white. It was back in 1948 and the girls wore little bridal outfits and the boys white shirts and pants. The priest was vested in white and a white cloth covered the communion rail. The bread I received was itself white–a thin, almost transparent wafer. I let it dissolve on my tongue. “You don’t chew Jesus,” Sister Girard had told us. It was her way of saying “transubstantiation.”

I didn’t chew Jesus but I don’t remember talking to him either. My face was buried in my hands, and I was imagining what a softening host looked like in my mouth, far from my teeth. Sister Girard said that communion poured sanctifying grace into our souls, and for years I pictured that grace as milk. After each communion I checked my milk-bottle soul and saw that the level of grace had risen. It must have gone down between communions because I was never able to top off the tank.

In my teens the milk bottle gave way to abstract thinking. Now I could absorb concepts like transubstantiation, and so I did during six years as a Jesuit seminarian. Continue reading “Amen to it all: my first Holy Communion and then what happened” →

News release on 2013 Bridgefolk conference

2013 Bridgefolk conference to focus on reconciliation
News release
June 6, 2013

Collegeville, MN (Bridgefolk) – Bridgefolk, the Mennonite-Catholic ecumenical organization, will hold its 12^th annual conference July 25-28 at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The conference theme, “Reconciliation: A Way to Peace,” is one of a series focusing on key spiritual practices that unite both Mennonites and Roman Catholics. Continue reading “News release on 2013 Bridgefolk conference” →

Register now for Bridgefolk 2013 conference!

Bridgefolk 2013 online registration is now open! Under the theme “Reconciliation: A Way to Peace,” Bridgefolk is holding its 12^th annual conference July 25-28 at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The conference will feature John Rempel (Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre) and Christian McConnell (St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto) as keynote speakers. Conference sessions will include times of worship, instruction, reflection, and fellowship (including agape meal, hymn sing, and ice cream social!). As a grassroots movement of Catholics and Mennonites “proceeding through friendship,” Bridgefolk welcomes all those interested to join us. Day registration options are available for Friday and Saturday. Child care will be provided on request. For registration, schedule, and travel information, go to http://www.bridgefolk.net/conferences/bridgefolk-2013.

Catholic bishop and Mennonite Central Committee partner wins U.N. prize for peace work in South Sudan

Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban, a long-term friend of Mennonite Central Committee, recently won a U.N. award for peace work he did in South Sudan. (Photo courtesy of Håvard Kleppa, the Oslo Center)

AKRON, Pa. (MCC) – The peacebuilding efforts of Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban, a longstanding friend of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), were recognized at a March 1 ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Catholic bishop from South Sudan won the United Nations 2013 Sergio Vieira de Mello Peace Prize for his work with the Holy Trinity Peace Village in Kuron, where he helped to build peace and trust among people in conflict over cattle rustling. Continue reading “Catholic bishop and Mennonite Central Committee partner wins U.N. prize for peace work in South Sudan” →