Reconciliation recounted at regional ELCA gathering

SOUTH BEND, Indiana (Mennonite Church USA) — Events in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2010 brought Lutherans and Mennonites to tears and embraces in northern Indiana this month.

More than 20 Mennonites participated in a choir that led participants in hymns on June 11 during the closing worship at the annual assembly of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Leslie French, Indiana-Kentucky Synod Communicator)
More than 20 Mennonites participated in a choir that led participants in hymns on June 11 during the closing worship at the annual assembly of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Leslie French, Indiana-Kentucky Synod Communicator)

During the June 9–11 annual assembly of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in South Bend, Indiana, more than 500 synod members and 25 local Mennonites heard the story of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation that happened between Lutherans and Mennonites at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) assembly in 2010, regarding the historic persecution of Anabaptists by Lutherans.

“The drama and significance of this 30-year process of reconciliation moved the audience,” said André Gingerich Stoner, director of interchurch relations for Mennonite Church USA, who shared the story along with Kathryn Johnson, director of ecumenical and inter-religious relations for the ELCA, during a presentation to the assembly on Saturday morning, June 11. Continue reading “Reconciliation recounted at regional ELCA gathering” →

Mennonite Catholic Theological Colloquium to discuss intercessorary prayer, October 1 at Notre Dame

Mennonite Catholic Theological Colloquium:
Intercessory Prayer

October 1, 2016
University of Notre Dame
Geddes Hall Auditorium
8:30 am to 5 pm

This daylong symposium will feature scholars from the Mennonite and Catholic traditions engaging in discussion of the historical context and contemporary liturgical practices around intercessory prayer. Formal presentations will lay the groundwork for informed engagement among participants, with the goal of advancing ecumenical dialogue through rigorous theological exploration.

Invited Speakers:

  • Marlene Kropf, Emerita, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary
  • John Cavadini, University of Notre Dame
  • Kim Belcher, University of Notre Dame
  • Karl Koop, Canadian Mennonite University

There is no charge for participation. Refreshments will be provided, and participants will take meals on their own.

Click here for flyer PDF.

Questions? Please contact Margie Pfeil at mpfeil1@nd.edu.

This event is sponsored by:

Bridgefolk co-founder joins Vatican conference rejecting just war

by Hannah Heinzekehr
The Mennonite

A variety of peace symbols from around the world at the prayer table at the Nonviolence and Just Peace conference, April 2016. Photo provided by Pax Christi International.
A variety of peace symbols from around the world at the prayer table at the Nonviolence and Just Peace conference, April 2016. Photo provided by Pax Christi International.

In a landmark move, attendees at a Vatican conference have released a statement rejecting Just War theory and calling on Pope Francis to consider writing an encyclical letter or teaching document rejecting the use of violence. The April 11-13 conference was co-hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the international Catholic peace organization Pax Christi and drew over 80 participants from 35 countries.

The final statement says: “We live in a time of tremendous suffering, widespread trauma and fear linked to militarization, economic injustice, climate change and a myriad of other specific forms of violence. In this context of normalized and systemic violence, those of us who stand in the Christian tradition are called to recognize the centrality of active nonviolence to the vision and message of Jesus, to the life and practice of the Catholic Church and to our long-term vocation of healing and reconciling both people and the planet.”

The statement calls on the Catholic Church to develop a “new framework that is consistent with gospel nonviolence.” Continue reading “Bridgefolk co-founder joins Vatican conference rejecting just war” →

Vatican-hosted conference reassesses just-war theory

Challenging tradition, Catholics critique a principle that has justified war more often than prevented it

by Tim Huber
Mennonite World Review

A first-of-its-kind conference April 11-13 in Rome gathered Catholic educators and activists around the idea of moving beyond just-war theory to a greater emphasis on proactive peacemaking and Jesus’ life.

Pax Christi International secretary general Greet Vanaerschot and PCI co-president Marie Dennis speak with Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, at an April 11-13 conference on nonviolence and just peace in Rome. — Gerry Lee/Maryknoll
Pax Christi International secretary general Greet Vanaerschot and PCI co-president Marie Dennis speak with Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, at an April 11-13 conference on nonviolence and just peace in Rome. — Gerry Lee/Maryknoll

“Nonviolence and Just Peace: Contributing to the Catholic Understanding of and Commitment to Nonviolence” was coordinated by the global Catholic peace network Pax Christi International and hosted by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

“The significance of this meeting is not that it said something that’s a great leap from what popes have been saying,” said Gerald Schla­bach, a Mennonite who entered into communion with the Catholic church in 2004 and participated in the meeting as an invited guest. “The significance is that peace activists are now having the conversation with the pontifical council.” Continue reading “Vatican-hosted conference reassesses just-war theory” →

Bridgefolk co-founder Gerald Schlabach to participate in Vatican conference on nonviolence and just peace

The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and Pax Christi International will convene an international conference on Nonviolence and Just Peace: Contributing to the Catholic Understanding of and Commitment to Nonviolence, to be held in Rome, Italy, 11-13 April, 2016.

In recognition of the Year of Mercy declared by the Pope Francis, this carefully planned Catholic conference on nonviolence and just peace will take place in Rome. Invited participants will represent a broad spectrum of Church experiences in peacebuilding and creative nonviolence in the face of violence and war. Among the participants will be Bridgefolk co-founder and long-time co-director Gerald Schlabach of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

The conference seeks to initiate a conversation about Catholic teaching on war and peace, including explicit rejection of “just war” language in favor of an alternative ethical framework for engaging acute conflict and atrocities by developing the themes and practices of nonviolent conflict transformation and just peace. It will develop clearer Scripture-based Catholic teaching and an action plan to promote such teachings in seminaries, Catholic educational institutions, Catholic media, Catholic dioceses and parishes.

  • For more about the goals of the conference click here.
  • For a National Catholic Reporter article previewing the conference click here. 

Major new resource documents Mennonite ecumenical dialogue

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Click here to order from publisher.

Ecumenical dialogue is not an end in itself. It serves as an indispensable instrument to overcome the divisive, mutual misinterpretations of the past. Ecumenical encounters pave the way toward healing painful memories and lead to a deeper understanding of the church’s given unity, thus becoming a more credible witness of that truth.

Edited by Fernando Enns and Jonathan Seiling, Mennonites in Dialogue is a collection of all conversation texts involving Mennonites on international and national levels, covering forty years of encounters with Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed, Baptists, and Seventh-Day Adventists, among others. The texts illustrate growth in agreement as well as identify the remaining convictions that still divide. Continue reading “Major new resource documents Mennonite ecumenical dialogue” →

Bridgefolk announces 2016 conference

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Dear Friends of Bridgefolk,

I am pleased to announce the upcoming Bridgefolk conference for 2016!

Theme: “‘I Desire Mercy:’ Practicing the Works of Mercy”

Speakers: Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, and Dawn Ruth Nelson

Location: St. Benedict’s Monastery and College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN

Dates: July 28-31

Description: Inspired in part by Pope Francis’ Year (Jubilee) of Mercy, this conference will explore how we joyfully receive mercy from God and how we practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Stories illustrating the practice of mercy will be drawn from the third century to today.

Registration information and conference schedule will follow soon on the Bridgefolk website.

We hope to see you there!
Peace,

Darrin W. Snyder Belousek
Bridgefolk executive director

“If Any Become Followers” – Living the Disarmed Life

We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine
no. 12

Eichenberg's Lord's Supper (small)by Weldon D. Nisly
Preached at Seattle Mennonite Church
on March 16, 2003
(the week before Nisly left to join a Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq) 

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Romans 4: 13-25; Mark 8:31-38

 

Something is wrong

I don’t usually begin with a story, but today I cannot resist.  A young pastor was nervously preparing for his first Sunday worship with his new congregation.  He checked and double-checked everything to make sure every detail was in place.  As worship began, he went to the pulpit for the call to worship.  Wouldn’t you know it?  The microphone wouldn’t work.  He began to panic and said, “Something is wrong with this microphone.”  And the people responded, “And also with you.”

Sisters and brothers, something is wrong – terribly wrong in our world.  There are those who think something is wrong with us or with me.  Why would anyone go to Iraq today?

The Apostle Paul unequivocally told the early Christians that they were called to be “fools for Christ’s sake” and that the wisdom of God exposed the foolishness of the world.  “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).

To cut through the illusion and see what is wrong, we must as always be rooted in Scripture.  We must be biblical people — holding the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other hand.  Together, as faithfully as we know how, we live a disarmed life in a world that best knows an armed life.  That’s how foolish Christ and the cross are to the world. Continue reading ““If Any Become Followers” – Living the Disarmed Life” →

Saint Marcellus Day Celebration – October 29th, 2015

From Catholic Peace Fellowship: Saint Marcellus Day 2015

Thursday, October 29th

Supper, Pilgrimage, Address and Prayers

The relics of St. Marcellus are housed in the main altar at Sacred Heart Basilica at Notre Dame and each year around his feast day pilgrims visit those relics to pray and meditate on the current-day meaning of his martyrdom for peace 1,700 years ago. Continue reading “Saint Marcellus Day Celebration – October 29th, 2015” →