Tag: Conferences

Bridgefolk celebrates the fruit God brings through human failure

News release on 2011 Bridgefolk conference

By Gerald W. Schlabach

Bridgefolk co-founder Ivan Kauffman speaks during discussion following panel on common worship. Panel members, left to right: Stanley Kropf (moderator), Mary Schertz and Alice Noe.

Akron, Pennsylvania (BRIDGEFOLK) – “The Holy Spirit works in and through human failure, not around it,” Mennonite biblical scholar Mary Schertz told Catholics and Mennonites gathered at the headquarters of Mennonite Central Committee August 4-7 for the 2011 conference of Bridgefolk, a grassroots movement for dialogue and unity between Mennonites and Roman Catholics.

Peter was in a position to deny Jesus only because he was trying to be faithful to his promise, Schertz explained.  He risked his life to follow Jesus into the courtyard near where he stood trial.  “God worked the birth of the church out of human failure,” noted the Bridgefolk board member and professor of New Testament at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary.  “Failure will always be present in the life of the church, but it doesn’t have to have the last word.  So too with Bridgefolk.  God has been at work through our failure.”

Schertz’s insight helped conference participants name the mix of joy and pain that they continue to share as Bridgefolk enters its second decade as a movement.  “This was Bridgefolk’s tenth annual conference,” Bridgefolk co-founder Weldon Nisly commented later, “and I think we have matured.  We feel the pain of church disunity as acutely as ever.  But holding that pain together has also led to a deep trust and mutual love.  We are clearer than ever that it is only ours to live in hope, not to ‘fix’ the church’s disunity.   Yet we find ourselves celebrating the fruit that God has brought from our failure.” Continue reading “Bridgefolk celebrates the fruit God brings through human failure” →

Woman’s journey from Mennonite to Catholic is a two-way street

Bridgefolk brings 2 churches together for dialog, worship

Dorothy Harnish

Dorothy Harnish is one of the local organizers for this year’s Bridgefolk conference in Akron, Pennsylvania.  A local paper in Lancaster did the following feature story on her:

By JOAN KERN
Correspondent
Lancaster Intelligencer-Journal / New Era

Dorothy Harnish was a cradle Mennonite. And a teen Mennonite and a young adult Mennonite and a middle-aged Mennonite.

But now she’s a senior citizen Catholic, a member of Lancaster’s St. Leo the Great Catholic Church.

Harnish, 69, of Landisville, will gather with about 75 other Catholics and Mennonites at the 11th annual Bridgefolk Conference, Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 7. Continue reading “Woman’s journey from Mennonite to Catholic is a two-way street” →

Bridgefolk 2011 to explore hospitality, forgiveness, common worship

News release

MCC Welcoming Place
MCC Welcoming Place

Akron, PA (Bridgefolk) – Mennonites and Catholics will join together this summer in prayer and friendship at the tenth annual Bridgefolk summer conference.  Entitled “Practices for our Life Together in Christ,” the 2011 summer conference will take place August 4-7 in Akron, Pennsylvania, and focus on the practices of hospitality, forgiveness, and common worship.

This summer’s conference will be the second in a series of summer conferences focusing on nine “key practices” of Bridgefolk. Over the course of three years, Bridgefolk conferences are exploring spiritual practices that sustain the active Christian lives of both Catholics and Mennonites. Mennonite Central Committee’s Welcoming Place will host the gathering. Continue reading “Bridgefolk 2011 to explore hospitality, forgiveness, common worship” →

Summer conference update

Bridgefolk Conference 2011

Mark your calendars for this summer’s conference: August 4-7 at the MCC Welcoming Place in Akron, PA. Conference planners have been meeting to finalize details and registration and conference information will be made available in April.

This summer’s conference, second in a series of three, will continue to explore “key practices” that we share as Mennonite and Catholic Christians.  Our gathering this summer will provide an opportunity to explore the practices of hospitality, forgiveness and common worship.

The conference, in the beautiful retreat setting of the Welcoming Place, will provide ample opportunity for personal reflection, sharing in small groups and corporate worship.

Watch the Bridgefolk website 2011 conference page for more information in coming weeks.

Tell us your “Bridgefolk moments”

Bridgefolk Conference planners are working to prepare for this summer’s conference.  As we set the schedule and discern the shape of our gathering, we want to hear from you.  At each conference, there are special moments of grace – some carefully prepared and others spontaneous – that shape us individually and as a community.  We want to remember those stories as we plan this summer’s conference.

That means it’s time for a bit of nostalgia: What are your Bridgefolk moments?  What are the memories that stay with you from year to year?  Share your responses in the comment section.