Bridgefolk shares its Mennonite-Catholic rite of footwashing

7 April 2025
Press release

One of the major challenges that ecumenical dialogue between estranged Christian churches always faces is the question of eucharistic intercommunion: Can they share the Lord’s Supper, or Table of the Lord, or Eucharist, as varying traditions call it?

After struggling with this question for nearly ten years, the board of Bridgefolk — the grassroots organization for dialogue between Mennonites and Roman Catholics — decided that they could not resolve it. There were simply too many ecclesial and liturgical differences. They would need to explore a different approach in order to celebrate, liturgically, the measure of unity and communion that Bridgefolk participants were experiencing when they came together.

^{Footwashing service at Bridgefolk 2011.}

As a result, the Bridgefolk board charged Professor Mary Schertz of the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Abbot John Klassen OSB of Saint John’s Abbey with the task of creating a liturgical framework for footwashing. Now, after practicing this rite in its annual conferences for nearly 15 years, Bridgefolk is making it available to all Christians on its webpage, at www.bridgefolk.net/rite-of-footwashing, along with background materials.

As is well known, in John’s Gospel, chapter 13, where one would expect to find an account of Jesus handing on the Eucharist to his disciples, instead he washes their feet in a profound act of service and humility. Since deepening ecumenical relationships involve precisely those commitments, and since John’s Gospel provides a precedent, a rite of footwashing seemed to offer an alternative expression of communion where the sharing of Eucharist is not yet canonically allowed.

In response, Schertz and Klassen created a full liturgy that draws on both Mennonite and Catholic traditions. It includes a formal opening with the sign of the cross, a formal liturgical greeting (from Saint Paul), a specially crafted opening prayer, followed by a Liturgy of the Word (first reading, responsorial psalm, Gospel, and homily). They also composed a major prayer modeled after a eucharistic prayer which includes an institution account, an epiclesis, and anamnesis. After this prayer, the invitation to the sacrament of footwashing follows. The rite concludes with a sign of peace, intercessions, a concluding prayer, and an invitation to an agape meal.

Schertz and Klassen likewise structured an agape meal with formal prayers and scripture that echoes eucharistic language from the early Christian centuries (Didache, chapters 9 and 10). The liturgy opens to a simple meal shared by all participants. A variety of hymns and chants from both Mennonite and Catholic traditions can surround these elements, and a menu of possible scripture readings is available for different situations.

“Bridgefolk has found that this foot washing-agape rite has served us well as a body,” notes Klassen, “because we have freedom to choose preachers and presiders, men or women, from either tradition. The celebration of this rite has become the high point of our conferences each year because it embodies our unity in the mission of Jesus Christ.”

Klassen also notes that the experience of taking an existing rite and shaping it for Bridgefolk’s specific purposes has brought the group to a fundamental insight about the work of mutual exchange. “In formal ecumenical dialogues, there tends to be little formal prayer and liturgical experience because usually those very elements are contested, and adequate ecumenical agreement does not yet exist to practice them. As Bridgefolk, we found it essential to create and shape some existing liturgical experiences to help us celebrate our being together.”

What does the 500th anniversary of the start of the Anabaptist movement mean for the unity of the church?

Jeremy Bergen
for Salt+Light Media
25 March 2025

_{Woodcut of 16th-century Anabaptist leader and eventual martyr Dirk Willems halting his escape from prison to rescue the guard pursuing him. From Wikimedia Commons.}

In this recently-published article, Dr. Jeremy M. Bergen of Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo introduces the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement for Canadian Catholics and reflects on its significance for other Christians.

Just over 500 years ago, on January 21, 1525, several adults gathered in a home in Zurich. After prayer and discussion, former Catholic priest George Blaurock asked one of the men present, a university student named Conrad Grebel, to baptize him. After Grebel did so, Blaurock proceeded to baptize the others gathered there. This group had initially been keen on Ulrich Zwingli’s religious reforms in the city, but were frustrated by its slow pace and the role of the secular authorities in implementing change. The emerging movement of dissenters believed that baptism was exclusively for (adult) believers. They placed an emphasis on a life of discipleship as following the teachings and example of Jesus, and the local congregation as a voluntary community of committed believers who interpret the Bible together. They believed in the separation of church and “state,” and the rejection of the sword. A movement with these commitments emerged in Switzerland, South Germany, and the Netherlands.

This ritual act in 1525 marked the beginning of the Anabaptist movement. …

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Registration for Bridgefolk 2025 now open!

Anabaptism at 500:
Ecumenical Dialogue in an Age of Polarization
First Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
July 24-27, 2025

This year’s conference will look at the birth of Anabaptism from both a Mennonite and a Roman Catholic perspective, what has changed in the past five centuries, and what the implications are for ecumenical dialogue today.

Click here to register.

The Mennonite keynote address will be given by Dr. Jennifer Otto, Associate Professor in the Department of History and Religion at the University of Lethbridge, where she teaches courses on Christianity, Bible, and Western Religions. Dr. Otto’s current research project, “Remembering Anabaptist Martyrs,” investigates the reception and representation of early Christian martyrs among Anabaptists in the 16th century and in the present day.

We also welcome Fr. John Klassen OSB, as our Roman Catholic keynote speaker. Fr. John was abbot of Saint John’s Abbey, in Collegeville, Minnesota, for over 23 years, and was instrumental in starting and supporting Bridgefolk during that time. Before becoming abbot, he received a doctorate from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, in 1985, taught at Saint John’s Preparatory School (1972-77) and Saint John’s University (1983-2000), and was the director of the university’s senior seminar program (1986-88), and of the Peace Studies Program (1988-90). He was the director of monastic formation for the abbey from 1993-99.

This conference will also feature a panel discussion with others who are involved in ecumenical dialogue and work, locally and elsewhere. The conference will feature a workshop to equip participants with practical tools to engage in respectful dialogue as well as small groups in which to practice these tools.

Or click here for more information.

Growing Together in Faith under One Roof: Aberdeen Mennonite and St. Kateri Indigenous Catholic

Rachel Reesor-Taylor
Winnipeg, Manitoba

This year Mennonites are marking 500 years since the birth of the Anabaptist movement in January 1525 in Zurich. Within two years, some of those who had been “re-baptized” were martyred. We know the period that followed as a time of persecution and martyrdom, in which Anabaptists were killed by both Reformers and Catholics.

Thankfully, relations grew less violent, but even 50 years ago, recognizing each other as Christians was often a challenge. Now, there is much more understanding and cooperation between their descendants.

A good example is in Winnipeg’s North End, where a small Mennonite congregation is renting space from the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Indigenous Church, (or Aboriginal Catholic parish), through a history that involves cooperation with a Lutheran church as well.

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Holy Spirit works through Catholic synod, says Mennonite representative

Head shot of Anne-Cathy Graber — ^{Anne-Cathy Graber, Mennonite World Conference representative at Vatican synod in October.}

Mennonite World Conference
news release
19 December 2024

“It was necessary to take courage: it’s another world, another vocabulary, another way of thinking. How was I to bring my own questions and be respectfully present as a guest while being fully Mennonite?” Anne-Cathy Graber asked these questions as she received an invitation to attend the Vatican’s Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod in October 2024.

Having taken the role of Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Secretary for Ecumenical Relations for MWC in 2023, Anne-Cathy Graber represented Mennonite World Conference at the month-long event, which had 16 “fraternal delegates” representing other Christian churches and communities, 8 Protestant and 8 Orthodox.

Anne-Cathy Graber is an itinerant Mennonite pastor and theologian and co-director of the Chair of Ecumenical Theology at the Faculties Loyola Paris. She serves on MWC’s Faith & Life Commission. Additionally, she has represented Anabaptists at the Global Christian Forum Committee, in the Faith & Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (2014-2022), in the bilateral dialogue between MWC and the Reformed Church. She is also a consecrated sister in Chemin Neuf, a Catholic community with an ecumenical vocation.

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Virtual event to remember Zurich & Nicaea, January 27

2025: Remembering Zurich and Nicaea
January 27, 8-9:30 p.m. ET

Portrait photo of Jennifer Otto — ^{Jennifer Otto, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Lethbridge and Bridgefolk board member.}

The year 2025 marks 500 years since the first adult believers’ baptisms of the Anabaptist movement took place in Zurich, Switzerland. It also marks 1700 years since the Council of Nicaea, where the Nicene Creed was established as the first ecumenical statement of “catholic” Christian faith. In this webinar, Bridgefolk Board Member Jennifer Otto, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Lethbridge, will provide a brief historical introduction to the events of both Nicaea and Zurich and invite us into conversation about unity and division within the Church.

How should we, as Mennonites and as Catholics, commemorate these two events?
How do these anniversaries impact the way we think about “proceeding in friendship” together?
Can we celebrate the Nicene Creed and the beginnings of Anabaptism while acknowledging the pain caused by the ruptures in the Body of Christ that both events embody?

To register, click here.

Mennonite representative at synod speaks at Vatican press conference

On October 10, a week into this year’s groundbreaking synod at the Vatican bringing bishops, other clergy, and laypeople together for a month of listening and discernment, the daily press conference focused on ecumenical dimensions of the event. Among four panelists from varying Christian traditions was Anne-Cathy Graber, a French Mennonite representing Mennonite World Conference. The following are excerpts from a Vatican News press release reporting on the briefing:

^{Anne-Cathy Graber speaks at Vatican press conference, 10 October 2024.}

Reverend Anne-Cathy Graber, a pastor from the Mennonite World Conference and secretary for ecumenical relations, who is participating in the Synod for the first time, said she was “surprised by the invitation,” as she belongs to a “little-known church” that emerged from the Reformation in the 16th century and is characterized by the baptism of believers and active nonviolence.

Reflecting on her presence, she observed: “The Catholic Church does not need our voice, which is very small, but this in itself says much about synodality – it shows that every voice matters, every voice is important.”

For Pastor Graber, “Christian unity is not only a promise for tomorrow, it is here and now, and we can already see it. We are not only close but belong to the same body of Christ, we are members of one another, as St. Paul said.”

“Even though we do not have voting rights as fraternal delegates, “our voice and presence were welcomed just like everyone else’s. The equal dignity of baptism is visible. There is no powerful Church dominating from above. We are all a people walking together and seeking,” she continued.

Other panelists noted the close link between the “synodality” by which Catholics are working to better listen to one another, and ecumenical listening between Christians:

Voice was then given to the guests at the briefing, who focused on ecumenism, which forms an inseparable pair with synodality.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the [Vatican’s] Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, summed up the concept with these words: “The synodal journey is ecumenical. And the ecumenical journey cannot be anything but synodal.”

Defining the ecumenical dimension as “one of the most relevant aspects of this Synod,” the cardinal emphasized how fundamental “the exchange of gifts, in which we learn from one another, with the conviction that no Church is so rich that it does not need the contribution of other Churches, and no Church is so poor that it has nothing to offer” is to both ecumenism and synodality.

At an ecumenical Taize service the following day, Pope Francis himself underscored this message in a homily emphasizing the “common mission” of Christians around the world. Francis noted that “The ecumenical movement evolved from the desire to bear common witness: to witness alongside one another, not standing apart from or, worse yet, at odds with one another.”

To read the entire Vatican News press release from 10 October, click here.
For Pope Francis’s homily at the 11 October ecumenical Taize service, click here.
For a report on the synod and Graber’s participation in Anabaptist World, click here.

French Mennonite to participate in Vatican synod

Anabaptist World
25 September 2024

The second and final session of the Vatican Synod on Synodality will include a Mennonite representative and underline the Catholic Church’s plan to promote dialogue with other Christian denominations, enhance transparency and take responsibility for mistakes.

The number of representatives from other Christian denominations at the synod has grown from 12 to 16 to include Mennonite World Conference, the World Lutheran Federation, the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria.

The Oct. 3-27 gathering at the Vatican will include MWC representative Anne-Cathy Graber of France, a member of MWC’s Faith nd Life Commission and MWC’s representative to the Global Christian Forum. She is a Mennonite but also a member of the Chemin Neuf Catholic community in Paris.

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Mennonite ecumenical leader Larry Miller to address prospects for Christian reconciliation

The World Conference on Faith and Order in 2025 (Alexandria, Egypt) will mark the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea under the theme “Where Now for Visible Unity?” International ecclesial dialogues seeking ecumenical convergence as a step towards visible unity have generally focused on issues of a doctrinal nature, paying little attention to the role of “experience” and, more specifically, “experiences of unity” in and between churches.

Larry Miller, former Secretary of Global Christian Forum and General Secretary of Mennonite World Conference, speaking in Bogotá, Colombia in 2018 — _{Larry Miller, former Secretary of Global Christian Forum and General Secretary of Mennonite World Conference.}

Is this pattern beginning to change, thanks in particular to the globalization and the “pentecostalization” of the churches, as well as initiatives for ecclesial “reconciliation”?

In this Figel Event on Ecumenical Dialogue, Rev. Dr. Larry Miller, first full-time Secretary of the Global Christian Forum, and former General Secretary of the Mennonite World Conference, will receive the Consortium’s Ecumenism Award for 2024. Dr. Miller will address how experience and reconciliation between the churches is reshaping our understanding of Christian unity. He will draw upon responses to the Faith and Order Commission’s text “The Church: Towards a Common Vision,” conversations in the annual meeting of the Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions, encounters in the life of the Global Christian Forum, and the results of the international Lutheran-Mennonite reconciliation process.

The event will take place February 21 in the chapel of Wesley Theological Seminary, 4500 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016. For more information, including how to RSVP or register for possible online streaming click here.