Stan Harder (profile, at left), Conrad Liechty of Goshen (Indiana) College, and Ally Welty Peachey of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, converse during one of the sessions at the Rooted and Grounded Conference on Land and Christian Discipleship at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, cosponsored by Bridgefolk. |
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Bridgefolk gathers new energy at September conference | |
Nearly 40 Bridgefolk participants gathered in person and online at the Rooted & Grounded Conference held at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in September. Bridgefolk was one of six cosponsors of this biannual conference with a focus on Land and Christian Discipleship. The keynote speaker, Potawatomi author and poet Kaitlin Curtice, offered indigenous wisdom of resistance and resilience as “Pathways through Climate Doom.” In addition to the regular conference schedule, Bridgefolk added morning and evening prayers, an ice cream social, and a foot washing and agape meal liturgy, familiar components of past Bridgefolk conferences.
In an evaluation session, participants affirmed the opportunity for Bridgefolk to be seen by, and to interact with, a larger community. Several of the Bridgefolk participants led break-out sessions, bringing a Catholic perspective to the conference.
To learn more, click here for conference press release:
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Bridgefolk board welcomes
new members
| After doing most of its work in virtual meetings since early 2020, the Bridgefolk board celebrated an in-person meeting on October 1. All members were present during a portion of the meeting, except for Elizabeth Soto Albrecht, who participated via Zoom. Joining the board in the past year are Ann Marie Biermeier OSB (Catholic), Michelle Sherman (Catholic), Rachel Reesor-Taylor (Catholic), and Phil Waite (Mennonite). Jennifer Otto (Mennonite) was appointed after the Oct 1 meeting. In this issue we feature Gilbert Detillieux, a board member since 2017. | L to R: Michelle Sherman, Abbot John Klassen, Sister Ann Marie Biermaier, Samantha Lioi, Phil Waite, Joetta Handrich Schlabach, Rachel Reesor-Taylor, Gilbert Detillieux, Mary Lehman Yoder, Matthew Rissler. |
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Board Profile:
Gilbert Detillieux
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Gilbert Detillieux started attending Bridgefolk conferences in 2013, when it was hosted by Conrad Grebel College in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife, Laura Funk, had been hearing about Bridgefolk almost since they started dating in 2005. He being Roman Catholic and she Mennonite, Bridgefolk drew their attention. Gilbert’s interest in ecumenism predated his meeting Laura, so the ecumenical nature of Bridgefolk appealed to him. What won both of them over, however, was the warm welcome they received at their first conference, and the network of like-minded friends they quickly formed.
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Save the dates
July 25-28, 2024
for Bridgefolk retreat
| Continuing the theme of the 2023 Bridgefolk/AMBS conference, the Bridgefolk board has decided to hold a gathering focusing on “Spiritual Practices to Build Resistance and Resilience for Peacemaking,” July 25-28, 2024, at Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN. Rather than a conference format, the board envisions a retreat, which will introduce and invite participants to experience various spiritual practices. |
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Let us know
what you think!
At the 20th Annual Bridgefolk Conference in 2022, participants were invited to look back at the first two decades of Bridgefolk activity and to begin envisioning the direction for the next 20 years. The board would appreciate further input as it launches some occasional virtual gatherings and plans for the 2024 retreat. Please take a few moments to share your input:
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Season of
gratitude and giving
| Bridgefolk is a low-budget, mostly volunteer organization. We appreciate donations of any size to support our operations and to provide financial assistance to make our annual gatherings affordable for all. All gifts are deductible for tax purposes. Thank you for your generous support in whatever manner you share. |
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In October 2023, Pope Francis published an Apostolic Exhortation, Laudate Deum, which builds with urgency on his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si!: On Care For Our Common Home. This new exhortation specifies and completes the prior encyclical, as Pope Frances warns that the climate crisis is reaching a breaking point. In anticipation of the November COP28 meeting in Dubai, he calls Christians to recognize the human causes of this crisis and, for those in the industrialized world, to take concrete steps to examine and change our culture of consumption. He describes these actions as a natural response to our Christian faith. | |  |
Mennonite World Conference is inviting the global Mennonite community to engage with and provide feedback to the report of the trilateral dialogue on baptism that took place between Lutherans, Mennonites and Roman Catholics, from 2012 to 2017. Tom Yoder Neufeld has written a study guide “Growing in Faith: Living Out Our Baptism,” Mennonite World Conference requests feedback by November 2024. | Click here for Bridgefolk statement on participation of Mennonite theologian John D. Rempel. | | | |
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