Bridgefolk

Bridgefolk, the grassroots movement of sacramentally-minded Mennonites and peace-minded Catholics, celebrated its 20th anniversary of summer conferences in 2022. That gathering, entitled “Standing At The Crossroads,” offered an opportunity to look both back in gratitude and forward, as we began to discern the future path for Mennonite-Catholic dialogue and peacemaking. We now...

Roughly 50 people met once again at St. Mary’s Parish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, April 25th, for the second annual Anabaptist-Catholic dialogue. Fr. James Lease, ecumenical officer of the Diocese of Harrisburg gave welcoming remarks on behalf of the Catholic Bishop, Timothy Senior. As in the past, the Anabaptists present included both plain and …

In a recent episode of the podcast Liturgical Rebels, Bridgefolk co-founder Weldon Nisly shares his extensive journey in ministry and peacemaking, highlighting the importance of liturgy in shaping community identity. He discusses his recent experiences in Iraq and Kurdistan with Community Peacemaker Teams, emphasizing the need for non-violence training and the significance of...

The sound of a cappella harmony in a Catholic sanctuary by Nate ShowalterSubstack, 16 May 2026reprinted with permission Five centuries after Anabaptists were denounced by both Catholics and Protestants as dangerous radicals, a Mennonite congregation in Baltimore has purchased a former Catholic church and school complex. A recent article in Anabaptist World described the momen...

We mark with grief the death of Helmut Harder, Canadian Mennonite church leader, theology professor, ecumenical leader and friend of Bridgefolk, on May 7. Harder served as the Mennonite co-chair of the International Dialogue between the Catholic Church and Mennonite World Conference from 1998 to 2003. In that role he played a leading role in …