MWR : Lutherans to heal centuries-old ‘wound’

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July 5, 2010 issue

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Lutherans to heal centuries-old ‘wound’

World assembly in Germany will request forgiveness for persecution of Anabaptists

By Byron Rempel-Burkholder Mennonite World Conference

Lutherans from around the world will seek a historic reconciliation with Mennonites and other Christians of the Anabaptist tradition.

On July 22, at the 11th assembly of the Lutheran World Federation to be held in Stuttgart, Germany, delegates are expected to ask “forgiveness — from God and from our Mennonite sisters and brothers — for the harm that our forebears in the 16th century committed” in persecuting Anabaptists.

The resolution acknowledges that in the centuries since then, Lutheran scholars and authors have often portrayed Anabaptists in misleading and hurtful ways. It also spells out commitments to continue working with Anabaptists in fostering understanding and fellowship.

The action, representing 70 million Lutherans worldwide, comes after several years of conversation between representatives of the LWF and of Mennonite World Conference.

Last July, LWF general secretary Ishmael Noko of Zimbabwe attended the MWC assembly in Asuncion, Paraguay, and announced the resolution that would be presented at Stuttgart.

“This wound,” Noko told the delegates, “needs the deep healing possible only when it can be seen, in the bright sunlight of memory, for the ugly wound that it is. Then we can seek for it the healing of God’s forgiveness and reconciliation.”

A delegation of MWC leaders will present at Stuttgart. MWC President Danisa Ndlovu — who, like Noko, is Zimbabwean — will respond with words of gratitude, forgiveness and commitment to further healing.

A service of repentance will follow, in which the MWC delegation and representatives of the Association of German Mennonite Congregations will participate. A choir from a German Mennonite church will sing.

Besides Ndlovu, the MWC delegation includes general secretary Larry Miller of France, vice president Janet Plenert of Canada, treasurer Ernst Bergen of Paraguay, past president Mesach Krisetya of Indonesia and Rainer Burkhart of Germany, co-chair of the LWF/MWC International Study Commission that laid the groundwork for the LWF action.

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