Bishop Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) has been elected President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) by the Eleventh Assembly in Suttgart, a gathering of 418 delegates and others from the LWF member churches.
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The Lutheran commitment to ecumenism will not end until members can share the Eucharist with other churches, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to a news release from Lutheran World Information (LWI).

The LWF Assembly is the organization’s highest legislative body, and it is meeting here July 20-27. The LWF is 140 member churches in 79 countries, representing more than 70 million Christians worldwide.

Speaking at a July 21 news conference following the presentation of his report to the LWF Eleventh Assembly, Hanson outlined progress made in ecumenical relations, but said that “we must continue the dialogue about theological issues that still prevent us from communing together,” LWI reported.
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In what Bishop Mark S. Hanson, President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), described as possibly “the most significant legacy this Assembly will leave,” the Eleventh Assembly of the LWF today took the historic step of asking the Mennonites for forgiveness for past persecutions. Delegates unanimously approved a statement calling Lutherans to express their regret and sorrow for past wrongdoings towards Anabaptists and asking for forgiveness.

Hanson described the act of repentance and reconciliation as “communion building and communion defining. “We will not just look back; we will also look towards together to God’s promised future.”
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by Byron Rempel-Burkholder, Mennonite World Conference news service [Strasbourg, France • MWC] When Lutherans from around the world gather in July, they will seek a historic reconciliation with Mennonites and other Christians of the Anabaptist tradition. On July 22, the third day of the eleventh assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to be held
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The Vatican has officially confirmed the appointment of Swiss Bishop Kurt Koch to replace Cardinal Walter Kasper as head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, after widespread speculation that such a move was to take place. A Vatican announcement on 1 July said that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted the resignation of 77-year-old-Kasper and had named in his place Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel, aged 60.
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