STUTTGART, Germany– 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.”
On hand to witness the resolution were official representatives of Mennonite World Conference along with other Mennonite guests from Germany, France, Switzerland and Netherlands. There was also a record number of guests from other Christian groups, including Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Seventh Day Adventists, and Lutheran groups that are not part of the Lutheran World Federation.
Lutheran professor Joachim Track, head of the ecumenical commission of the LWF, presented the motion, which in the discussion time was given heartfelt affirmations from Argentinean, Nigerian and Canadian delegates. Following a time of prayer Hanson called on delegates to vote by standing or kneeling. The action passed unanimously, with Hanson and others dropping to their knees. Representatives of Mennonite World Conference were invited to the stage to respond on behalf of Anabaptist-Mennonites.
In the MWC response to the vote, president Danisa Ndlovu of Zimbabwe faltered with emotion as he told the assembly that Anabaptist-Mennonites cannot come to this table with “our heads held high; we also stand in need of God’s grace.” The response named the action as a fulfillment of the “rule of Christ,” binding and loosing according to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18.
“We believe that today God has heard your confession and is granting your appeal for forgiveness. We joyfully and humbly join with God in giving forgiveness. In the spirit of the rule of Christ, we believe that what we are doing together here today God also is doing in heaven.”
Recalling the practice of foot-washing in some Anabaptist-Mennonite churches, Ndlovu, assisted by MWC vice president Janet Plenert, presented Hanson with a wooden foot-washing tub and a towel. Ndlovu said the tub was “a sign of our commitment to a future when the distinguishing mark of Lutheran and Anabaptist-Mennonite relationships is boundless love and unfailing service. We will learn to seek one another’s good from a posture of vulnerability and mutual submission.”
Immediately following the action, the general secretaries and presidents of the LWF and MWC led a procession of all delegates and guests into a separate hall for a solemn service of repentance and healing.
Click to read this story from Lutheran and Mennonite news services. Click here to access video and photos of the event. Visit this site to read responses from Central American Lutheran church leaders.