JERUSALEM – Bishop Munib Younan met with the heads of churches at the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem today to give his Easter greetings. Ten of the thirteen heads of churches were present, as well as priests and Bishops from Jerusalem. The Lutheran delegation to the meeting included Bishop Younan, Propst Wolfgang Schmidt, representative of the Evangelische Kirche Deutschland in Jerusalem, the pastors of the English Speaking Congregation and Special Assistants to the Bishop, Revs. Angela and Martin Zimmann, Rev. Saliba Rishmawi of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Beit Jala, Rev. Jari Honkakari of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM), and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Jerusalem representative Rev. Mark Brown.
At the meeting, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal welcomed the churches and spoke of accompanying the people, as in the story of Emmaus when Jesus walked with the disciples and “their hearts burned within them.” He then invited the other Bishops present to speak and offer prayers. Bishop Munib Younan discussed the inauguration of the Pontificate, as well as his hope that the heads of churches will continue to support the textbook study, Victim’s of Our Own Narratives, initiated by the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land (CRIHL). Bishop Younan encouraged all those gathered to think of ways to encourage the use of the study in schools.