The president and campus pastor at Valparaiso University
have "repented" to members of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for
hosting an interfaith service where Muslim and Jewish leaders offered prayers.
The independent Lutheran university in northwestern Indiana hosted the service
last year on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Clergy in
eight states filed a complaint because prayers were led by persons who do not
agree with the Christian teaching that Jesus Christ is God.
A spokesman said the Rev. Alan Harre, university president, and the Rev. Joseph
Cunningham, campus pastor, received letters Monday clarifying a resolution of
the dispute by a denominational body known as the Praesidium.
The former president of the Indiana district previously cleared the university
leaders and three other Lutheran pastors of wrongdoing.
The Praesidium's letter said "the defendants expressed sincere repentance
for the wrong that they did in authorizing and conducting the service."
David Strand, spokesman at denominational headquarters in St. Louis, said the
case shows the church takes its doctrine and "clear public proclamation of
the gospel of Jesus Christ very seriously."
"At the same time, it shows that the synod, like other Christian church
bodies, is trying to discern its proper role in an increasingly pluralistic
society while staying true to its doctrines and practices," Strand said.
The Missouri Synod has 2.6 million members nationwide.