The Rev. Munib Younan

The Rev. Munib Younan

The Rev. Munib Younan, bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, will visit the Wartburg College campus April 5-6.

Younan will speak Thursday, April 5, at 4 p.m., on “Loving God & Neighbor: Living Out the Biblical Call in the Holy Land” in McCaskey Lyceum in Saemann Student Center. On Friday, April 6, Younan will speak during Weekday Chapel at 10:15 a.m. He then will be honored at a dinner at 5:30 p.m. The meal will be followed by a 7 p.m. presentation in Wartburg Chapel. Dinner tickets can be purchased at https://alumni.wartburg.edu/Younan. Both of Younan’s presentations are free and open to the public.

“The Rev. Younan has been an important educator for the church and public about the challenges of Christianity in the Middle East, especially in Jordan and the Holy Land,” said the Rev. Ramona Bouzard, Wartburg dean of the chapel. “He has been a voice for justice and peace in Israel and Palestine and throughout the world as president of Lutheran World Federation, working with people of all faiths as well as secular and government organizations. This makes him uniquely situated to help us enter into that conversation.”

Younan served the church in Jordan and the Holy Land for 12 years following his ordination in 1976. In 1990, he was appointed president of the ELCJHL Synod, a position he held until January 1998 when he was elected and consecrated as a bishop. He retired in January 2018. Wartburg awarded Younan an honorary doctorate in 2001, and the Rev. Fred Strickert, Wartburg professor emeritus of religion, served as an assistant to Younan for several years following his retirement in 2010.

Younan will speak at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque on Wednesday, April 4, at 2:30 p.m., on “The Role of Religion in Peace-building in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” in Weiblen Commons.