Bishop to speak at Valpo's December commencement

The Rt. Rev. Munib Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and president of the Lutheran World Federation, will be the speaker at Valparaiso University’s Dec. 11 ceremonies honoring graduates.

Younan is a globally respected leader encouraging interfaith dialogue, and has served as bishop since 1998. As president of the Lutheran World Federation since July 2010, he leads a global communion with 145 member churches in 79 countries representing more than 70 million Christians.

Younan was educated in Palestine and Finland and has been active in numerous faith organizations since his ordination in 1976, including the Middle East Council of Churches and the Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches. The bishop was the first to translate the Augsburg Confession, a key document of the Lutheran Church, into Arabic. He is an active member of various ecumenical and interfaith dialogue initiatives in Jerusalem that he helped found, and is the author of the book “Witnessing … for Peace: In Jerusalem and the World.”

Younan’s numerous honors include the Templar Peace Prize, the Bethlehem Star Award presented by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and the Human Rights Award from the United Nations Association.

The bishop’s son, Andrew, is a 2005 graduate of Valparaiso University (with honors) in computer engineering. The bishop and his wife, Suad, attended graduation that year, and he spoke at the University in 2004.

Ceremonies for more than more than 220 students expected to complete requirements for undergraduate, graduate and law degrees begin at 2:30 p.m. in the Chapel of the Resurrection.

Commencement ceremonies will be broadcast live online.

The Valparaiso University Police Department will be providing a shuttle service from three outlying parking areas (south of the Christopher Center, south of Kretzmann Hall and west of Huegli Hall) to the chapel for the Conferring of Degrees. The shuttle will run on a regular schedule beginning at 1:30 p.m. and continuing as long as necessary following the ceremonies.

For more information on commencement, go to valpo.edu/commencement.