GERMANY

Lutheran leaders in Germany say they hope the global assembly of the Lutheran World Federation scheduled to meet in their country in 2010 will boost links with other Protestant denominations. The federation’s German National Committee has proposed that governing bodies of other global Church groupings should meet in parallel with the Lutheran assembly taking place in the southern city of Stuttgart. The Lutheran leaders said they hoped for “adequate space for a thematic dialogue with church families that stem from the [Protestant] Reformation.” They referred specifically to the Anglican Communion, the World Methodist Council and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. (Ecumenical News International