A new chapter may be added to the Anabaptist story at the Menno-Hof information center in Shipshewana, Ind., with the creation of an exhibit about reconciliation between Anabaptists and other Christian traditions.

The latest developments in Mennonite-Lutheran reconciliation were celebrated June 11 in South Bend during the annual assembly of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, after which representatives of both groups took a tour of Menno-Hof.

“It is hard to overstate how dramatically things have shifted in the past 30 years,” said André Gingerich Stoner, Mennonite Church USA’s director of interchurch relations and holistic witness, to the assembly, according to a video recording of the event. “Even 15 years ago, it would have been hard to imagine the place we are at today.”

Menno-Hof executive director Jerry Beasley said he had the idea for the exhibit for a while.

“We have a lot of Catholics and Lutherans visit Menno-Hof,” he said. “In the Anabaptist story presentation, obviously, the Anabaptists are the victims of persecution. . . . Many nontrained Lutherans and Catholics have had their eyes opened when they come through and discover their faith communities were involved in those persecution activities. It would be nice to comfort them, in a way, and let them know we don’t stand off from them in a negative posture.”

The concept is still in an early formation stage, so the nature of it is undetermined.

“It could involve a number of faith communities that have reached out to the Anabaptist community in the form of apology or reconciliation initiatives,” Beasley said.

At the assembly, ELCA director of ecumenical and interreligious relations Kathryn Johnson shared the recent history of Mennonite-Lutheran dialogues, highlighting a 2002-2004 discussion between ELCA and MC USA and a global dialogue in 2005-2008 between the Lutheran World Federation and Mennonite World Conference.

“At the end, the Lutheran participants said, ‘There is nothing we can do but repent,’ ” Johnson said.

LWF delegates voted on “An Action on the Legacy of Lutheran Persecution of Anabaptists” at their assembly July 22, 2010, in Stuttgart, Germany.

Johnson said the reconciliation efforts would affect Lutheran plans for the 2017 celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

“I am firmly convinced we would not have the sort of anniversary we will have — enjoying, celebrating, giving thanks for our Lutheran heritage — [without] a healthy dose of repentance for the divisions between Christians that have marked the last 500 years,” she said. “We set on our path with the help of our Mennonite brothers and sisters.”

In a telephone interview, Stoner said: “That historic harm no longer needs to separate us. That’s not to say that we don’t have substantive theological differences we need to talk about, but that historic harm and trauma does not have to be a barrier. That doesn’t mean we agree on everything or the conversation has to end.”