25.03.2009
Woman Elected Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany
Oberkirchenrat Ilse Junkermann of Stuttgart has become the first woman bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany (EKM). In the third round of secret balloting, the church synod in Wittenberg on 21 March elected the 51-year-old theologian by more than the required two-thirds majority.Junkermann thus becomes the fourth woman bishop in the history of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), after present bishops Maria Jepsen from Hamburg and Margot Kässmann from Hanover, and Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter from Lübeck, who retired last year. The EKM came into existence in January 2009 as the result of the merger between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia and the Evangelical Church of the Province of Saxony. The current bishops, Christoph Kähler (Eisenach) and Axel Noack (Magdeburg), will step down in July. Junkermann officially begins her ten-year term as bishop on 29 August.
Reacting to her election as a native of western Germany to a leadership post in the eastern part of the country, Junkermann said that she had apparently succeeded in "gaining the appreciation of people here." As bishop, she sees continuing to impact society as one of the most important tasks facing the church, despite migration out of the area and a dwindling birthrate. Another critical issue is the fight against right-wing extremism, a growing nationwide concern.
After completing her theological studies in Tübingen and Göttingen, Junkermann served as dean of pastoral theology and preaching at the pastoral training institute (Pfarrseminar) in Stuttgart-Birkach. She pastored congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg and is current director of its Department of Training and Personnel. She is divorced and has one son.
Together the churches in Thüringen and Sachsen-Anhalt represent more than 3,300 congregations with a total of over 910,000 members. The former Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia last year had around 431,500 members. It has been a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) since 1947. (324 words)
(Based on an epd - Evangelischer Pressedienst contribution)
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