Annette Kurschus becomes deputy chair of EKD Council

By 118 of 125 votes cast, Annette Kurschus has been elected deputy chair of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). Synod president Irmgard Schwaetzer was the first to congratulate her. “With Annette Kurschus we again have a woman at the head of the EKD who stands out through her joy in proclaiming the Word of God. It is her first time in the EKD Council and we are delighted at her impressive result.”          

Annette Kurschus (52), who was born in the small town of Rotenburg an der Fulda, grew up in Obersuhl and Siegen. From 1983 she studied theology in Bonn, Marburg, Münster and Wuppertal. After graduation, she started her ministerial training in 1989 and then served as pastor in several congregations in Siegen. In 2005 she was elected superintendent of the Siegen church district. Since 2012 Annette Kurschus has been the first woman president (praeses) of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, which is the fourth biggest of the 20 EKD member churches in Germany.

Bremen, 11. November 2015
 
EKD Press Office
Carsten Splitt

About the EKD Synod:  The EKD Synod, with the Council and Church Conference, is one of the three governing bodies of the EKD. It is convening from 8 to 11 November in Bremen. In accordance with the EKD’s constitution, the 12th Synod has 120 members. The assignments of Synod include drafting declarations and decisions on contemporary questions and accompanying the work of the EKD Council by issuing guidelines. Synod also discuses and adopts the budget and church laws. Synod is chaired by a body of moderators (presidium), under its president Irmgard Schwaetzer. She is also a member of the 15-person EKD Council to be elected in Bremen. Chair of the EKD Council is the Lutheran Bishop of Bavaria, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. The EKD is a community of 20 Lutheran, Reformed and United regional churches in Germany. 23 million Protestants belong to one of the 15,000 congregations.