German Protestant Church elects first female head

|PIC1|The Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD) elected its first female head Wednesday during a meeting of the Protestant body’s council in Ulm.

Bishop Margot Kaessmann, 51, won the election in a landslide victory, receiving 132 out of the 142 votes cast.

“With trust in God’s help I accept the vote,” the chairman-elect commented after the votes were tallied.

Kaessmann is slated for a six-year term as the top representative of the EKD, an umbrella group representing nearly 25 million German Protestants from Lutheran, Reformed and United Churches. She previously served for 10 years as the bishop of Hanover, the largest regional church in the EKD.

With her election, Kaessman becomes the third female to take the helm of a major Christian church body, joining the ranks of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church in the United States and National Bishop Susan Johnson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

"The election sends a signal to the Church worldwide that God calls us to leadership without consideration of gender, colour or descent," the Rev Ishmael Noko, general-secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, told Ecumenical News International.

Known as an outspoken and charismatic leader, Bishop Kaessmann has already proposed a radical course of reform for the EKD, which has seen declining membership and revenue in past years. Her plans include streamlining the Church’s clergy, increasing its profile and improving strained relations with the Catholic Church.

A mother of four, Kaessmann made headlines in 2007 after she divorced her husband of 26 years. Despite harsh criticism from some, Kaessmann’s divorce did not seem to play a role in the election.

Kaessmann succeeds previous EKD head 67-year-old Wolfgang Huber, who is going into retirement.