The office of president in the Westphalian church should be filled as quickly as possible after Kurschus’s resignation. A special synod is calling for a reform of the top office, which is perceived as overloaded.
Dortmund (epd). After Annette Kurschus resigned as President of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, a decision will be made in the fall as to who will succeed her as senior clergyman in the fourth-largest German regional church. The election should take place at the regular state synod from November 24th to 27th, as a special synod decided on Saturday in Dortmund. The church parliament of around two million Westphalian Protestants also considered reforms: the office of president should be “subjected to a critical review,” says the resolution, which was approved with 85 percent of the vote.
Kurschus resigned from her positions as Westphalian President and as Council Chairwoman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) in November. The background was allegations that she had not dealt with a suspected case of sexual abuse at her previous place of work in Siegen with sufficient transparency. Kurschus has been at the head of the Westphalian Church since 2012, and she has also been EKD council chairwoman since November 2021. On April 1st, the 61-year-old theologian will take on new tasks as pastor and pastor in the v. Bodelschwingh Foundation Bethel in Bielefeld.
According to the decision of the church parliament, the new president should be commissioned to “permanently delegate parts of the tasks assigned to him or her to deputies”. The experience gained through the division of tasks should be “incorporated into the long-term planned audit process”. The background is the breadth of tasks of the office of president: In the Westphalian church, the president not only heads the church leadership but also the state synod and the state church office. He or she also represents the Westphalian Church within the EKD and ecumenism as well as in public.
With its decision, the special synod followed the church rules. This stipulates that the state synod – the highest body of the Westphalian Church – will hold a new election “at the next regular meeting at the latest” if the president leaves early. A postponement of the election and a possible reform of the presidential office before a new election were also discussed. A total of five suggestions for further proceedings were discussed. Before the intensive discussion in groups, lectures also discussed the emergence of the presidential office in its current form and the organizational form of other regional churches.
Until the new elections in November, the regional church, which has two million members, will continue to be provisionally led by theological vice-president Ulf Schlüter, who sees the Westphalian church in an “unfamiliar situation” after Kurschus’ resignation. Her sudden departure from the office of president “left a noticeable and visible gap.”
Schlüter also sees the Westphalian Church facing “a series of serious challenges” in the coming years. He particularly referred to falling membership numbers and financial difficulties: “In view of the recent sharp increase in personnel and material costs, all church budgets are coming under considerable pressure.” Because of structural problems, a balanced regional church budget must be achieved within three years; this can only be achieved “with significant interventions in the areas of work of the regional church”.