Forced by the pandemic, the highest Protestant church parliament meets in front of almost empty ranks. The church also expects restrictions if Christmas is to be celebrated soon.
The outgoing head of the Protestant Church, Heinrich-Bedford Strohm, has appealed to hesitant citizens to get vaccinated against Corona.
“Those who finally bring themselves to get vaccinated help themselves, all of us, but especially the children and people who cannot get vaccinated.” That said the council chairman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) at the synod in Bremen. According to clear scientific knowledge, anyone who decides against a vaccination represents a significantly higher risk for others.
Church service in Bremen Cathedral
The worsening corona situation also affected the work of the church parliament, which began with a service in Bremen Cathedral. At the conference venue, the rows of tables that had been prepared remained empty, Bedford-Strohm spoke in front of the camera, and most of the synodians were connected online. The hoped-for face-to-face meeting was canceled at short notice. There was a breakthrough in vaccination with a bishop, said the President Anna-Nicole Heinrich. The main task of this synod is to elect a new council of the EKD and its chairmanship. The voting takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bedford-Strohm said there will still be conditions for the church services at Christmas. However, the EKD will not make any central requirements, it will depend on the regional infection situation and the legal rules of the countries. “Nobody will be left without a Christmas service who wants to have a Christmas service,” assured the Bavarian regional bishop.
Criticism of vaccine distribution
In his last report before the synod, he also called for a fairer distribution of corona vaccines worldwide. In Africa, only five percent of people are vaccinated. “The goal of protecting all people worldwide once again requires the greatest effort by everyone, especially sharing the knowledge and know-how of the vaccine companies,” said Bedford-Strom.
He also advocated giving refugees stuck on the border between Belarus and Poland access to regular asylum procedures. The “inhumane conditions at the EU’s external border” would have to be ended.
On Monday, the synod wants to hear a report on the coming to terms with sexual violence by church workers in the Protestant churches. On Sunday Bedford-Strohm thanked the Braunschweig regional bishop Christoph Meyns for his work in the commissioner council. Those affected will also have their say in the discussion.
Bedford-Strohm has been the top representative of Protestant Christians in Germany since 2014. He campaigned for the church to participate in the sea rescue of shipwrecked refugees in the Mediterranean. The EKD has 20 regional Protestant churches with 20.2 million members in 13,200 parishes.
Source From: Stern
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