Margot Kaessmann, a Woman of Many Firsts
Cindy on November 3, 2009 at 11:12 am
Ulm, Germany. On October 28th, the Protestant body council elected its first female to head the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD). Bishop Margot Kaessmann, 51, won the election in a landslide, receiving 132 out of the 142 votes cast, and happens to now be the youngest person serving on this council.
When Kaessmann was consecrated eight years ago, she was the country’s youngest bishop, where she served 10 years in Hanover which has the largest regional church in the EKD. 
A mother of four, Kaessmann made headlines in 2007 after she divorced her husband of 26 years, and at that point had made history as the first serving bishop in Germany to file for divorce. Details about the divorce have been kept private in respect to the family.
Last year, Kaessmann successfully survived an operation for breast cancer, and was also voted Woman of the Year by a notable German magazine.
Ms. Kaessmann’s term will last six years as top representative of the EKD, which is an umbrella group representing nearly 25 million German Protestants – a combination of Lutheran, Reformed, and United Churches.
Some of her upcoming plans include streamlining the church’s clergy, increasing its over all public profile, reviving the church through “youthful energy”, and improving strained relations with the Catholic Church.
I find it interesting that this comes during the era when Germany has not only just elected its first woman German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, but just officially reelected her to a second term. Women in powerful positions, in a country not typically known for that.
Well, hopefully Ms. Kaessmann will achieve success in this church revival she is aiming for. She sure seems tenacious enough to do it.
Category: Foreign Affairs, News, Politics |
I find that surprising really. This evangelical group must be quite a bit less conservative than similar groups over here. In fact, I can’t imagine a woman being put in charge of such an organization in the US.
Personally, I don’t see the problem, but I’m sure there are lots of folks in the SBC who would.
November 3, 2009 @ 8:47 pmMy reaction precisely.
It is shocking, exciting, and yet frightening for me, as a female to watch, at the same time. I am truly hoping she is successful, as she is blazing a trail.
Remarks were made in all the German articles that I read, that despite the shock about the initial filing of divorce, there was no resounding negative backlash from it that appeared in this election, or in her popularity. They are calling her the “pop” bishop as she is so full of hope, fire, and ground breaking fresh ideas.
It would be an interesting time to be a woman in Germany right now. I have a British friend who lives there, I will have to ask her to remark about this.
November 3, 2009 @ 9:00 pm“I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” This quote from 1 Tim. 2:12 is then based upon the creation narrative relative to Adam and Eve. Thus, the basis for the teaching is transcultural – it isn’t negated by the “culture” argument. I remember this being introduced to my hermeneutics professor at Fooler Cemetery. His response was to change the subject quickly.
November 3, 2009 @ 9:29 pmNot God, but I. Paul does not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. Jesus, on the other hand, seems to have thought women perfectly well suited to the task of sharing the good news of his resurrection with his disciples. The End.
November 4, 2009 @ 6:59 amKeith, Paul was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The church for 2,000 years has acknowledged that the Scriptures are divinely inspired. So the ultimate authority for the quote remains with God, not man.
November 4, 2009 @ 9:21 amHi Jim, I must apologise, my last post was worded in a provocative manner. I actually really enjoy our dialogs about spiritual matters, and owe you more courtesy than that. please accept my apology.
But Jim, Paul specifically says “I do not..” Yes, the scriptures are divinely inspired, but unlike the quran, nobody says they were dictated by God. Paul uses the first person singular because he is talking about himself. Whenever Paul wants to say what is and is not acceptable to God he clearly refers to God – the distinction here, as I’m sure you can appreciate, is no accident.
Was Jesus not acting under divine inspiration? Because he commissioned two women to teach his disciples that he is risen. His actions seem to run counter to Paul’s words, but unlike Paul, Jesus was fully God.
November 4, 2009 @ 1:28 pmKeith, Peter calls Paul’s writing Scripture (2 Pet. 3:15,16). The church has always understood that the words of the Bible were written by men, but that the words themselves were divinely inspired. A lot of folks today don’t agree with that. Nevertheless, whether Paul says “I” or some other word isn’t the issue – all of what he says is inspired. In fact, the Bible makes that claim about itself.
By the way, the women didn’t teach the disciples of Jesus resurrection, but they did tell them of His resurrection. Key distinction. All of Paul’s instructions (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) for the office of elder mention men as the ones to hold those positions. This unbroken tradition existed far into the history of the church. We have the early Patristics and the latter Patristics to refer to. No woman is mentioned as a leader or teacher within the Body of Christ. Women as leaders in the church is a relatively new phenomena.
And I wasn’t offended by your earlier post – you’re a good dude.
November 4, 2009 @ 6:29 pm