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Anne Heitmann
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How have the first few weeks of your new ministry with Evangelical Mission in Solidarity unfolded? What are you bringing from your former role as WCC central committee member?

Rev. Heitmann: After returning from the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity Assembly, we all felt strengthened. This week we have our first Presidium meeting online! I'm really looking forward to working with an international team on the Presidium. There are four of us: two women and two men. Two of us are from Germany, one from Ghana, and one from Indonesia.

The WCC meetings have taught me a lot about building consensus among people from different contexts and cultures, and I am sure that the tools and procedures we have practiced in the central committee meetings will help me to facilitate meetings, and build a culture of listening and enabling participation.

My term as a member of the WCC central committee has been special in another way:  I was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan - and I never imagined that my term would end with a WCC Assembly in the city where I live and work, Karlsruhe! It has truly been an adventure and a significant gift to the local churches in Karlsruhe and Germany.

What first inspired your ecumenical work?

Rev. Heitmann: When I was in secondary school, a partnership was established between my home church district and a district of the Lutheran Church in Namibia. This was during the end of the apartheid era, and it was the first time I realized the connection between ecumenism and the struggle for justice and peace. I decided to study theology, and early on, I had the chance to go on a two-week study trip to the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.

Later on, I went to northeast Brazil to study at a Roman Catholic institute. I learned a lot from an inspiring Roman Catholic diocese and its grassroots communities. During this time, as a young Protestant theologian, I lived with Catholic sisters. They opened their doors to me, and I am still grateful for the ecumenical trust they showed in me. I have been greatly enriched by their spirituality and social practice.

How will you lift up the voices of women and young people?  

Rev. Heitmann: In the EMS we have just changed the constitution to improve the participation of young people and women and to create more balanced committees. I was very pleased to see at the recent EMS Assembly how the new rules have impacted the way the delegates of different regions have worked and negotiated together to create balanced nominations. We are certainly not there yet, but we have embarked on a journey towards an attitude of meeting each other at eye level and listening to each other, especially to those who otherwise have no voice.

Another important dimension is the struggle against gender-based violence. Thursdays in Black, for example, is being implemented in our meetings. I believe that the fellowship of EMS can help to bring WCC discussions and best practices to the grassroots. We have some very small member churches, so the distance to the grassroots is even shorter!

Discussing gender-based violence is a common concern of both Evangelical Mission in Solidarity and the WCC. To give a concrete example: After the COVID pandemic, we had a consultation with the women's network and women delegates. They all reported that domestic violence increased dramatically during the pandemic, regardless of the context. As a result, the EMS Mission Council resolved to provided additional funding for projects to prevent gender-based violence.

How will Evangelical Mission in Solidarity journey with the WCC?

Rev. Heitmann: I see EMS and WCC as fellowships striving for unity among very diverse members—a diversity that is precious but also challenging. Just as the WCC is on a Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity, the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity sees itself on a journey of sharing our hope in the Kingdom of God.” We are companions on this journey, and in this sense, I see myself as a pilgrim with the WCC and within this fellowship of the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity.