Dr Oliver Schuegraf installed as regional bishop

New bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe has his eye on churches in the Global South.

On 25 May, Dr Oliver Schuegraf was installed into his new office as Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe, one of the three sponsoring churches of the ELM, in the Bückeburg City Church. For ELM Director Dr Emmanuel Kileo, he is a man of clear words who has the churches of the Global South in mind.

Kileo, who took part in the festive service to introduce Schuegraf, emphasised his international and ecumenical experience, which is also important for the ELM's cooperation with the sponsoring church, and referred to the guest list. In addition to the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, Ralf Meister, and the Nigerian Lutheran Archbishop Musa Panti Filibus, the Dean of Coventry Cathedral, John Witcombe, the Chair of the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation, Bishop Kristina Kühnbaum-Schmidt from Schwerin, and Privatdozent Dr Achim Budde, Director of the Catholic Academy in Bavaria, also took part.

The ELM Director emphasised the importance of the ELM supporting churches, which the new regional bishop presides over, and acknowledged their contributions, suggestions and ideas, "which are very important for our work. It's not just about money, everyone has something to contribute."

Dr Schuegraf was unanimously elected by the synod of the regional church at the beginning of November as the successor to Dr Karl-Hinrich Manzke, who retired. Born in Würzburg, he worked as a pastor and counsellor in Coventry, England, and Feuchtwangen, Franconia, and later as a senior church councillor for the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation in Hanover. Since 2011, the married father of three has also been Chairman of the Cross of Nails Community in Germany, which is part of a global network of churches that campaigns for peace and reconciliation.