By-election to the EMW Board
Holger Nerlich and Anne Heitmann elected to the EMW Board of Directors
The by-election had become necessary as Dr Emmanuel Kileo (formerly of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Lower Saxony) and Dr Jochen Motte (United Evangelical Mission) had resigned from their positions on the EMW Board. "We congratulate Anne Heitmann and Holger Nerlich on their election and thank them for their willingness to serve on the Board of Evangelische Mission Weltweit. We look forward to working with them," explains EMW Board Chairman Dietmar Arends. As Bishop Kirsten Fehrs, who was delegated to the EMW Board from the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), has also resigned her mandate due to her office as Chair of the EKD Council, the EMW Board will initially only comprise 14 people following the new election. The fifteenth person will again be delegated to the EMW Board by the EKD Council.
Anne Heitmann is a pastor of the Evangelical Church in Baden. After many years in parish ministry, including in Mannheim and Ettlingen, she took over the management of the "Ecumenism and Church Worldwide" department in the Evangelical Church in Baden. She received her first ecumenical training through her studies in João Pessoa in north-east Brazil. From 2013 to 2022, Heitmann was a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), where she was also involved in the preparatory committee for the WCC Assembly in Karlsruhe in 2022. The Church Councillor is a member of the Mission Council of the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS) and has been Chair of the EMS Presidium since November 2024.
Holger Nerlich has been Managing Director of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM) since 1 November 2023. Prior to this, he worked in the savings bank organisation for almost 40 years, including as a member of the Management Board from 2007. He is now bringing these many years of experience and expertise in the areas of finance and organisation to the work of the ELM. Holger Nerlich has been a member of the EMW Finance Committee since September 2024.
The EMW Board will now be made up of the following members over the next two years Regional Superintendent Dietmar Arends (Chairman), Pastor Wolfgang Bay D.min. (Deputy Chairman), Senior Church Councillor Marcus Garras, Provost Martina Helmer-Pham Xuan, Pastor Raimund Hertzsch, Pastor Hanns Hoerschelmann D.min., Prof. Dr Michael Kißkalt, Dr Judith Königsdörfer (Deputy Chairman), Julia Rau, Andreas Schlamm, Magdalena Stachura and, as the newest members, Church Councillors Anne Heitmann and Holger Nerlich as well as the person delegated by the EKD Council in future.
The Board defines the objectives and work plans of the EMW within the framework of the guidelines and priorities set by the General Assembly and supports the work of the office.
The next scheduled Board election will take place in autumn 2027.
