Wednesday 28 October 2009

So will today be the day Kässmann gets elected?

Regular readers will have gathered that our household is rather strange. We spent a large chunk of yesterday evening watching EKD television's live coverage of the EKD Council's election. Every one of the 15 members of the Council has to get a two thirds majority. So far only 14 members have been elected in 12 successive rounds of voting which ended at about 01.30 this morning. The final candidate withdrew because she didn't get a two-thirds majority even though she was the only name on the ballot paper.
The first person elected, in the very first round of voting, was bishop Margot Kässmann pictured here. She is now tipped to become the first female chairperson of the EKD Council, making her potentially the most influential woman church leader anywhere in the world - it has to be said that the club of women church leaders is one of the most exclusive - or maybe that's not the right word, after all it's not the women church leaders who are doing the excluding, it's just a very small group.
Anyway the election of the chairperson was due to take place today but because there is not yet a full Council there may be legal problems with proceeding immediately with that. Maybe I'll be spending a second evening watching the live coverage from the synod! Meanwhile this blog wishes Margot Kässmann every blessing.

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