Church: Synod for confession of guilt to queer people

With a vast majority of delegates, the spring synod of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN) passed a confession of guilt towards queer people. “It is a step on a path that continues,” said Church President Volker Jung on Friday in Frankfurt.

“We believe today: homosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality and intersexuality, non-binary and queer forms of life are part of creation,” Jung quoted from the guilty plea. Out of 103 members of the synod, 89 voted in favor of the confession, five against and nine abstentions.

According to Jung, this does not end the discussions, but rather stimulates further reflection on how people can be protected from exclusion. It is about “acting differently now and in the future”.

“I think it’s great to stand by the failures and mistakes we make as a church,” said Pastor Yvonne Fischer before the synod. “Everyone who still has wounds in them should hear: you are a blessing the way you are.”

EKHN’s guilty plea to queer people