The Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN) is preparing for the election of the new church president. The election will take place on September 28, 2024 in the Dominican monastery in Frankfurt, and the handover of office will follow in January 2025. Three candidates are running for election and will each introduce themselves to the church synod and the public in a church service before the election.
Birgit Pfeiffer, President of the Church Synod of the EKHN, commented: “We are grateful and proud to have such qualified and committed candidates for this important office. Martin Mencke, Christiane Tietz and Henriette Crüwell each bring unique skills and experiences that will enrich our church. I warmly invite all members and interested parties to attend the services and get to know the three even better.”
The dates and locations of the presentation services are spread across the EKHN area:
- Martin Mencke – September 1, 2024, 10 a.m., Evangelical Church Wolfskehlen (Riedstadt), Deanery Groß-Gerau-Rüsselsheim
- Christiane Tietz – September 8, 2024, 10 a.m., Evangelical Church Westhofen, Deanery Worms-Wonnegau
- Henriette Crüwell – September 15, 2024, 10:30 a.m., Evangelical Marienstiftskirche Lich, Deanery Gießener Land
For those who cannot attend in person, the services will be streamed live and recorded. The link to the live stream or recording will be available on the EKHN website (www.ekhn.de). Also available there is the recording of the panel discussion with the three candidates that took place on May 28 at the Evangelical Academy in Frankfurt, as well as videos and profiles.
Information about the candidates
(in alphabetical order)
Henriette Crüwell was born in Offenbach in 1971. After completing an apprenticeship as a craftsman, she studied law, passed the second state law examination and worked as a legal advisor in church labor law. After studying philosophy and Catholic theology at the Philosophical and Theological College of Sankt Georgen in Frankfurt, she completed her vicariate at the Old Catholic University Seminary and in the Old Catholic Parish of Sankt Cyprian in Bonn, where she became a parish priest. In 2013 she moved to the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland. From 2015, Crüwell worked in Hesse-Nassau as a pastor at the youth culture church Sankt Peter in Frankfurt. Since 2016 she has been pastor at the Friedenskirche in Offenbach, and since 2022 she has been provost for the provostship of Rheinhessen and Nassauer Land. Crüwell was also chairwoman of the Association of Christian Churches (ACK) in Offenbach. In the EKHN, she was involved as a contact person in the special takeover procedure and also worked as a teaching pastor. She was also an assessor in the EKHN’s Church Constitutional and Administrative Court.
Martin Mencke was born in Hofheim (Taunus) in 1966. He studied Protestant theology in Heidelberg, Tübingen and Berlin. After a doctorate in systematic theology (under Prof. E. Jüngel, Tübingen), he served as a vicariate at the Johanneskirche in Bingen (Rhein) and at the Theological Seminary in Friedberg. He was a pastor in Strinz-Trinitatis, Limbach and Wallbach (Hünstetten) and the German Evangelical Church Congregation in Washington DC (USA), where he was also a member of the board of Community Family Life Services and head of the religion/ethics department at the German International School. From 2011 to 2023, Mencke was dean of the Evangelical Deanery of Wiesbaden with over 70,000 church members. He was also a lecturer in systematic theology at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt and headed the training and further education of preachers. Since mid-2023, Mencke has been the representative of the Protestant churches in Hesse and represents the interests of the church and diaconate vis-à-vis the state of Hesse.
Christiane Tietz was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1967. She studied mathematics and Protestant theology to become a teacher at high schools in Frankfurt and Tübingen. In Tübingen she received her doctorate in Protestant theology in 1999 and completed her habilitation in 2004. From 2008 to 2013 she was a professor of theology at the University of Mainz. From 2010 to 2012 she was an appointed member of the Church Synod of the EKHN, and from 2010 to 2013 she was a member of the Council of the EKD. Since 2013 she has been a full professor of systematic theology at the University of Zurich. From 2015 to 2021 she was deputy chair of the EKD Study Center for Gender Issues in Church and Theology. Longer professional stays abroad have taken her to Chicago, New York and Princeton. As a member of the EKHN, she is a member of the EKD Synod and chairwoman of the Theological Committee of the Union of Evangelical Churches (UEK). She is also an honorary pastor in the Dreikönigsgemeinde in Frankfurt.
