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Superintendent election in southern Thuringia: Schübel fails due to majority!
On June 15, 2025, the election of the superintendent for the new southern Thuringia church district took place in Meiningen, but Reiner Schübel failed.
Superintendent election in southern Thuringia: Schübel fails due to majority!
There was bitter disappointment in today's election of a superintendent for the new, joint southern Thuringia church district. The only candidate, Pastor Reiner Schübel from Munich, was unable to achieve the necessary majority. This reported insuedthueringen.de. The election took place as part of a special synod of the four merging church districts in Meiningen and now leaves many questions unanswered, especially what will happen next with the leadership of the new Evangelical Church District of South Thuringia.
The merger of the church districts of Meiningen, Henneberger Land, Hildburghausen-Eisfeld and Sonneberg will be completed from January 1, 2026, and the challenges that such a merger brings with it should not be underestimated. The joint nomination committee has been active since mid-2024 to find suitable candidates for management. Loud rhoenkanal.de The tender was carefully prepared and there was a public performance by Reiner Schübel on May 31st in the Christ Church in Hildburghausen. The regional bishops also took part in the service in which Schübel was introduced to the congregation.
Background to the merger of church districts
The idea of merging these four church districts is not new. Exploratory discussions began as early as 2022, and the need for this merger was reinforced by continually declining membership numbers. The Regional Church Council of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany (EKM) decided on new guidelines in 2021 in order to respond to these developments. With fewer than 25 full-time employees in the preaching service, structural changes should be initiated in order to meet the challenges of the future, announced ekmd.de to.
A merger of four church districts in southern Thuringia affects more than 169 parishes and over 50,000 members, and the expectations and fears of believers are correspondingly high. The plan envisages implementing a “big-picture solution” to better address the challenges of membership decline and the associated changes.
What happens next remains to be seen. Reiner Schübel's failure to respond to a serious challenge sheds light on the future search for a new leadership style for this important church district. The congregation and the synods must now work together to find a new leader who can successfully bring the various congregations and their members together. A good hand will be crucial to promote identity and cohesion in the new church district.