Steen as the first female bishop in the Schleswig and Holstein parish
Nora Steen is the new bishop of the Schleswig and Holstein parish. The 46-year-old was inaugurated into office with a festive service in St. Peter's Cathedral in Schleswig on Sunday. This is the first time a woman has headed the Protestant denomination in Schleswig-Holstein, which has been part of the transnational Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany since 2012. With a good 868,500 Christians, Schleswig and Holstein is the largest parish within the Northern Church.
Steen was elected by the regional synod in June as the successor to Bishop Gothart Magaard, who retired on November 1. She studied Protestant theology in Leipzig, Berlin and Göttingen after graduating from high school and spending a social year in South India. After working in Hamelin, Geneva, Hildesheim and Lisbon, she most recently worked as the director of a study college in Breklum (North Friesland district). Steen, who is married and has three children, is known to a wider audience as the speaker of the morning devotions on NDR and from ARD's "Wort zum Sonntag".
In her welcoming address, regional bishop Kristina Kühnbaum-Schmidt praised the theological expertise and broad horizon of the new bishop. She can draw on a wealth of professional and personal experience. In addition, she repeatedly demonstrates a desire to experiment and takes real pleasure in encouraging and strengthening others and in traveling together on the path through life under God's blessing. "In short: with confidence in faith," said Kühnbaum-Schmidt according to the press release. She is also looking forward to having Nora Steen as an "episcopal sparring partner" in the digital space and on social media.
Source: www.dpa.com
