03.01.2025

"Go to the People!" That is our Mission.

Since 2023, Bertram-Schäfer (right) is a member of the German Regional Board of UEM. Andar Parlindungan (left) welcomed her to the Mission House. Photo by: Martina Pauly, UEM

At the invitation of UEM General Secretary Andar Parlindungan, Provost Sabine Bertram-Schäfer from the EKHN* Church in Germany visited the Wuppertal Mission House in early December 2024. Most of the EKHN's partnerships with other churches in the UEM Communion are located in her provostry, Nassau-North. At the UEM General Assembly in 2022, Bertram-Schäfer represented the EKHN for the first time as a delegate. For this interview, she met with Martina Pauly, UEM’s spokesperson.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview. Let us start with your preferences:

Coffee or tea? Coffee with oat milk.
Electric bike or classic bicycle? Classic bicycle.
Äppelwoi (cider) or sparkling apple juice? Äppelwoi.
Luther or Zwingli? Luther.
Old Testament or New Testament? First and Second Testament.
Closed or open preaching bands? Half-open; we are a united church.

How are you involved in your region?

I am a member of the supervisory board of the former Cistercian nunnery of Gnadenthal. They are autonomous as an association, but still have a strong connection to the EKHN. It is a wonderful responsibility to support the ecumenical community of the Jesus-fraternity. Additionally, I serve on the board of the Regional Management in central Hesse, chaired by the regional governor. We bring together representatives from business, politics, and society. For example, this association supports startups. Looking beyond our immediate concerns and fostering partnerships locally is crucial for us as a church in the region.

As a theologian, how do you interpret the biblical mission mandate in Matthew 28:19-20 for today?

For me, the mission mandate is particularly significant in its call to "Go to all people!" This primarily means not staying within the comfort of our churches or community halls. We are called to reach out to people, inviting them to hear the Gospel — not being exclusive or rejecting towards anyone. I view this mandate as both a global and local calling. It is God's directive to cross boundaries, whether they are physical, societal, or church boundaries.

To me, it means being an inviting church, placing the Gospel at the centre, and sharing the message of Jesus Christ. Why did Christianity become so widespread? It was not because Christians focused on rules, buildings, or structures, but because they brought the Gospel to the poor, the sick, widows, orphans, and everyone else. That is the essence of the mission: "Go to the people!"

Why does the EKHN need the UEM specifically?

To strengthen relationships worldwide, to grow together, and to learn from one another. In October, I facilitated an international pastoral workshop in Tanzania with pastors from Tanzania and Indonesia, where we exchanged ideas on the relationship between diakonia and the church. This mutual enrichment is essential for us as churches and for the EKHN, helping us learn from each other. The UEM, with its structures and opportunities, provides many contexts for such encounters.

What role does mission still play for churches in Germany? After all, many of them no longer see themselves as missionary.

The key question is always: what does mission mean? If we understand "missio" as being sent to people because Christ has sent us into the world, then the term remains vital. However, if mission is narrowly understood as the knowledgeable church going to other countries to teach people how to believe or interpret the Gospel, then it becomes the wrong term. But being sent by Christ to share the love of God will always be our mission.

Thank you for your time and for this conversation!

About the Person
Sabine Bertram-Schäfer was born in 1966 near Munich, Germany, and grew up in Bavaria and the Westerwald. She studied Protestant Theology in Mainz and Marburg (both Germany). In 1997, she began her first pastoral position in Dauernheim near Nidda. Three years later, she was elected deputy dean of the Nidda deanery, becoming dean of the Büdingen deanery in 2005. In September 2020, the church synod of the EKHN, Germany, elected her as Provost of Nassau-North. Since January 2021, she has been a member of the church leadership. As such, the theologian and mother of two adult children chairs both the Large and the Small Councils of the Protestant Academy of Hessen and Nassau.

*EKHN = Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau (Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau)