Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - The new evangelical state bishop of Württemberg, Ernst-Wilhelm Gohl, wants to bring God's love closer to people. Gohl preached on Sunday in Stuttgart that the church's mission is to go, listen and proclaim the message of God's love. This love does not give up on anyone and changes people for the better. "The world desperately needs God's love."
Representatives of the Württemberg Evangelical Church had elected Ulm Dean Gohl as Frank Otfried July's successor in March after lengthy consultations. "God founded his church with non-heroes," said Gohl in the service for the change of bishops in the collegiate church. And he will continue to bring them through time with non-heroes. "No person, no church is perfect," said the bishop. "If we're not perfect, we're the right people."
The 59-year-old leads around 1.87 million Protestants in the regional church. Predecessor July became state bishop on Saturday exactly 17 years ago and, according to Gohl, had held the office longer than any of his predecessors. Among the around 600 invited guests were Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) and Gohl's counterpart on the Baden side, state bishop Heike Springhart, who herself had only taken office in the spring.
Gohl also spoke about doubts in his sermon. He would like more of this, especially when it comes to ethical issues, he said, for example in relation to the war in Ukraine. He is actually convinced that peace cannot be achieved by force of arms. But there will be no peace without justice: "When a country is attacked, villages and towns are reduced to rubble, cruel crimes happen, when parts of the population in the occupied areas are simply deported - then I think it is necessary to help the country defend itself against this brutal attack."
