The Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe
The United Methodist Church in Central and Southern Europe consists of about 30'000 members and friends living in 13 countries: Albania, Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia. The worship services are held in more than 20 languages, but there are many more languages and ways in which members of this Church share the love of God with their neighbors.
| History | |
| 1925 | Constitution of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe (member-countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Baltics, Russia, Germany, Switzerland) |
| 1936 | Constitution of the Central Conference in Germany. The other Annual Conferences of the Central Conference of Central Europe (Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Switzerland and Yugoslavia) fell back into their old Connection to the General Confernce and constituted the episcopal "Sprengel" of the General Conference. Bishop Nuelsen located his office in Geneva. It was the birth of the Geneva "Sprengel". |
| 1938 | Austria became annected to Hitler-Germany. Consequently, the Mission Conference in Austria was integrated into the German Central Conference. |
| 1939 | Integration of «Methodist Episcopal Church North», «Methodist Episcopal Church South» and «Protestant Methodist Church» in the USA. As a consequence, conferences in Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia were integrated in Geneva Sprengel. |
| 1945 | Geneva Sprengel now consisted of: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Madeira Mission, North Africa, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. |
| 1954 | On October 14, the constitutive meeting of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe took place in Brussels/Belgium. Ferdinand Sigg was elected as first Bishop of this Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. |
| 1966 | After the decease of Bishop Ferdinand Sigg (1965), District Superintendent Franz W. Schäfer was elected as the new Bishop of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. |
| 1969 | The Methodist Church in Belgium left the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe and assembled with other Churches to the United Protestant Church in Belgium in the course of of the following years. |
| 1989 | Heinrich Bolleter was elected new Bishop of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe as successor of Franz W. Schäfer. |
| 1998 | The Methodist Church in Albania was established and added to the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. |
| 2005 | Patrick Streiff was elected new Bishop of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. |
| 2006 | Bishop Patrick Streiff took office; Bishop Heinrich Bolleter retired. |
| 2010 | A United Methodist congregation in Brussels/Belgium was added to the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. In the same year, the congregational work in Croatia was discontinued. |
| 2011 | The Methodist Church in Romania was established and added to the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. |
| 2022 | The UMC in Bulgaria and the UMC in Slovakia left the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe and became part of the Global Methodist Church. |
| 2022 | Stefan Zürcher was elected bishop of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. |
| 2023 | Bishop Stefan Zürcher took office; Bishop Patrick Streiff retired. |
When spring is in the waiting
Stable. Unchanged. It is adjectives like these that are heard again and again when the United Methodist coordinators for the work with people who have fled Ukraine try to assess the situation in their respective countries.
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A sad anniversary
Sowing and harvesting. Marveling and giving thanks. Celebrating and laughing. It could have been a year in which life blossomed. But it turned out differently.
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Is the new bishop actually already a bishop?
At the moment, the UMC in Central and Southern Europe is in a special situation as there are two bishops sharing the responsibility for this area. Or is it a little different again?
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Active Waiting and Preparing
People in Ukraine and the neighboring countries wait and long for peace. But it is a very active waiting and longing, focusing on meeting the needs of those suffering from this terrible war.
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