UMC bishops provide scholarships for 3 young adults to attend Global Ecumenical Theological Institute

The Council of Bishops is providing partial scholarships for three young adults who have been accepted into the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI). 
 
The UMC bishops believe strongly in their Disciplinary calling to lead the denomination with a “passion for the unity of the church” (¶403.1.e), exemplified by their assumption of the leadership of the ecumenical and interreligious ministries of The United Methodist Church.
 
As a part of their oversight of the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund (ICF), the bishops regularly offer scholarships and grants for ecumenical and/or interreligious ministries and events.
 
The three young adults selected for the GETI scholarships are:
 
Felis Süß

Felis Süß is a student from Aue in Saxony, Germany.  He studies and serves in Reutlingen, Germany. He has spent time in Romania, Latvia and Moldova getting to know churches of other traditions. He has also organized ecumenical prayer meetings, led a Jewish-Christian exchange project and led community youth groups. 
 
 Hannah Andres

Hannah Andres is from South Dakota in the United States and has recently completed her theology studies at Claremont School of Theology.  Last year she participated in the WCC’s Ecumenical Institute at Bossey and currently serves both on the bishops’ advisory committee for ecumenical and interreligious relationships and on the Methodist Church in Britain-United Methodist Concordat Group. 
 
Almuth Zipf

Almuth Zipf is a newly-ordained elder who has studied at Tuebingen University, Duke Divinity School and Reutlingen School of Theology.  She has helped present The United Methodist Church at the German Kirchentag and will soon help with the theological training of lay preachers in her region.  She currently serves in Plochingen, Germany.
 
These three young adults will represent The United Methodist Church at the GETI 2022, which will be held partially online and partially in-person during the Eleventh Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Karlsruhe, Germany later this year. They will be joining up to 130 other young adult Christians from around the world to form a learning community, as they study the global Ecumenical Movement’s current debates and practices in various regions of the world.  
 
If you are interested in being involved in the bishops’ ecumenical and interreligious ministries, please see the UMEIT opportunities available as listed on the bishops’ website, www.unitedmethodistbishops.org.  Search under the “Ecumenical” tab.