podcast
“The Bosses”
Church leader on abuse: “Cannot claim that anyone forgives us”
Anna-Nicole Heinrich, born in 1996, is the youngest President in the history of the Synod of the Protestant Church
© EKD/Jens Schulze
At the age of 25, President Anna-Nicole Heinrich took over one of the highest honorary posts in the Protestant Church. in the star-Podcast “Die Boss” she tells why networking is so important and how she deals with abuse in the church.
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Young, female, without a parish family behind her: Anna-Nicole Heinrich doesn’t really fit into the usual pattern of church leaders – and maybe that’s exactly why she was elected President of the Synod of the Evangelical Church in 2021. At only 25, she is the youngest person in the history of the EKD to ever hold this powerful honorary position. Heinrich was not baptized until he was a schoolchild, so he decided to join the Protestant church in Catholic Bavaria of all places. in the star-Podcast “Die Boss” tells the student (digital humanities, not theology) how she found her way to faith and describes her understanding of leadership.
Heinrich names networking as one of her strengths. She and hostess Simone Menne talk about how important it is to use the personal advantages and contacts that result from voluntary work – without a guilty conscience. “You can also say that you personally benefit from it. That you find personal support, that you get skills that you wouldn’t learn at school,” says Heinrich. This is a recurring theme, especially in youth work.
Anna-Nicole Heinrich wants to help shape the abuse process
In “Die Boss” Heinrich also addresses the challenges facing the evangelical church. The topic of abuse in the church is often still a taboo subject in the congregations and is very preoccupying. “Of course, because I’m entitled to help shape it in my leadership position. But also because I now have more contact with those affected, who really show me again in a completely unfiltered way what damage the church has done to people. And that the suffering that has arisen cannot be alleviated. And that it is important that we deal with this injustice. But that we cannot claim that anyone will forgive us for what happened.”
Why the topic is now a permanent topic on the agenda at the synod, what career tips she has and what qualities she keeps causing irritation as a manager – she tells all of this in the podcast.
In “The Boss – Power is Female” top women talk among themselves: hostess and multi-board member Simone Menne (including BMW, Deutsche Post DHL, Henkel) meets female bosses from all areas of society to talk to them about their lives and careers. “Die Boss” appears fortnightly on Wednesdays on stern.de and the Youtube channel of staras well as on AudioNow and all common podcast platforms.