Pressrelease 2024 03 04
This weekend, the national association EKHO held its annual meeting in Johanneskyrkan Kumla and, among other things, made a decision to adopt the Christian rainbow movement as a new slogan, elected a new association chairman and board, talked about the future and had conversations about how churches can be better at welcoming, including and affirming trans people .
New union chairman
At the annual meeting, the national association EKHO elected Lina Landström as the new association president. She is a doctoral student in theology and lives in Täby. She has previously been involved in the LGBTQ Christian movement in the United States, especially in the United Methodist Church, and has a master's in theology from Vanderbilt Divinity School. Lina is a trained process manager for Regnbågsnyckeln and has worked with the Churches at Pride in Stockholm in recent years.
"It is a great honor to have received the trust of the members. I look forward to continuing to push the Christian rainbow movement forward as the Federation Chair of EKHO. We are many LGBTQIA+ people around the country who long to love God and be full members of our churches just as God created us.” - Lina Landström, confederation chairman
Lina takes over the chairmanship after Robin Paulonen, who held the position for three years.
"The fact that I, along with many others, through the National Association EKHO, have been able to be a small part of the work that has opened closet doors and church doors is a big deal to me. During my three years, I have been able to be there when someone from our large extended family took their first shaky steps in a pride parade. I have seen what liberation can look like. We share the gift and hope that we are loved just as we are.”
Changes in the brand
Based on a brand survey that was carried out during the previous business year, it emerged that the name EKHO and our brand is not clear enough or conveys what we are or want to be, and therefore we have made the decision to call ourselves the "Christian rainbow movement" from now on.
"This is a very exciting piece of work where we have confirmed what an incredibly important organization we are for people's rights and what we contribute to, at the same time that the survey showed that many people do not know about us and that we had difficulties in reaching out with our message and include everyone. - Anders Josefsson, communicator.
EKHO was founded in 1976 and the abbreviation then stood for Ecumenical Groups for Christian Homosexuals. Over the years, the organization has broadened and today includes all hbtqia+ people and allies. Until now, we have had "Christian LGBTQ people" as our slogan. The legal name of the organization will continue to be Riksförbundet EKHO. Now work continues on developing the brand and creating a new logo and graphic profile.
The Church and trance
During the annual meeting weekend, a conversation was also held about the church's ability to be a good home for transgender people. Oliver Jähnke is a trans person and Riksförbundet EKHO's spokesperson on trans issues and led a conversation with Nahuel Eli Martinez Ramos and Robyn Johansson.
"There is a storm around transgender people in all areas of today's society and world politics. Legislators debate gender justice, LGBTQ people are the subject of war propaganda and culture wars. Theologians debate binary creation theories. Doctors and pundits twist and turn the medical apparatus. Transgender people live in this storm today. What can churches do to get to know and include people with trans experience in our community? And in what way can we as a church counteract an unhealthy polarization in society around the lives and identity of transgender people?"
The new federal board in its entirety
Lina Landström, förbundsordförande
Oliver Jähnke, vice ordförande samt talesperson i transfrågor
Monica Björk, kassör
Astrid Hergils
Lasse Vallmoss
Ulrika Davidsson
Ida Malmström
Fredrik Andersson
Briefly about the organization
The Christian rainbow movement gathers and supports LGBTQ+ people and allies with a connection to the Christian faith. We want to influence churches and society to become more inclusive. The movement consists of the National Association EKHO, five local associations and several seed groups around the country. We are involved in running various forms of activities such as the Rainbow Key, which is a certification for churches and the Rainbow Line support line together with partner organizations. We also publish books where questions about Christian faith and different sexual orientations and gender identities are touched upon.
Presscontact
Lina Landström, förbundsordförande
Anders Josefsson, kommunikatör
Oliver Jähnke, vice ordförande och talesperson transfrågor oliver.jahnke@ekho.se
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