Uniting Church in Sweden facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Uniting Church in Sweden |
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| Equmeniakyrkan | |
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| Classification | United church |
| Orientation | Protestantism |
| Theology | Pietist, Reformed |
| Associations | World Communion of Reformed Churches, Baptist World Alliance, International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches, United Methodist Church, European Baptist Federation, World Methodist Council, World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches |
| Region |  Sweden |
| Headquarters |  Bromma, Sweden |
| Origin | 4 June 2011 |
| Merger of | Baptist Union of Sweden, Mission Covenant Church of Sweden, United Methodist Church of Sweden |
| Members | ca. 59,000 (2022) |
The Uniting Church in Sweden (in Swedish: Equmeniakyrkan) is a Christian church in Sweden. It is a united Protestant group. This means it brings together different Christian traditions.
Contents
How the Church Started
The Uniting Church in Sweden was formed on June 4, 2011. It was created when three different churches decided to join together. These churches were the United Methodist Church of Sweden, the Baptist Union of Sweden, and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden.
When they first joined, the new church was called the Joint Future Church. In Swedish, this was Swedish: Gemensam framtid. Later, in May 2013, they changed the name. They decided on the name Uniting Church in Sweden, or Equmeniakyrkan.
How the Church Works
The Uniting Church in Sweden has about 640 local churches. These churches are spread all over Sweden. Together, they have around 59,000 members. In total, the church serves about 130,000 people.
Before the churches officially merged, they had a common youth group. This group was called Equmenia. It started in 2007. The idea to form the new church grew over several years. The different churches made decisions to merge between 2008 and 2010. The final decision was made in 2011.
The church has leaders who help guide it. Since 2020, Kerstin Torkelsson Enlund has been the president. Lasse Svensson is the church leader. Karin Wiborn and Joakim Hagerius are deputy church leaders.
Education and Helping Others
The Uniting Church in Sweden helps run several schools. It operates University College Stockholm. This school used to be called Stockholm School of Theology.
Along with Equmenia, the church also runs several folk high schools. These include Härnösand, Sjövik, Karlskoga, Bromma, and Södra Vätterbygdens folkhögskola.
The church also works with other groups to help people. It runs an aid organization called Diakonia with the Swedish Alliance Mission. It is also part of a study group called Bilda. The church works with other Christian groups on a social work organization called Hela människan.
Working with Other Churches
The Uniting Church in Sweden believes in working together with other Christian groups. This is called ecumenism. Before the merger, the original churches had agreements with the Church of Sweden. Since 2016, the Uniting Church in Sweden has a similar agreement with the Church of Sweden. This helps them work together on shared goals.
