“Together for the integrity of creation” is the title of the 2023 Annual Report of the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS) that has just been published. You can request your free copy of the 16-page report immediately or download it from the EMS website. 

“At a time of mounting challenges, the EMS is continuing its project work to promote diversity and justice. It attaches special importance to sustainable and ethical practices,” says Rudolf Bausch, General Manager of the EMS. In his financial report, he discloses revenues and expenditure for the 2023 financial year. There was in fact an increase in donations, which meant that EMS member churches were able to invest over €2.6 million in more than 50 projects in 2023.  

Over €2.6 million for more than 50 projects worldwide 

Not only does the Annual Report provide insights into project work and show where donations were allocated, it also presents events that took place in the EMS Fellowship. The focus here is on the integrity of the creation, a cause that the EMS has been promoting for decades. Considerable progress was made in this respect in 2023. An advocacy training programme prepared ten environmental teams from Germany, Ghana, India and Indonesia to harness local resources that enable them to carry out sustainable environmental work. In 2023, the EMS also launched an EMASplus certification process that was completed in March 2024.  

A year full of challenges for the Middle East 

In 2023, the Middle East suffered several major challenges. First, the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, then the events of 7 October and their aftermath, which culminated in the most devastating cataclysm to hit the region in decades. The EMS was able to provide direct aid through its member churches in the Middle East. But despite all of this, 23 sustainable projects were launched in the region. The National Protestant College (NPC) in Kfarshima (Lebanon) was fitted with a photovoltaic system and a building renovation programme was launched to transform it into a sustainable institution. What's more, since the summer of 2023, an organ originally from Wendlingen in Swabia has resounded in the church at the Theodor Schneller School in Amman (Jordan).  

“Together for the integrity of creation”. Read the latest Annual Report to discover more details about projects as well as the facts and figures. It also explains why people working for the EMS remain full of hope despite the mounting challenges. The Annual Report is available in the form of an e-book free of change at ems-online.org/jahresbericht either for downloading or as a printed copy or you can request it at info@dont-want-spam.ems-online.org. 

Press contact: Dr Dieter Heidtmann, heidtmann@dont-want-spam.ems-online.org, Tel. +49 711 63678-21