God Bless Sweden - Eva Brunne is the World's First Lesbian Bishop

By Sandra Showtime on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 18:43

You remember Sweden, right? Hotties, gender-neutral marriage, more hotties…this should ring a bell.  Sounds like Norway? Ok, admitted, Nordic countries do seem pretty equal in their awesomeness. Just remember that the world’s first openly lesbian Prime Minister comes from Iceland.  But now Sweden has nosed to the front!  

As Maxime68 already reported in this week’s political column “The Lesbian News Snatch”, Eva Brunne (55) became the first lesbian Bishop on Planet Earth! So now, how cool is that?

Photo: Anna-Maria Lindqvist Arrué

With 413 to 365 she won the runoff-election of the Lutheran Church in Stockholm, after she was already the favorite candidate of the majority of pastors during the nomination. “She has this natural authority,” said her fellow church members after the election in several TV interviews. “Her enthusiasm and the ability to see the whole picture, to not get lost in details makes her so precious for this position.”

I want to add, her sense of humor doesn’t hurt either. When Brunne, who was a pastor in Stockholm for 16 years,  was asked what she does to relax in her free time, she answered, “I read crime fiction. And I carve. The things you do to conform to Jesus, huh?”  

Her partner Gunilla Lindén, who’s also a pastor, gave birth to their now 3 years old son after they entered a registered partnership. International journalists addressed whether this is a problem for the Swedish church, but Eva Brunne only joked, “Um, why? The backyard of the bishop’s house is really big enough. “