Johann Wilhelm Ernst Sommer (31 March 1881 – 15 October 1952) was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, elected in 1946 for service in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Birth and family

Johann was born 31 March 1881 in

Stuttgart, Germany Stuttgart (; Swabian German, Swabian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fe ...

, of German and English ancestry. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Johann Jakob Sommer (1850-1925), a Methodist preacher who was arrested and reprimanded for persistent preaching in public places, and Zillah Elizabeth Barratt (1848-1935). He was educated in Germany, at

Kingswood School (''In The Right Way Quickly'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent , religious_affiliation = Methodist , president = , head_label = Headmaste ...

, Bath, and

Caius College Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

, Cambridge, in England, and in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. From 1906 until 1912 he was a Methodist

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He also attended Methodist Conferences in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

(1927) and in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

(1937). He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Free Church Council of Germany. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, his family lived in the basement of their looted home, and eight times he was called before the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

for questioning.

Episcopal ministry

Johann was elected to the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

by the Germany Central Conference of the Methodist Church, and consecrated by Bishop R.J. Wade, assisted by Bishops P.N. Garber and Theodor Arvidson. Bishop Sommer was assigned to the Frankfort-on-Main Episcopal Area (which included the Central, Northeast, Northwest, South and Southwest Germany Annual Conferences). Bishop Sommer died 15 October 1952 in Zurich, Switzerland. Bishop Sommer's son,

Ernst Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975- ...

, was elected to the episcopacy in 1968.

References

* Leete, Frederick DeLand, ''Methodist Bishops''. Nashville, The Parthenon Press, 1948. *Short, Roy Hunter, Bp., ''History of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church 1939-1979'', Nashville, Abingdon, 1980.

Birth and family

Episcopal ministry

References

External links

See also