Evangelicals and the Reformed clash Power struggle escalates in Zurich Oberland parish
Things have been brewing for months in the Reformed parish of Illnau-Effretikon. First, an initiative to massively curtail the financial powers of the church council failed - now the sparks are flying again at the next meeting.
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- A conflict between evangelical and traditional reformed circles has been simmering in Illnau-Effretikon for some time - as evidenced by a failed initiative to massively reduce the financial powers of the church council.
- At the most recent meeting, the congregation indignantly rejected an offer of 50,000 francs in connection with the sale of a house and argued about the planned sale of a piece of woodland.
- The parish is under financial pressure and several members of the church council have announced their resignation at the end of the legislature.
There has been unrest in the reformed parish of Illnau-Effretikon for some time. This was also immediately apparent at the most recent meeting: after just a few minutes, there was an initial scandal - a further indication of how deadlocked the conflict has become.
The very first item on the agenda caused a row: when the approval of the minutes of the June meeting was being discussed, a voter left the room in a rage, as the "Zürcher Oberländer " writes. At the center of the discussion was a passage in which Simone Schädler, an EPP member of the city parliament, had stated in connection with an initiative at the time to curtail financial powers that anyone who was dissatisfied with the parish could leave. She also described the initiative as "evil" at the time.
Whether these formulations should be recorded verbatim in the minutes was controversial - in the end, a narrow majority of 32 to 29 voted in favor. The narrow decision is emblematic of the situation: the congregation has long been split into two camps, with free-church evangelical circles on one side and traditionally reformed members who are at odds with the course and communication of the church administration on the other.
Major dispute for months
The conflict had already come to light in June. At the time, an initiative wanted to radically reduce the financial powers of the church council: Instead of being able to decide on up to CHF 100,000 itself as before, the limit should be CHF 10,000. This would have meant that practically all major expenditure would have gone to the municipal assembly.
Max Binder, former SVP National Councillor and once the "highest Swiss citizen", argued in favor of the initiators: The church council's powers had been greatly expanded in 2021, and since then the municipality had had too little say in important matters.
Opponents warned of excessive bureaucracy and a blocked authority. Finance officer Kilian Meier countered that the church council's ability to act was being jeopardized and even trivial expenses - including software licenses or confirmation camps - were being forced before the assembly. Simone Schädler spoke of a "simply evil" initiative and asked why its supporters wanted to remain in the parish at all if they so fundamentally distrusted it.
"We will not be blackmailed"
Things have not calmed down since then, writes the "Zürcher Oberländer". At the current meeting, the focus was on a house on Glärnischstrasse that the parish had sold for CHF 1.2 million in 2020 to provide an assisted living community. The purchase agreement stipulates that the parish is entitled to half of any resale profit if the house is sold again within ten years.
Following the death of the buyer and the dissolution of the residential group, his brother would now like to sell or rent out the property. He offered the parish 50,000 francs if it waived its claim to the profit. For Simone Schädler, this was unacceptable: "It almost made my eyes black when I read this proposal," she said. "This amount is a bottomless impertinence." Other voters were also outraged.
Property manager Meinrad Knecht, on the other hand, warned against missing the point. Either the 50,000 francs were taken now, or the owner could rent out the house for the remaining five years - after which the parish would be left empty-handed. This provoked fierce opposition in the hall: "We won't let ourselves be blackmailed," shouted one voter. In the end, the meeting clearly rejected the contract amendment.
The dispute in the parish of Illnau-Effretikon is no longer a singular rebellion, but a structural conflict over trust, power and money. The turning point in the church council is foreseeable - several seats will become vacant in spring 2026.
