New bishops
Dana Dutcher, relationship manager for Asia Pacific and Madagascar, West and Central Africa, addressed the assembly as the ELCA representative. A first for the assembly was a 5K/fun run that raised $320 for ELCA World Hunger. —Janice Jeletic
Upper Susquehanna, June 17-18, Selinsgrove, Pa.(
uss-elca.org). Meeting under the theme “Freed and Renewed in Christ,” the assembly elected its third bishop and honored retiring Bishop Robert Driesen. He was presented a “Retirement Survival Kit” from the staff of Camp Mount Luther. A new five- year companion partnership agreement was signed with the Kirchenkreis Ansbach- Würzburg, a district of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. Memorials were passed regarding peacemaking in Israel and Palestine and ending gun violence through advocacy. —Chad Hershberger
Metropolitan Washington, D.C., June 18, Gaithersburg, Md. (
metrodcelca.org/events/ synod-assembly). The assembly focused on racial healing and racial equity in the aftermath of last year’s assembly when the murders in Charleston, S.C., “broke our hearts,” said Bishop Richard H. Graham in opening the assembly. “For Christians, standing for justice, standing for racial justice, standing for gender justice is nothing more than standing for what we believe is God’s way of looking at the world,” Woven into the day were bridge-building stories by congregations and talks by synod Racial Equity Team members to propel participants forward in healing hope and action. —Karen Krueger
42 AUGUST 2016
Elected: William J. Gohl Jr., 42, as bishop of the Delaware- Maryland Synod, effective Sept. 1. When: June 4, on the fifth ballot, with 227 votes. Wolfgang Herz- Lane, current bishop, received 225 votes. Bio: Pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church, Baltimore. Earned degrees from Gettysburg (Pa.) College and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. Working on a doctorate at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.
since 2002. Served three congregations in Illinois and one in Minnesota. Earned degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Replaces: Gary M. Wollersheim, who retires at the end of August.
Elected:H. Jeffrey Clements, 61, as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod, effective Sept. 1. When: June 18 on the fifth ballot with 278 votes to 181 votes for Stacie Fidlar, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Rock Island, Ill. Bio: Assistant to the bishop for the synod
Elected: Barbara Jeanne Collins, 58, as bishop of the Upper Susquehanna Synod, effective Sept. 1. When: June 18, on the fifth ballot, with 133 votes. William Henderson, pastor of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lewisburg, Pa., received 122 votes. Bio: Assistant to the bishop/director for evangelical mission for the synod. Served Follmer and St. John Lutheran churches, Potts Grove, Pa., and as interim and supply pastor. Received degrees from Bloomsburg (Pa.) University and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.). Replaces: Robert L. Driesen, who retires Aug. 31.
Elected: Paul D. Erickson, 55, as bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod, effective Sept. 1. When: June 4 on the fifth ballot with 190 votes. Lisa Bates- Froiland, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, received 165 votes. Bio: Director of Agora, a ministry in St. Paul, Minn., that helps develop lay leaders for immigrant and multicultural congregations in Minnesota and South Dakota. Previously served as assistant to the bishop in the St. Paul Area Synod and congregations in West St. Paul, Minn., Milwaukee and Chicago. Earned degrees from Gustavus Adolphus, St. Peter, Minn., Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and Luther Seminary, St. Paul. Replaces: Jeff Barrow, who retires this summer.
Re-elected: Bishop William Gafkjen of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod on the first ballot, with more than 80
percent of ballots cast.
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