Erik Christensen Elected Bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod

CHICAGO — The Rev. Erik Christensen, Chicago, Ill., was elected June 6 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, June 5-6 at the Q Center in St. Charles, Ill.

Christensen was elected on the fifth ballot, with 234 votes. The Rev. Heidi Torgerson, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in La Grange, Ill., received 160 votes. A total of 198 votes was needed for election.  

The bishop-elect was ordained extra ordinem — outside official church policy – in 2006 and received onto the ELCA roster in 2010 after the church decided in 2009 to allow partnered LGBTQ+ ministers onto the roster. He has served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Evanston since 2024. From 2017 to 2024, he served as pastor to the community and director of strategic initiatives at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, one of seven ELCA seminaries. Christensen also served as pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church of Logan Square in Chicago from 2006 to 2017.

Christensen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Macalester College in 1995, a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 2002, and a Master of Sacred Theology from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary) in 2004. United is another of the ELCA’s seven seminaries.

Christensen will be installed on Sept. 19. The location has not yet been determined.

The Rev. Wayne Miller has served as interim synod bishop since 2025.

Learn more about the Metropolitan Chicago Synod.

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.7 million members in more than 8,300 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands.,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information, contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.Buchbinder@elca.org

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