Tessa Moon Leiseth Reelected Bishop of ELCA Eastern North Dakota Synod

CHICAGO — The Rev. Tessa Moon Leiseth, Moorhead, Minn., was reelected June 7 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the Eastern North Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, June 5-7 at the Holiday Inn in Fargo, N.D.

The bishop was reelected on the fifth ballot, with 137 votes. The Rev. Joe Johnson, pastor of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Hillsboro, N.D., had 117 votes. A total of 127 votes was needed for election.

Moon Leiseth has served as the synod’s bishop since 2020. Previously, she served as interim senior pastor of Horace (N.D.) Lutheran Church from 2019 to 2020 and as interim pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Moorhead, from 2018 to 2019. She was the Southern Africa country coordinator for ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission from 2012 to 2017 and campus pastor of Concordia College in Moorhead from 2008 to 2012. Concordia is one of 26 ELCA colleges and universities. Moon Leiseth also was associate pastor of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in East Bethel, Minn., from 2000 to 2006; youth and family pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in Mounds View, Minn., from 1998 to 2000; and intern pastor of Baudette (Minn.) Lutheran Parish from 1996 to 1997.

Moon Leiseth received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College in 1992 and a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., in 1998. Luther is one of seven ELCA seminaries.

Learn more about the Eastern North Dakota 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.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org

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