CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Jessica R. Crist, the Rev. Elizabeth A.
Eaton and the Rev. Wayne N. Miller were re-elected this spring to serve
second six-year terms as synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA).
Crist, bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod, was re-elected on the first
ballot during the synod assembly May 31-June 2 in Great Falls, Mont.
Prior to becoming bishop, Crist served as associate to the bishop of the
ELCA Montana Synod from 2003 to 2007, and director of the Northern
Rockies Institute of Theology from 1989 to 2007. Crist served as
assistant pastor of First English Lutheran in Great Falls, Mont., from
1984 to 1986, and associate pastor and pastor of University Lutheran in
Cambridge, Mass., from 1979 to 1983. She received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in English literature from Yale in 1975, and a Master of Divinity
from Harvard School of Divinity in 1978.
Eaton, bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod, was re-elected on
the second ballot during the synod assembly May 31-June 1 in Akron, Ohio.
Eaton served as pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Ashtabula, Ohio,
from 1991 to 2007, and as interim pastor of Good Hope Lutheran Church in
Youngstown, Ohio, from 1990 to 1991. She received a Bachelor’s degree in
music education from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, in 1977,
and a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in
Cambridge, Mass., in 1980.
Miller, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod, was re-
elected on the second ballot during the synod assembly May 31-June 1 in
Tinley Park, Ill. Miller served as senior pastor of St. Mark’s Lutheran
in Aurora, Ill., from 1994 to 2007, associate pastor of Our Saviour's
Lutheran in Naperville, Ill., from 1986 to 1994, and assistant pastor of
Immanuel Lutheran in Chicago, and pastor of the Augustana Center for
Developmentally Disabled Children from 1984 to 1986. He received a
Bachelor's degree in music education from Augustana College in Rock
Island, Ill., in 1972, and a Master of Divinity degree from Lutheran
School of Theology at Chicago in 1984. Augustana is one of 26 colleges
and universities of the ELCA, and the seminary is one of eight in the
ELCA.
Information about the ELCA Montana Synod is available at
http://montanasynod.org, the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod at
http://www.neos-ELCA.org and the ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod at
ttp://www.mcsELCA.org.
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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 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. 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
