ELCA assembly elects William Chris Boerger secretary of the ELCA

PITTSBURGH (ELCA) -- William Chris Boerger, a member of Christ the
King Lutheran Church in Snohomish, Wash., was elected Aug. 16 to a six-
year term as secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly here.
“I am aware of the tremendous responsibility, and I will do my best
to fulfill that responsibility,” said Boerger following the election
results.
Boerger was elected on fifth ballot. There were 867 votes cast, and
434 votes were needed for an election. Boerger received 489 votes and the
Rev. Michael Cooper-White, president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary
at Gettysburg, received 376.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the
ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 12-17 at the David L. Lawrence Convention
Center. The theme for the triennial assembly is “Always being made new.”
This year marks the 25th anniversary of this church.
Boerger was bishop of the ELCA Northwest Washington Synod based in
Seattle. Prior to that, he served as pastor of two ELCA congregations in
Washington and as lay mission developer-pastor at Lutheran Church of the
San Juans, Friday Harbor, Wash. He earned a master of divinity degree
from Christ Seminary Seminex, St. Louis, Mo., and a bachelor of arts
degree in communication arts from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma,
Wash.
Boerger, who is currently on leave from call, succeeds David
Swartling, an attorney from Seattle. Swartling announced this past fall
that he would not seek to serve another term. Swartling is the first lay
member to hold the post of ELCA secretary.
The secretary is responsible for ELCA rosters, interpretation of
governing documents such as the church’s constitution, the ELCA archives
and handles other concerns for the 4 million-member church body. The post
is a staff position at the ELCA churchwide office in Chicago.