CHICAGO – The Rev. Regina M. Hassanally, Goodhue, Minn., was elected June 1 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, held May 31 – June 1 at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minn.
Hassanally was elected on the fifth ballot, with 237 votes. The Rev. Emily Carson, the synod's director of communications, received 206.
The bishop-elect has served as pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Goodhue since 2012, and as director of shared ministry at St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minn., from 2008 to 2012.
Hassanally received her Bachelor of Arts in biology–health professions from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, in 2005, and her Master of Divinity degree from Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., in 2008. Her Lutheran year was spent at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., in 2011. Luther is one of seven ELCA seminaries.
Hassanally will be installed Sept. 14 at St. John Lutheran Church in Owatonna, Minn.
The Rev. Steven H. Delzer has served as bishop since 2013 and will retire Aug. 31.
Information about the Southeastern Minnesota Synod is available at semnsynod.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
