PHOENIX – The Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills was elected Aug. 1 to serve a six-year term as secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly being held July 28–Aug. 2 at the Phoenix (Ariz.) Convention Center.
Mills was elected on the fifth ballot. There were 782 ballots cast, with 392 votes needed for an election. Mills received 404 votes to 378 votes for the Rev. Matthew Riegel, bishop of the ELCA West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod. Mills will be the first Black secretary of the ELCA.
“I have to echo our newly elected presiding bishop (Yehiel Curry) — I’m the product of you. I’m also a TEEM candidate,” Mills said to the assembly following her election. The Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) program prepares individuals for ordained ministry in the ELCA, with a focus on emerging ministry contexts such as ethnic-specific, multicultural, rural and inner-city settings.
“I do believe it’s a new season for our church,” Mills said. “I do believe that the reason why I, an African American woman who stands before you with no degrees in a church that cares so much about education, … is because you saw the gifts and potential in me. I celebrate with you that we listen to God’s call and that we will become God’s beloved community.”
Mills has served as an assistant to the bishop in the ELCA North Carolina Synod since 2019. Previously she served as an interim pastor, as program associate for African Descent Ministries with the ELCA churchwide organization in Chicago; and as pastor of Rejoice Lutheran Church, Chesapeake, Va. She received a TEEM certification from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., in 2002.
This churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting under the theme “For the Life of the World.” The assembly is participating in plenary discussions to make decisions about the work of this church. They are also spending time in worship and engaging in various ways of theological reflection.
Live video of the plenary sessions are accessible at elca.org/CWA.
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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 8,400 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
