ELCA Press Releases

We grieve with heavy hearts following the deadly attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego earlier this week. In a place devoted to prayer and community, three lives were taken in an act of violence that authorities are investigating as a hate crime.

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The Rev. Justin Grimm, St. Paul, Minn., was elected May 16 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, May 15-16 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, Minn.

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The Rev. Joy Mortensen-Wiebe, Madison, Wis., was reelected May 16 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, May 15-16 at Woodman’s Sports & Convention Center in Janesville, Wis.

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The Rev. Amy Current, Mount Vernon, Iowa, was reelected May 15 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the Southeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, May 15-16 at First Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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The Rev. Taryn Montgomery, Duluth, Minn., was elected April 25 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, April 24-26 at Breezy Point Resort in Breezy Point, Minn.

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Four leaders from ministries across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) share how their faith journeys intersect with their commitment to creation care in the seven-part short film series “Caring for the Earth: Stories From Faith Communities.” The free-to-access series premieres online April 25 as part of this year’s National Faith + Climate Forum.

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The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met electronically on April 16. The council, which serves as the ELCA’s board of directors, took action on a variety of matters intended to advance the ministry and witness of this church.

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The ELCA Church Council has elected Rachel Wind as the ELCA churchwide organization’s executive for administration, a position whose term coincides with that of the presiding bishop.

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has received a generous grant for ongoing support of Total Inclusion!: Widening the Welcome at ELCA Outdoor Ministries. The program, a collaboration of the ELCA churchwide organization and the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Network (LOM), equips and empowers outdoor ministry organizations as they move toward more intentional welcome of all youth, including those who historically have been marginalized in the church — especially youth of color, youth with disabilities and youth who identify as LGBTQIA+.

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This Easter Sunday, we celebrated the good news by proclaiming “Alleluia!” for the first time since Ash Wednesday. In four short syllables, that word — “Alleluia!” — encompasses all our joy in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. To a world beset by fear and violence, it is a bold declaration of faith in God’s promise that sin and death will not have the final say.

Yet there are times when “alleluia” springs forth not as a shout but as an anguished whisper, an expression of our yearning for the fulfillment of that promise. Even as the church celebrates Easter, we remember many among us who still long for the church to bear witness to that promise.

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The Rev. Craig Schweitzer has been appointed to a four-year, renewable term as executive director for the Christian Community and Leadership unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

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In his Easter video message, Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry says that even though we consider ourselves to be an Easter church, we must remember that we are also a Lenten church, living in uncertainty, waiting and hoping for renewal.

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Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility — a time dedicated to celebrating the lives, gifts and contributions of transgender people, while also recognizing their ongoing struggle for safety, dignity and justice.

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It is hard to avoid the crushing news of the headlines and what they mean for individuals every day. Today, I am writing specifically to address the sexual and gender-based violence that is all too familiar to many of us. I know many of you who are survivors live with this trauma and that the news cycle of these stories can push you deeper into despair and anxiety. I want you to know that I hear you. I see you.

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The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met March 3-7 at the Eaglewood Resort and Conference Center in Itasca, Ill. The conference is an advisory body of the ELCA that comprises 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop and the secretary.

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has launched the new ELCA.org. The new website provides a central, unified location where current and potential members, church leaders and visitors can know and understand what it means to be an ELCA Lutheran. 

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In our Lenten journey, we are reminded of our dependence on God, and we are sustained by hope in the future peace God has promised. As war involving the United States, Israel and Iran intensifies and spreads, we lament how far off that promise seems. We do not know how many people have been killed, but we know the number will continue to grow. Early reports indicate that more than 100 Iranian schoolgirls and several U.S. service members are among them.

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In a Feb. 9 letter to the U.S. Congress, ELCA Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry, along with other faith leaders, shared requests as Congress faces a Feb. 13 deadline to determine Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding.

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CHICAGO (Jan. 27, 2026) — Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry and ELCA synod bishops from Minnesota share a joint pastoral video message condemning aggressive immigration activity. The bishops acknowledge the uncertainty being experienced by many in Minnesota and in other parts of God’s kingdom, and they remind this church that in our lament we still hold fast to the promises of Christ and the assurance that we are not alone.

The national bishops of Lutheran churches in the United States, Canada and Denmark wish to send the Greenlandic people their full support in an unusually difficult situation.