ELCA Press Releases

The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met Oct. 5-7 at the Hilton Minneapolis. The conference — an advisory body of the ELCA that comprises 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop and the secretary — met following the installation of Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

‍

The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met at the Hilton Minneapolis, Oct. 2-3. The council welcomed 19 new members who had been elected by the 2025 Churchwide Assembly. The meeting was held in advance of the Oct. 4 installation of Yehiel Curry as presiding bishop of the ELCA at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

‍

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America denounces the deadly attacks perpetrated yesterday against people at a synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur.

‍

The Rev. Yehiel Curry will be installed as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m. Central time at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minn. Curry will be the first Black presiding bishop of the ELCA.

‍

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has issued a message addressing political violence.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has issued a statement on the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing racial profiling in immigration enforcement.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has issued a letter to President Donald Trump and members of Congress expressing support of “our Jewish-American and Israeli siblings who have suffered because of the Oct. 7 attacks,” yet voicing “profound horror regarding the catastrophe in Gaza and the wider crisis in the Holy Land.”

‍

Augsburg Fortress Publishers announced a significant leadership transition. The Board of Trustees, with the approval of the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, unanimously elected Andrew DeYoung to be the organization’s next President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2026. DeYoung will succeed Tim Blevins, who will retire on August 31, 2026, after more than two decades of dedicated service.  

‍

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.

‍

The Rev. Yehiel Curry was elected July 30 to serve a six-year term as presiding bishop 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.

‍

‍

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has issued a video message about the recent IRS ruling that suggests the agency may interpret the Johnson Amendment of 1954 in ways that would allow churches and other religious organizations to engage in partisan activity.

‍

Paul Sterling has been appointed chief operating officer (COO) of Portico Benefit Services, a separately incorporated ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), effective July 14.

‍

Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will gather for the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, July 28–Aug. 2 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Ariz. Meeting under the theme “For the Life of the World,” the assembly will participate in plenary discussions to make decisions about the work of this church. They will also spend time in worship and engage in various ways of theological reflection.

‍

Bishop Eaton responds to the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, calling the scope of the bill "generation-defining and life-altering for many, with provisions that will harm the well-being of local communities and the lives of many individuals for decades to come."