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World Refugee Day
"And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me'" (Matthew 25:40).
The global need for refugee resettlement has never been greater, and the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is that lifeline — for children forcibly conscripted into armies, for LGBTQ+ people attacked for who they are, for religious minorities persecuted for their worship. In response to deepening crises around the world, the United States must reclaim its humanitarian and moral responsibility and reassume global leadership in refugee resettlement.
With so many lives in danger, we will continue to honor the Lutheran legacy of generous and compassionate welcome for those who seek refuge in our communities. How would we respond if the refugee on our doorstep were Jesus himself? As Jesus taught, "Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40).
For more than 80 years, Lutherans in the United States have joined together to respond to God's call to love the neighbor who comes to us as a stranger. Since 1939, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) has led the Lutheran movement to welcome vulnerable migrants and refugees in America. LIRS is the largest faith-based nonprofit in the United States dedicated to serving vulnerable immigrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees. Together with Lutherans across the country, we have equipped and supported over half a million newcomers as they settled into cities across the country, and we have advocated boldly for policies that protect those we serve. We work rigorously to ensure that our policies reflect the best of our nation, and when a child of God has no safe home to return to, we open ours.
This legacy of welcome is woven into our tradition and history as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Many of our Lutheran ancestors faced the pain of having to flee their homes and knew the joy of being welcomed into new communities across the United States. Because this church believes in sustaining a faithful presence in the world, it "holds power accountable, advocates justice, stands with those who are poor and vulnerable, provides sanctuary, and meets human need" (ELCA social statement, For Peace in God's World, 1995). Offering refuge to displaced people and people fleeing persecution is a natural extension of that biblical witness. The ELCA's AMMPARO strategy (Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities) — a holistic churchwide commitment to accompanying vulnerable migrant children and families, now and into the future — reflects this calling. Around 199 welcoming and sanctuary congregations, as well as 36 synod AMMPARO or immigration task forces with connections in 53 ELCA synods, have committed to offering accompaniment to migrants in their communities.
This year, World Refugee Day will include a social media campaign, prayer services, and opportunities for advocacy and education. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America invite you to learn, pray, and act on behalf of those seeking refuge on our shores. We encourage you to explore the ELCA's social message "Immigration," its AMMPARO strategy, and these LIRS resources to determine how LIRS and the ELCA can best support your congregation as it responds to God's call to serve the most vulnerable. With such pressing need, we urge our leaders and elected officials to push for quick resettlement of as many refugees as the United States admits this year, to strengthen and streamline the process so fewer families experience prolonged separation, and to help our nation forge a system of even warmer welcome, as resettlement partners work to rebuild.
This World Refugee Day let us recommit ourselves to empowering those driven from their homes by conflict, persecution, poverty, and climate change. We pray that all will experience grace in welcoming the stranger.
Together in hope,
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah
President and Chief Executive Officer, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Timothy Smith reelected bishop of the ELCA North Carolina Synod
CHICAGO ― The Rev. Timothy M. Smith was reelected June 3 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during an online synod assembly.
Smith was reelected on the first ballot, with 289 votes. A total of 268 votes was needed for election.
Smith has served as bishop of the North Carolina Synod since 2015. Prior to becoming bishop, he served as senior pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Atlanta from 2010 to 2015; as senior pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Boone, N.C., from 1993 to 2010; and as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church – Startown in Newton, N.C., from 1986 to 1993.
He earned a bachelor's degree in religion from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1982 and a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (now United Lutheran Seminary) in Gettysburg, Pa., in 1986. United is one of seven ELCA seminaries. Smith earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew University Theological School in Madison, N.J., in 1992.
Information about the North Carolina Synod is available at www.nclutheran.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 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 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
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
Paula Schmitt elected bishop of ELCA Allegheny Synod
CHICAGO — The Rev. Paula J. Schmitt, Latrobe, Pa., was elected June 5 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Allegheny Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during an online synod assembly.
Schmitt was elected on the fifth ballot, with 121 votes. The Rev. Scott Klimke, pastor of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, Johnstown, Pa., received 101 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as interim pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Latrobe since 2020. Prior to that she served as assistant to the bishop in the Allegheny Synod from 2014 to 2020; pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Altoona, Pa., from 2010 to 2014; pastor of Trinity (Sidman, Pa.) and St. John (Summerhill, Pa.) Lutheran churches from 2008 to 2010; and executive assistant at the ELCA churchwide organization in Chicago from 2006 to 2008.
Schmitt earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., in 2000 and her Master of Divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., in 2005. Southern is one of seven ELCA seminaries.
Schmitt will take office Sept. 1. Her installation is scheduled for Sept. 18 at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Altoona.
The Rev. Michael L. Rhyne has served as bishop of the Allegheny Synod since 2014.
Information about the Allegheny Synod is available at alleghenysynod.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 nearly 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 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
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
Brenda Bos elected bishop of ELCA Southwest California Synod
CHICAGO — The Rev. Brenda Bos, Glendale, Calif., was elected June 5 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Bos will be the first openly lesbian bishop in the ELCA. The election took place during an online synod assembly.
Bos was elected on the fifth ballot, with 160 votes. The Rev. Albert Starr, senior adviser for ELCA ethnic diversity, received 109 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as assistant to the bishop for rostered leadership in the Southwest California Synod since 2019. Prior to that Bos served as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in San Clemente, Calif., from 2014 to 2019. She also served as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Canoga Park, Calif. and as vicar of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Santa Monica, Calif. Before entering ministry, Bos worked in production for Warner Bros. Television.
Bos received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., in 1986; a Master of Divinity degree from Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, Calif., in 2012; and a Certificate of Theological Studies from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., in 2013. Pacific is one of seven ELCA seminaries.
Bos will take office Sept. 1, and her installation is scheduled for Sept. 12.
The Rev. Murray Finck has served as interim bishop of the Southwest California Synod since August 2020.
Information about the Southwest California Synod is available at socalsynod.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 nearly 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 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
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
Lee Miller II elected bishop of ELCA Upstate New York Synod
CHICAGO — The Rev. Lee M. Miller II, Buffalo, N.Y., was elected June 5 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during an online synod assembly.
Miller was elected on the fifth ballot, with 157 votes. The Rev. Aileen Robbins, pastor of Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rochester, N.Y., received 134 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as senior pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Buffalo since 2012. Prior to that he served as pastor of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, Pa., from 2004 to 2012 and as pastor of Christus Lutheran Church in Camden, N.J., from 1998 to 2004.
Miller earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from State University of New York at Albany in 1991 and a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary) in 1998. Miller is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry degree at United, one of seven ELCA seminaries.
Miller will take office Sept. 1, and his installation is scheduled for Sept. 18.
The Rev. John S. Macholz has served as bishop of the Upstate New York Synod since 2014.
Information about the Upstate New York Synod is available at upstatenysynod.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 nearly 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 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
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
Megan Rohrer elected bishop of ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod
CHICAGO — The Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer (they/their), San Francisco, Calif., was elected May 8 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Rohrer is the first transgender bishop in the ELCA. The election took place during an online synod assembly.
Rohrer was elected on the fifth ballot, with 209 votes. The Rev. Jeff R. Johnson, pastor of University Lutheran Chapel of Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif., received 207 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in San Francisco since 2014 and as community chaplain coordinator for the San Francisco Police Department since 2018. They served as executive director of the Welcome Ministry in San Francisco from 2002 to 2014, assistant night minister for the San Francisco Night Ministry from 2013 to 2018 and community garden coordinator at Project Homeless Connect from 2010 to 2012. Rohrer also served as pastor of a multiparish call serving the homeless and hungry at Welcome Ministry from 2006 to 2014.
Rohrer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana University in Sioux Fall, S.D., in 2001, a Master of Divinity degree from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley in 2005, and a Doctor of Ministry degree in 2017. Rohrer is currently a doctoral candidate in transformative studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. Augustana is one of 26 ELCA colleges and universities.
Rohrer's installation is scheduled for Sept. 11 at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Walnut Creek, Calif.
The Rev. Mark W. Holmerud has served as bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod since 2008 and will retire June 30.
Information about the Sierra Pacific Synod is available at spselca.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 nearly 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 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
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org