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What an exciting week at the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, AZ. Thanks to wonderful technology, you can watch the entire Assembly live on YouTube or view the recordings later. The theme of the Assembly was “For the Life of the World.” The Assembly participated in plenary discussions to make decisions about the work of our church and they spent time in worship and engaged in various ways of theological reflection. This is a triennial gathering and the highest legislative body of the ELCA — it is composed of an allocated 845 voting members, serving on behalf of the 2.7 million members. The ELCA’s 65 synods elect voting members to serve at churchwide assemblies.

In addition to electing a new Presiding Bishop, a new Secretary of the ELCA was also elected. The Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills was elected on a 5th ballot. The other candidate was the Rev. Matthew Riegel, Bishop of the West Virginia Synod, who just so happened to worship with us on June 22nd—how about that!! Pastor Mills may be familiar to some of you—she served as a Mission Developer for Rejoice Lutheran Church in Chesapeake and also served on the Virginia Synod Church Council. She was also the keynote speaker at Power in the Spirit last July. Highlights of what voting members also considered included:

  • The proposed social statement Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All.
  • Proposed editorial changes to the social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust.
  • Proposals (known as memorials) from the ELCA’s 65 synods that addressed missing and murdered Indigenous women, Indian boarding school remembrance, discourse on Israel-Palestine and an end to the occupation of Palestine, recommendation from the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC), addressing immediate action on dismantling racism; and restoration of USAID funding.