Fourth Day of ELCA Churchwide Assembly 2025
Day 4 of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly began with morning prayer, with powerful word from Bishop Vashti McKenzie of the National Council of Churches in the USA. The first business session welcomed Presiding Bishop Eaton to share her report, highlighting her priorities in this role for the past 12 years - we are church, we are Lutheran, we are church together, and we are church for the sake of the world. Following this report, Bishop Eaton’s family joined her on stage as she received the prestigious Servus Dei Award and a standing ovation!
At lunch, ELCA Sumud (churchwide’s response to occupation and injustice in Palestine and Israel) held an event sharing stories and realities of the genocide in Gaza.
The afternoon’s business session began with the 2nd ballot for secretary of the ELCA, and welcomed dozens of interfaith partners from across the world. We heard from Rabbi Rick Jacobs (current president of the union for Reform Judaism), Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi (Executive Director for the Network for Religious and Traditional Peace), Bishop Denis Madden (co-chair of the Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue in the United States), Bishop Vashti McKenzie (President and General Secretary of National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA), Father Nicolas Kazarian (director of interfaith relations for greek orthodox archdiocese of America), Rev. Kristine Sandman (Chair of the Church of Norway Committee on Ecumenical and International Relations), and the Rev. Anne Burghardt (Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation).
The assembly adopted the resolution of the common statement on the filioque and heard a report from Presiding Bishop-elect Yehiel Curry, who currently serves as chair of the Conference of Bishops. Much of the remaining business session centered around important dialogue and voting on constitutional amendments to the ELCA Constitution.
The evening concluded with a synod-wide dinner at a local Mexican food restaurant, where Sierra Pacific Synod folks toasted to a week of community-building, learning, and spirit-centered change in Phoenix!
-Sierra Pacific Synod Representative Catherine Slabaugh








