Abraham Allende elected bishop of ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod

            CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Abraham D. Allende, Canton, Ohio, was elected May 17 to a six-year term as bishop of the Northeastern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during the Synod Assembly May 15-17, 2014, held at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio.
            Allende was elected on the fifth and final ballot with 228 votes to 154 votes for the Rev. Jonathan L. Eilert, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Loveland, Ohio. The bishop-elect succeeds the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, who was elected ELCA presiding bishop at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The Rev. Marcus Miller has been serving as interim bishop of the synod.
            Since 2009, Allende has served as pastor of The Lutheran Church of the Covenant, an ELCA congregation in Maple Heights, Ohio. From 2003 to 2009, he was pastor and mission developer of Iglesia Luterana La Trinidad in Akron. Allende was director of community relations for the Cleveland Indians from 1995 to 2000, and broadcaster of various radio and television outlets in North Carolina and Ohio, from 1972 to 1995. Allende was a teacher in the Akron Public School system from 1966 to 1972.
            Allende earned a certificate in Theological Education for Emerging Ministries -- a program that leads to ordination for qualified candidates -- at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Trinity is one of eight ELCA seminaries. From 1967 to 1971, Allende did graduate work in Spanish literature at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education at California University of Pennsylvania in California, Pa. He has served on the board of directors for the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton and Cleveland, and he was presiding officer of the Hartville Migrant Council.
            Information about the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod is available at http://www.neos-elca.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 about 4  million members in nearly 10,000 congregations 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.

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