Barbara Collins elected bishop of Upper Susquehanna Synod

          CHICAGO – The Rev. Barbara Jeanne Collins, Selinsgrove, Pa., was elected June 18 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Upper Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election was held during the Synod Assembly June 17-18 at Weber Chapel at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove.
          Collins was elected on the fifth ballot with 133 votes to 122 votes for the Rev. William S. Henderson, pastor of Christ's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lewisburg, Pa.
          "I'm humbled by and in awe of being given this responsibility by our Synod Assembly voting members. The Holy Spirit is definitely doing something new here," said Collins. "This confirms the growing sense for mission across our synod. We're talking about renewal and about building relationships. We're talking about how we are blessed by God's abundance – empowering us to be generous in our living. I am impassioned to be able to help engage others in this vision to be the church, to be the change, and to be in the midst of our communities where God is calling us to be."
          Collins has served as assistant to the bishop and director for evangelical mission of the Upper Susquehanna Synod since 2013. She was pastor of a two-point parish serving at St. John Lutheran Church in Potts Grove, Pa., and Follmer Lutheran Church in Milton, Pa., from 2002 to 2012.
          The bishop-elect earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg in 1997 and a Master of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in 2001. Gettysburg is one of the ELCA's eight seminaries.
          The Rev. Robert L. Driesen, current bishop of the Upper Susquehanna Synod, has served as bishop since 2007 and will retire Aug. 31.
          Collins will be installed as bishop Saturday Oct. 29, at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sunbury, Pa.
          Information about the Upper Susquehanna Synod is available at uss-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 more than 3.7 million members in more than 9,300 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.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877 or Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
ELCA.org/news
Facebook: facebook.com/Lutherans
Living Lutheran: livinglutheran.org

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