Patricia Lull elected bishop of ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod

            CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Patricia J. Lull, St. Paul, Minn., was elected May 17 to a six-year term as bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during the Synod Assembly May 16-17 held at Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minn.
            Lull was elected on the fifth and final ballot with 226 votes to 215 votes for the Rev. Lamont Koerner, interim senior pastor, Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Stillwater, Minn. The bishop-elect will succeed the Rev. Peter Rogness, who will retire June 30.
            Since 2011, Lull has served as executive director of the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches. Prior to that, she served on the campus ministry staff at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Lull was dean of students from 2001 to 2010 at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, and from 1999 to 2001 was ELCA director for campus ministry. Augsburg is one of 26 colleges and universities of the ELCA; Luther is one of eight ELCA seminaries. From 1984 to 1999, Lull was pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Athens, Ohio, and from 1979 to 1984 was associate pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Alpena, Mich.
            Ordained in 1979, Lull earned a Master of Divinity degree at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Conn., and a bachelor of arts degree from The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. She is treasurer and a board member of the North Central Ministry Development Center; a member of the Mission Impact Council, Greater Twin Cities YMCA; a member of the Community Advisory Council, Twin Cities Public Television; and a volunteer for Project Home. She served as board chair of the Athens County Children Services and board member of the Athens County Habitat for Humanity. Lull has also written Bible studies for Women of the ELCA, the women's organization of this church.
            Lull will assume office on July 1. Her installation will take place Aug. 24 at Roseville Lutheran Church in Roseville, Minn.
            Information about the ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod is available at www.spas-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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