Chicago (ELCA) The Rev. John S. Macholz, Rochester, N.Y., was elected June 3 to a six-year term as bishop of the Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during the Synod Assembly June 1-3 at the Riverside Convention Center in Rochester.
Macholz was elected on the fifth ballot with 236 votes to 154 votes for the Rev. Marie Jerge, current bishop of the synod. Jerge, who was first elected in 2002, served two terms as bishop.
“This election is for the whole church and how we go forward in God’s Holy Spirit,” said Macholz. “I ask for your prayers as we begin a new phase in the life of our church.”
Macholz is pastor of Atonement Lutheran Church in Rochester, where he has served since 1990. He served as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Troy, N.Y., from 1980 to 1990. He has served as the dean of the synod’s Genesee Finger Lakes Conference since 2006 and was dean of the Hudson Mohawk Conference (mathematics) from 1988 to 1990.
Macholz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College in Bronxville, N.Y., in 1975 and a Master of Divinity degree from Christ Seminary-Seminex in St. Louis in 1980.
Information about the Upstate New York Synod is available at
http://upstatenysynod.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.
By Jeremy Lensing, an intern for the ELCA Public Relations Department and a student at Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., majoring in multi-media mass communication and communication studies.
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