S. John Roth re-elected bishop of ELCA Central/Southern Illinois Synod

CHICAGO – The Rev. S. John Roth, Jacksonville, Ill., was re-elected June 3 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election was held during the Synod Assembly June 1-3 at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville, Ill.

Roth was re-elected on the fifth ballot with 160 votes to 123 votes for the Rev. Tony A. Metz, pastor of Luther Memorial Lutheran Church in Quincy, Ill.

Roth has served as bishop of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod in Springfield since 2011. He served as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, Ill., from 1988 to 2011.  

The bishop earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1976 and his Master of Divinity from Christ Seminary–Seminex in St. Louis in 1980. Roth received a Master of Theology from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 1987. The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago is one of seven ELCA seminaries. Roth received a Master or Arts from Vanderbilt University in 1987 and his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt in 1994.

Information about the Central/Southern Illinois Synod is available at csis-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
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org

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