Susan Briner elected bishop of the ELCA Southwestern Texas Synod

​The Rev. Susan J. Briner, Seguin, Texas, was elected May 6 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Southwestern Texas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election was held during the Synod Assembly May 5-6 at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in San Marcos, Texas.

Briner was elected on the fifth ballot with 175 votes to 157 votes for the Rev. Paul R. Ziese, pastor of MacArthur Park Lutheran Church, San Antonio, Texas.

The bishop-elect currently serves as the bishop's associate of the synod. She served as a pastor of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Summerville, S.C., from 2003 to 2012.

Briner earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Duke University in Durham, N.C., in 1984, and a Master of Divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., in 2003. The seminary is one of seven ELCA seminaries.

The Rev. Ray Tiemann has served as bishop of the Southwestern Texas Synod since 2000 and will retire Aug. 31.

Briner will be installed on Sept. 1.

Information about the Southwestern Texas Synod is available at swtsynod.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 3.5 million members in 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