CHICAGO — The Rev. Tessa Moon Leiseth, Moorhead, Minn., was elected Aug. 16 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Eastern North Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during an online synod assembly.
Moon Leiseth was elected on the fifth ballot, with 168 votes. The Rev. Jessica Daum, the synod's director for evangelical mission, received 128 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as interim senior pastor of Horace Lutheran Church in Horace, N.D., since 2019. She served as interim pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Moorhead from 2018 to 2019, Southern Africa country coordinator for ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission from 2012 to 2017 and campus pastor at Concordia College in Moorhead from 2008 to 2012. Concordia is one of 26 ELCA colleges and universities. Moon Leiseth also served as associate pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in East Bethel, Minn., from 2000 to 2006; youth and family pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in Mounds View, Minn., from 1998 to 2000; and intern pastor of Baudette Lutheran Parish in Baudette, Minn., from 1996 to 1997.
Moon Leiseth received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College in 1992 and a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., in 1998. Luther is one of seven ELCA seminaries.
Moon Leiseth's installation is scheduled for Oct. 31.
The Rev. Larry Wohlrabe has served as interim bishop of the Eastern North Dakota Synod since January 2020.
Information about the Eastern North Dakota Synod is available at eandsynod.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 3 million members in more than 8,700 worshiping communities 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
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
