On Saturday, October 4, 2025, the Rev. Yehiel Curry will be installed as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The service will take place at 2 p.m. Central time (12 p.m. MST, 11 a.m. PDT) at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Curry, elected during the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix, becomes the first Black presiding bishop of the ELCA.

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will preside at the installation, presenting Curry with the pectoral cross—the symbol of the bishop’s office. The Rev. Kevin Vandiver, senior pastor of Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, D.C., will preach. Leaders from across the ELCA and from global, ecumenical, and interreligious partners, including the Lutheran World Federation and The Episcopal Church, will participate.

Music for the service will be led by the National Lutheran Choir, musicians from St. Olaf College, and the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. The installation is open to the public, and no tickets are required. Doors open at 1 p.m. Central, and a public reception will follow.

For those unable to attend in person, the installation will be livestreamed. Details and the livestream link are available here: ELCA Installation of the Presiding Bishop.

Curry has served as bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod since 2019 and was re-elected in 2025. Previously, he served as mission developer and pastor of Shekinah Chapel in Riverdale, Illinois. He earned his M.Div. at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

This installation marks a new chapter in our church’s witness. As Lutherans, we celebrate God’s ongoing work to raise up leaders who guide us in proclaiming the gospel, serving our neighbors, and seeking unity in Christ across differences.