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Three more videos from the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly are now available, including tributes to Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and Sue Rothmeyer, and a joyful message from Bishop Susan Johnson. Watch now on the ELCA YouTube channel.

Discover how your offering fuels life-changing ministry in the ELCA and around the world. From chaplaincy and disaster response to global partnerships and Portico benefits, these short videos highlight God’s work through our church.

Watch the powerful sermons preached at the 2025 Churchwide Assembly, including messages from Presiding Bishop Eaton, Rev. Wyvetta Bullock, and global ecumenical leaders. Each message speaks to our calling as church—for the life of the world.

On day four of the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton offered a powerful farewell report and received the Servus Dei Award for her leadership. The assembly also considered significant constitutional amendments and welcomed ecumenical and interfaith partners who affirmed the ELCA’s long-standing commitments to dialogue, justice, and unity. In a historic move, the assembly approved a resolution recognizing the Lutheran-Orthodox “Common Statement on the Filioque,” reciting the Nicene Creed without the clause for the first time in ELCA history. Click here to read the full Day Four recap at Living Lutheran.

On Day 3 of the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, Bishop Yehiel Curry was elected as the next presiding bishop of the ELCA. The assembly also celebrated ecumenical partnerships, honored federal chaplains, and approved a powerful memorial advocating for peace and justice in Palestine. The day’s reflections—on inclusion, resilience, and moral imagination—embodied the assembly’s theme: “For the Life of the World. Click here to read the full recap from Living Lutheran.

In a landmark decision at the 2025 Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix, the Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills was elected Secretary of the ELCA—the first Black leader to serve in this role. Mills, a TEEM graduate and assistant to the bishop in North Carolina, was elected on the fifth ballot and spoke of a new season for the church grounded in call, community, and God’s grace. To read the full article from the ELCA News Service, click here.

Yehiel Curry, bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, was elected as the ELCA’s new presiding bishop on the fifth ballot. The day also featured powerful preaching from the Holy Land, approval of the 2026–2028 churchwide budget, and the adoption of a significant memorial calling for an end to the occupation of Palestine. In a spirit of ecumenical solidarity and prophetic voice, the assembly celebrated partnerships, affirmed resilience, and looked ahead with courage and grace. Click here to read the full Day Three recap.

On day two of the Churchwide Assembly, seven nominees advanced in the election for presiding bishop, with a third ballot and Q&A set for day three. Voting members wore red to honor missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The day featured updates on repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery, the introduction of key social statements on civic life and human sexuality, and fiscal reports that revealed a stable budget outlook. Ecumenical partners and college leaders also offered greetings and updates. Click here to read the full Day Two recap.

The 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly officially opened in Phoenix on July 28 with a powerful worship service of Holy Communion and the first plenary session. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton preached on the eucharist as an act of resistance in a divided world. Voting members cast the first ballot for presiding bishop—no election yet. Grand Canyon Synod Bishop Deborah Hutterer offered greetings as the host synod. The day closed with an introduction to Friday’s litany of confession and repentance for patriarchy and sexism. Click here to read the full Day One recap.

The Rev. Yehiel Curry was elected July 30 as presiding bishop of the ELCA during the Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix. Elected on the fifth ballot with 562 votes, Curry becomes the first Black presiding bishop in the ELCA’s history. He currently serves as bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod and brings a deep history of mission development and theological formation to this new call. Read more in the ELCA’s press release.