Bishop Election
The Metropolitan Chicago Synod (MCS) will elect a new bishop at the assembly in June. Bishop elections can feel different than other call processes because they end in a very public election, but they still require thoughtful reflection, prayer, and openness to the Spirit throughout the months leading up to the election. The information on these pages is provided by the MCS Bishop Election Committee (BEC) and is intended to help lay and rostered members of the synod learn about and participate in the process, as well as to guide those discerning a call to serve as bishop.
Questions?
Send them to BEC co-chairs Aneel Trivedi and Julie Boleyn. (, )
Members of the Bishop election committee are:
Pastor Aneel Trivedi (co-chair)
Pastor Julie Boleyn (co-chair)
Pastor Fanya Burford-Berry
Amelia Smith-Laubenstein
Pastor Patricia Cuyatti Chavez
Click here for listening sessions.
May 16: pre-identification persons forum, 1 p.m., Epiphany Lutheran Church, Elmhurst
June 5-6: Synod Assembly
The committee has made substantial progress since launching this work in the fall. Through November and December, the team focused on preparation, making a plan for this process, getting information onto the synod website, and establishing the budget.
The new year brought the listening phase into focus. We created a subcommittee to help us develop a Ministry Site Profile (MSP). This includes a synod-wide survey (more than 200 of you responded, THANK YOU), we have written a plain English version of the bishop job description, and arranged for videos of current and past bishops to share their insight on this important role. The survey has now closed and data compilation is underway.
Right now the team is in the thick of the listening and pre-identification phases simultaneously. Listening sessions are being scheduled and hosted through the end of April. At the same time, pre-identification is well underway. The pre-identification form has been emailed to every voting member who registered for the Synod Assembly by April 21. Panelist questions are being written, and interpretation arrangements are in progress.
In the weeks ahead, the work intensifies. By mid-May the committee will gather pre-identified persons’ profiles and bios, host the pre-identified persons forum, and begin finalizing assembly logistics including the agenda, ballot process, background check procedures, and speech questions.
The Bishop Election Committee’s role is to oversee the bishop election process and help the people of the synod identify potential candidates for nomination. The committee members serve only as facilitators, educators, and vote counters. The important work of discernment and electing the bishop remains with the voting members of the 2026 Metropolitan Chicago Synod Assembly.
In the months prior to June’s election, the Bishop Election Committee (BEC) will create opportunities for individuals and congregations to name and understand the characteristics of the MCS and its ministries, along with the gifts and qualities desired in the next bishop. The BEC will not recommend or favor particular candidates, nor will it influence future ministry priorities of the next bishop and synod staff.
The BEC will, however, create opportunities for clergy and lay people from the synod to identify characteristics they desire in a bishop. The committee’s hope is to share the information gathered through synod-wide listening sessions and surveys to assist with our shared discernment.
In April the committee will survey registered voting members for the Synod Assembly for the bishop election canvas. Only voting members may submit a pre-identification form, and each voting member may only make one submission. Please note that this is not a nomination; the nominations will begin with the first ecclesiastical ballot at the Synod Assembly.
By mid-May biographical information will be released about the six (6) persons (plus ties) who receive the highest number of identifications and are willing to be nominated for the office of bishop, together with a report concerning the canvass.
Around the third week of May, we will host a forum (in person and online) with pre-identified persons.
At the assembly, those nominated from the floor will lack the early exposure of the pre-identified persons, but will be given the same recognition, exposure and speaking privileges at the assembly that their advancement through the ballots warrants.
This committee values and will strive for an open and transparent, Spirit-led process. Prayers for this process and for all who are involved in it are greatly appreciated and helpful.
Holy One, we pray for your church. Fill it with passion for your word and trust in your promises. Raise up gifts among us as we work to call a new bishop for the Metropolitan Chicago Synod: listening and speaking, analyzing and inspiring, humility and grace. In all things may we trust in your promises, follow your will and serve your people, through Jesus Christ, who is our hope. Amen.