Largest U.S. Lutheran denomination installs its first Black presiding bishop
Source: CBS News/AP
October 4, 2025 / 1:28 PM EDT
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is installing the Rev. Yehiel Curry as its first Black presiding bishop on Saturday, a landmark moment for the predominantly white denomination. Curry succeeds the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, who served for 12 years and was the first woman to lead the ELCA.
A formal ceremony at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis kicks off Curry's six-year term, which began Oct. 1. He was elected at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly on July 30 in Phoenix. "I'm hopeful that, if presence matters, me being here does something for allowing others to consider, 'Someone who looks like me, or is from my community, or speaks with an accent, or their mother tongue isn't English [could take on a similar role]'," Curry said in a statement when elected.
American Lutheranism is often stereotyped by its Scandinavian and German roots and concentration in the upper Midwest. By some measures, the ELCA is more than 95% white. But it has invested in local congregations of color and multicultural ministries, while maintaining ties to growing Lutheran churches globally.
"He is representing a very white denomination as a Black man from the United States. I think it's a daunting, daunting call," said the Rev. Leila Ortiz, a friend who recently finished a term as ELCA bishop of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod. "I trust him, and I trust God and I can't wait to watch."
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lutheran-denomination-installs-its-first-black-presiding-bishop-yehiel-curry/
The Lutherans (in general) were pretty much the first "protestant" sect when they broke away from the Catholics, heretically publishing the Bible in the local language (German - yup, that "Martin Luther" ). There were eventually offshoots of Lutherans, like this group.