The 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be held July 28–Aug. 2, 2025, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Ariz.

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the primary decision-making body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is a process of communal spiritual discernment. When the ELCA Churchwide Assembly convenes, its voting members meet with confidence in God’s grace around word and water, wine and bread, to carry on their work on behalf of the entire church. Over the course of the assembly, voting members:

1. Hear reports and review the work of churchwide officers, leaders, and units.
2. Receive and consider proposals from synod assemblies.
3. Elect officers, board members, and other leaders as specified by the constitution or bylaws.
4. Establish ELCA churchwide policy.
5. Worship together.
6. Adopt a budget.
7. Conduct other business related to the ELCA churchwide organization.

This year’s theme is “For the Life of the World.” Rooted in the ancient creeds, we are called to live boldly in service to a world longing for healing, justice, and hope. We will continue to faithfully pursue God’s mission of reconciliation for the life of the world.

The North Carolina Synod elected Churchwide Assembly voting members at the 2023 Synod Assembly. Voting members from the North Carolina Synod include:
Bishop Tim Smith, St. John’s, Salisbury
Synod Vice President Diana Haywood, Abiding Savior, Durham
Dr. Sylvia Black, Holy Trinity Chapel Hill
The Rev. James Demmel, St. John’s, Salisbury
Elaine Gerst, St. John’s, Salisbury
Greg Hudgins, St. Paul, Durham
David Kluttz, Morning Star, Matthews
The Rev. Betsy Mitchell, Holy Trinity, Charlotte
Doug Nelson, Augsburg, Winston-Salem
The Rev. Emily Harkins, The Dwelling, Winston-Salem
Caroline Parrott Barrett, St. John’s, Salisbury
Deacon Katie Rivers, St. Mark’s Asheville
Linda Warren, Abiding Savior, Durham

At this year’s Churchwide Assembly, a new Presiding Bishop of the ELCA and a new Secretary of the ELCA will be elected. Both elections use an ecclesiastical balloting process, and a list of pre-identified candidates has been published on the ELCA website.

2025 CWA Pre-Events in July include Bible study sessions focusing on the assembly theme, “For the Life of the World,” and virtual hearings on memorials, social statements, and budget proposals.

https://www.elca.org/about/leadership/churchwide-assembly