The Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills, currently serving as an assistant to the bishop of the NC Synod, was elected Aug. 1 to serve a six-year term as secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly held July 28–August 2 at the Phoenix, Arizona, Convention Center.

Mills was elected on the fifth ballot. There were 782 ballots cast, with 392 votes needed for an election. Mills received 404 votes to 378 votes for the Rev. Matthew Riegel, bishop of the ELCA West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod. Mills will be the first Black secretary of the ELCA.

“I have to echo our newly elected presiding bishop (Yehiel Curry) — I’m the product of you. I’m also a TEEM candidate,” Mills said to the assembly following her election. The Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) program prepares individuals for ordained ministry in the ELCA, with a focus on emerging ministry contexts such as ethnic-specific, multicultural, rural, and inner-city settings.

“I do believe it’s a new season for our church,” Mills said. “I do believe that the reason why I, an African American woman who stands before you with no degrees in a church that cares so much about education, … is because you saw the gifts and potential in me. I celebrate with you that we listen to God’s call and that we will become God’s beloved community.”

Mills has served as an assistant to the bishop in the ELCA North Carolina Synod since 2019. Previously, she served as an interim pastor, as program associate for African Descent Ministries with the ELCA churchwide organization in Chicago, and as pastor of Rejoice Lutheran Church, Chesapeake, Va. She received a TEEM certification from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., in 2002.

This churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting under the theme “For the Life of the World.” The assembly is participating in plenary discussions to make decisions about the work of this church. They are also spending time in worship and engaging in various ways of theological reflection.

Watch the livestream.