Chicagoan becomes first Black and person of color to lead Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Rev. Yehiel Curry of Chicago is now the Presiding Bishop of the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S.—which is in full communion with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Photo: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

What a joy it is to hear the news that the Rev. Yehiel Curry has been elected Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Bishop Curry will be the first Black, and indeed the first person of color, to hold that office.

For those of us in the Presbyterian Church (USA), this moment is especially meaningful because our two denominations share full communion.

His election is a gift not only to the ELCA but to the broader family of mainline Protestant churches, including our own here at Edgewater Presbyterian Church.

Bishop Curry’s story has deep roots in Chicago, and that makes his rise all the more inspiring for our community.

A former public school teacher and social worker, he came to church life not from a lifelong plan of ministry but by way of an encounter that will feel familiar to many of us. He has spoken about walking into a congregation in the city and finding himself suddenly at home, with the sense that this was the place where he belonged.

That experience of stumbling into grace is one many of our own members at Edgewater Presbyterian Church have known, too. People find themselves drawn to a congregation not always by careful planning but by the quiet work of the Spirit who gives them a sense of place and belonging.

Edgewater Presbyterian Church knows what it means to live into this truth. We have a large Black membership, with ruling elders who are Black and who help shape the vision and leadership of our life together.

We celebrate this openly, but we do not take for granted that people of color still struggle to attain positions of leadership in the American Church. Even now, in the heart of the mainline denominations, structures of bias and histories of exclusion remain.

The election of Bishop Curry is not the end of that struggle, but it is a sign of hope and possibility.

In him we see the promise of a wider vision for the Church. His background in teaching and community work has given him a heart for people and an ear for those whose voices are too often left unheard.

His Chicago experience has taught him the urgency of ministry in the city, where churches must wrestle with poverty, racism, and all the complicated intersections of life.

He knows what it means to build new expressions of community, to nurture leaders, and to honor the resilience of congregations who find strength in difficult places.

His leadership is an invitation to the ELCA and the PCUSA to see how God is at work in those very contexts.

This moment is also a call to strengthen the ties between our two denominations. The full communion relationship between the ELCA and the PCUSA is not simply an agreement on paper. It is a shared commitment to walk together in ministry, to learn from one another, and to witness to Christ’s love in ways that are broader than any single denomination can manage on its own.

Bishop Curry’s leadership has the potential to deepen this partnership, reminding us that we are bound together not just by theology but by a shared calling to serve.

As we celebrate, we also give thanks. Many of our congregants, especially our Black elders and leaders, have carried the burdens of invisibility and exclusion in the Church. Their witness has paved the way for this kind of moment.

To see Bishop Curry rise is to see the fruits of their labor, their prayers, and their persistence. It is a reminder that while the road is not finished, God continues to open doors and create new possibilities.

We at Edgewater Presbyterian Church rejoice with Bishop Curry and pray for him as he begins this chapter of service. We pray that God will grant him strength, courage, humility, and vision. And we pray that his leadership will ripple outward, inspiring young leaders of color across the Church, reminding them that they, too, can step into roles of shepherding and guiding God’s people.

This is not only a historic moment for the ELCA. It is a moment that gives hope to all of us in the PCUSA, a sign of the Spirit moving in our time.

We at Edgewater Presbyterian Church give thanks to God for this new day, and we pledge to walk faithfully in partnership with our Lutheran siblings as we look forward together.