Stacie R. Fidlar of Rock Island, Ill., was elected June 18 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod of the ELCA. The election took place during the synod assembly, which met online on June 5 and 12 and then in person at Augustana College in Rock Island June 17-18.
Fidlar was elected on the fifth ballot with 219 votes to 111 votes for Janet Hunt, pastor of First Lutheran Church in DeKalb, Ill. A total of 166 votes was needed for election.
The bishop-elect has served as pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Rock Island since 1999. She was pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Seneca, Ill., from 1995 to 1999 and interim pastor of St. James Lutheran Church in Forreston, Ill., in 1995.
Fidlar will take office on Sept. 1. Her installation is scheduled for Oct. 8 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Rockford, Ill. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will officiate at the installation.
Jeffrey Clements, who has served as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod since 2012, is retiring.
