Donna J. Simon, Kansas City, Mo., was elected June 7 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Central States Synod of the ELCA. The election took place during the synod assembly, June 5-7 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Olathe, Kan.
Simon was elected on the fifth ballot, with 151 votes. Zachary Sturm, senior pastor of Atonement Lutheran Church, Overland Park, Kan., received 144 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as pastor of St. Mark and Peace Lutheran Church in Kansas City since 2000 and as director for evangelical mission with the Central States Synod since 2016.
