Philip C. Hirsch, Chicago, was elected June 7 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod of the ELCA. The election took place during the synod assembly, June 6-7 at the College Park Marriott Hotel & Convention Center in Hyattsville, Md.
Hirsch was elected on the fourth ballot, with 175 votes. Karen Brau, pastor of Luther Place Memorial Lutheran Church, Washington, D.C., received 70 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as executive director of the ELCA Christian Community and Leadership unit (formerly Domestic Mission) since 2019. Previously, Hirsch served as director for evangelical mission and assistant to the bishop with the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod (2009-2019). He also was pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fairfax, Va. (1999-2009); Christus Evangelical Lutheran Church in Camden, N.J.; and Epiphany Lutheran Church in Camden (1990-1999).
