Julie E. Schneider-Thomas, Kent City, Mich., was elected May 20 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod of the ELCA. The election took place during the synod assembly, May 18-20 at the Comfort Inn & Suites and Conference Center in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Schneider-Thomas was elected on the fifth ballot, with 166 votes. Dana Hendershot, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mount Pleasant, Mich., received 73 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Comstock Park, Mich., since 1996. She also has been serving Hope Lutheran Church in Rockford, Mich., since 2016.
