William O. Gafkjen, bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, was elected chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops at its Oct. 1-6 meeting in Chicago. The conference is an advisory body of the ELCA that includes the 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop and the secretary. Gafkjen has served as synod bishop since 2010.
Patricia Davenport, first African American female bishop in ELCA, dies at 70
Patricia Ann Curtis Davenport, the first African American woman to be elected a bishop in the ELCA, died Wednesday, July 29. She was 70 years old. Davenport served the Southeastern…