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.
“It is not a gift. It is a return.”
On June 24, leaders from the Oregon Synod and the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) gathered in Northeast Portland to sign documents returning the land of the former…