The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America cast a historic vote Wednesday, electing its first female presiding bishop of the denomination who defeated Minnesota incumbent Mark Hanson.
The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, currently a Lutheran synod bishop in Ohio, replaces Hanson, who has been the presiding bishop for the past 12 years. Hanson previously served as bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod and has been pastor at three Twin Cities area congregations.
The denomination's representatives, who are meeting in assembly this week in Pittsburgh, elected Eaton on the fifth ballot. She received 600 votes to Hanson's 287.
Minnesota has nearly 800,000 ELCA members, more than any other state. Nationwide, the ELCA has nearly 4.2 million members and is the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S.
The historically white faith group has sought to diversify its ranks in recent years and has encouraged churches to appoint people of non-European ancestries to leadership positions. In 2012, Minneapolis-area Lutherans cast a historic vote, electing the first female bishop — the Rev. Ann Svennungsen — to lead the nation's largest Lutheran synod.
Eaton was one of three female finalists for the presiding bishop position and made note of the denomination's efforts to become more diverse in an address to the assembly following her election.
"We are a church that is overwhelmingly European in a culture that is increasingly pluralistic," Eaton told the assembly. "We need to welcome the gifts of those who come from different places, that is a conversation we need to have as a church."
Eaton, bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod, will serve a six-year term as presiding bishop beginning in November.
