Advent Greetings from the South Carolina Synod Bishop’s Election Committee.
We give thanks for the faithful leadership of Bishop Ginny Aebischer for her nearly eighteen years of leadership to the South Carolina Synod as both Bishop and earlier, as Assistant to the Bishop. This past September, Bishop Aebischer shared that she will not seek reelection. Therefore, a new bishop will be elected at the 2026 South Carolina Synod Assembly.
The Bishop’s Election Committee is charged with preparing our synod for this election and inviting prayerful discernment about the needs of our church in this time. The Synod Constitution directs that the bishop shall be any minister of Word and Sacrament of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and that the assembly elects the bishop by ecclesiastical ballot. In this process, the first ballot at the assembly will function as a nominating ballot, and any eligible individual may be nominated by any voting member of the assembly. (Synod Constitution, S8.11 and S9.04.A94).
The election of a new bishop requires thoughtful reflection, careful deliberation, and deep listening about the needs of the church and the world. To ensure that every voice within our faith community is heard, the Election Committee has developed an online survey open to all members of the synod – rostered ministers, congregational leaders, and members.
Input gathered from this survey, as well as feedback from conference-level conversations, will shape a Synod Profile document that will be widely shared in the spring. The Profile will assist voting members in their consideration of the needs of the synod, and it will also assist ministers of Word and Sacrament in their own prayerful discernment about whether they may be called to allow their names to go forward at the assembly.
Your responses will help identify shared hopes, challenges, and expectations for the future of our synod, its congregations, and the ELCA as a whole. We invite you to take a few minutes to complete the survey by January 15th and share it with your South Carolina Synod congregation or ministry setting.
In Hope and Faith,
The Bishop’s Election Committee
Deacon Chris St. Clair, Joy Lutheran Church, Moore, SC
Tex Davis, Mt. Tabor, West Columbia, SC
Cindy Davis, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Charleston, SC
Kenny Hastie, St. Andrew’s, Columbia, SC
Rev. Dr. Wayne Kannaday, Living Springs, Columbia, SC
Rev. Ginger Litman-Koon, All Saints, Mt. Pleasant, SC
Dr. Susan McArver, Incarnation, Columbia, SC
