H. Julian Gordy Elected Bishop of ELCA Southeastern Synod

Chicago (ELCA)-MRC/ES* — The Rev. H. Julian Gordy, St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Franklin, Tenn., was elected June 3 to a six-year term as bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly June 1-3 in Atlanta. Gordy, 56, was elected on the fifth ballot, 286-173 over the Rev. David F. Keener, Christ the King Lutheran Church, Evans, Ga.

Gordy will succeed the Rev. Ronald B. Warren, 62, who served as bishop of the synod since 1995. Warren had planned to retire following his second term as bishop but accepted a call to join Lutheran Disaster Response, a collaborative ministry of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Gordy led on the fourth ballot with 197 votes. Keener received 149 votes, and the Rev. Gary C. Christensen, mission director, ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission, Norcross, Ga., received 113 votes. There were 60 names on the first or nominating ballot.

Gordy will assume his new role as bishop on Sept. 1. He will be installed on Oct. 3 at Roswell United Methodist Church, Roswell, Ga.

Born in Newnan, Ga., Gordy earned a bachelor's degree from Mercer University, Atlanta, in 1972, and he earned a master of divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS), Columbia, S.C., in 1985. LTSS is one of eight seminaries of the ELCA. Gordy served as pastor of congregations in Franklin and Morristown, Tenn., and Ocean Springs, Miss.

Gordy and his wife, P. Morgan Gordy, an ELCA diaconal minister, are parents of four adult children. They reside in Franklin, Tenn.

The ELCA Southeastern Synod has more than 62,000 baptized members in 171 congregations in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. The synod office is in Atlanta.

*Elaine Schwartz, director of communication for the ELCA Southeastern Synod, provided information.