Slovak Zion Synod

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Slovak Zion Synod—ELCA
Slovak Zion Synod Emblem.png
Emblem of the Slovak Zion Synod
Classification Protestant
Orientation Mainline Lutheran
Bishop Wilma S. Kucharek
Associations Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Lutheran World Federation
Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia
Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia
Regionnon-geographic
OriginEst. 1919 (Joined the ULCA in 1920)
Braddock, Pennsylvania
Congregations20 (2001)
Members2,635 baptized members (2021) [1]
Official website slovakzionsynod.org

The Slovak Zion Synod is a group of 20 Lutheran congregations and one of the 65 synods that make up the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is the only non-geographic synod in the ELCA, the only ELCA synod to have a congregation in Canada, and the only synod defined by its mission and outreach, instead of geography. [2] [3] The synod was founded by Slovak immigrants in 1919 as the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Zion Synod and joined with the United Lutheran Church in America, remaining as a separate synod in that denomination. [4] The policy continued when the ULCA merged into the Lutheran Church in America (1962) and later the ELCA (1988).

Contents

The synod has congregations in the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and in Ontario, Canada. [5]

The Rev. Wilma S. Kucharek is currently bishop of the Slovak Zion Synod, elected in 2002. She succeeded the Rev. Juan Čobrda (1993–2002) who succeeded the Rev. Kenneth E. Zindle. [6] Kucharek was re-elected to a second term as bishop on June 28, 2008, to a third term on November 17, 2014, [7] and to a fourth term on December 14, 2022, [8] by the same governing body. As of 2023, Kucharek is the longest-serving female bishop in the ELCA.

Synod assemblies

An ordination in June 2006 Ordination.jpg
An ordination in June 2006

Every year, the synod's largest legislative body convenes to govern the church body. The assembly typically consists of plenary sessions focused on business, enrichment and worship.

In the early 2000s, synod assemblies were held at many of the synod's own churches in order to establish a stronger relationship and understanding between the congregation and its own accomplishments through the greater church expressions of the Slovak Zion Synod and the ELCA. More recently, the assemblies have taken place on cruise ships because the cost was less than conventional meeting sites and lodging.

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References

  1. ↑ "Synod Data Toolkit for 2021: Synod 7G – Slovak Zion" (PDF). Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Synods". ELCA.org. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America®" (PDF).
  4. ↑ Body, John (1976). History of Slovak Zion Synod—LCA. Lutheran Church in America Slovak Zion Synod.
  5. ↑ "Synods". ELCA.org. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Wilma Kucharek Elected Bishop of ELCA Slovak Zion Synod". www.elca.org. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Drobena, Joshua (November 18, 2014). "Bishop Kucharek Re-elected". SlovakZionSynod.org. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Drobena, Joshua (December 22, 2022). "Bishop Kucharek Re-elected". SlovakZionSynod.org. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ "23rd Assembly". SlovakZionSynod.org. January 28, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  10. ↑ "24th Assembly". SlovakZionSynod.org. July 17, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  11. ↑ "25th Assembly". SlovakZionSynod.org. July 17, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  12. ↑ Drobena, Joshua (September 17, 2016). "Synod Assembly 2016". SlovakZionSynod.org. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  13. ↑ Drobena, Joshua (February 1, 2018). "Synod Assembly 2018". SlovakZionSynod.org. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  14. ↑ Drobena, Joshua (September 6, 2019). "Synod Assembly 2019 Concludes". SlovakZionSynod.org. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
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