Craig Miller elected bishop of ELCA Upper Susquehanna Synod

The Rev. Craig A. Miller, Mifflinburg, Pa., was elected June 18 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Upper Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, June 17-18, at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa.

Miller was elected on the fifth ballot, with 103 votes to 91 votes for the Rev. Stina Schaeffer, pastor of Salem Lutheran Church, Selinsgrove.

The bishop-elect has served as assistant to the bishop and director for evangelical mission in the synod since 2016. He served as pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., from 1996 to 2016.

Miller earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1985 and his Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary) in 1996. United is one of seven ELCA seminaries.

Miller will take office Sept. 1, and his installation is scheduled for Sept. 17 at Zion Lutheran Church in Sunbury, Pa. 

The Rev. Barbara J. Collins, who has served as bishop of the Upper Susquehanna Synod since 2016, is retiring.

Information about the Upper Susquehanna Synod is available at www.uss-elca.org/.