Rev. Yehiel Curry, 53, has been named the first Black presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).   

Curry succeeds the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, who served the ECLA for 12 years. She was the first woman to lead the ECLA.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Curry told The Associated Press. “The fact that you’re a first.”

ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 2.7 million members in more than 8,400 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region.

Curry is hoping to do what Eaton did when it comes to representation in the ELCA, which is more than 95% white. Eaton is credited with transforming the ELCA conference of bishops from a majority of men to a majority of women.

“I think her presence mattered,” Curry said. “And I’m hopeful that if presence matters, that we will start to see more and more leaders of color.”

He was elected at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly on July 30 in Phoenix.  His six-year term officially began on Oct. 1.

Before serving as Presiding Bishop, Curry served as bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod since 2019, a mission developer from 2009-2012, and pastor of Shekinah Chapel in Riverdale, Illinois, from 2012-2019.

Curry received a Bachelor of Arts from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC).

According to the Washington Times, Curry’s goals in his tenure include exploring ways for the ELCA to be a more connected church, from local congregations up through the hierarchy. He also wants the ELCA to continue its priority of being a welcoming and thriving church.