The Southwestern Texas Synod gathered May 3-5 in Corpus Christi for its 32nd annual Synod Assembly, under the theme “Called and Sent” which is connected to the Synod vision and to the Assembly scripture theme from Acts 1:3-8.
After two days of voting, speeches, and Q & A’s, the Assembly, on the fifth and final ballot, elected the Rev. Susan J. Briner to serve another six-year call as Bishop. The vote of lay voting members and rostered voting members was 146 to 104. The other final candidate was the Rev. Michael C. Coffey, Interim Lead Pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Brenham (in the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod) and former pastor of FELC.
The Assembly (re-)elected Synod Council members: Mike Saulnier, Rudy Losoya, Bianca Blaney, Denise Schulz, Greg Althaus, Tim Clark, Johnnie Jordan, Michelle Schlinke, Deacon Brianna Morris-Brock, Pastor Hephzibah Penumaka, and Deacon Lisa Diana. In addition, the Assembly elected the following as 2025 Churchwide Assembly Voting Members: Pastor Caleb Jeffers, Pastor Lea Walker Clark, Lorie Garcia, Owen and Camila Powell, Michael Riggs, and Lee Schnelle.
The Synod Assembly approved the 2025-2026 ministry budget. There are several “called and sent” videos which you can view at Business (swtsynod.org). To date, the Assembly has gathered over $32,000 for Lutheran Disaster Response, with more to come. They also assembled disaster buckets for use in the Gulf Coast and Rio Grande conferences for the care of immigrants and refugees at the Texas and Mexico border.
We are grateful to FELC Synod Assembly voting members Lillian Martinez-Rodriguez and Michelle Lingo for serving. Other FELC members who participated include Pastor Brad Fuerst, Pastor Kris Franke-Hill, and Pastor Michael Coffey.
We continue to invoke the presence of the Spirit in God’s church.
