ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 6, 2012  

Burkat re-elected bishop of ELCA Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod
12-28-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Rev. Claire Burkat was re-elected May 4 to
serve a second six-year term as bishop of the Southeastern Pennsylvania
Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She was re-
elected on the first ballot at the synod assembly in Telford, Pa.
     Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Burkat earned a bachelor's degree in
education from City University of New York, and a Master of Divinity
degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, one of
eight ELCA seminaries.
     Burkat served as a mission director for the ELCA Southeastern
Pennsylvania Synod, the ELCA New Jersey Synod and the Episcopal Diocese
of Pennsylvania. She was an assistant to three of the synod's bishop.
     Burkat is co-convener of the Religious Leaders Council of
Philadelphia, and she is a member of the steering committee of Christian
Churches Together in the USA. She also serves on the ELCA Ecumenical Task
Force and is a trustee of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at
Philadelphia and Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa. Muhlenberg is one
of 26 ELCA colleges and universities.
     Information about the ELCA Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod is
available at http://www.ministrylink.org.
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United
States, with 4.2 million members in 10,000 congregations across the 50
states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work.
Our hands," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in
Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's
roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper
773-380-2956 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.ELCA.org/news
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