IMAGINE
June 4-6, 2026
Split Rock Resort
428 Moseywood Rd, Lake Harmony, PA 18624-7009
The Rev. Jennifer Dee elected Bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod
At the 2026 Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly, held June 4-6 at Split Rock Resort in Lake Harmony, Pastor Jennifer Dee was elected to a six-year term as bishop, becoming the first woman elected bishop of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod.
Bishop-Elect Dee has served as Lead Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church since 2023, after serving as Associate Pastor there for more than a decade. She was ordained in 2008 and previously served St. John's Lutheran Church in Loogootee, Indiana. She earned a Master of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and a Bachelor of Arts from Keene State College.
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Bishop-Elect Jennifer Dee
The Rev. Jennifer Dee has been elected to a six-year term as bishop of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod
Assembly Highlights:
IN-PERSON ONLY & VOTING:
As a part of its business on October 18, 2025, the Synod Council discussed concerns that were expressed regarding holding the 2026 Synod Assembly as a solely in-person meeting at Split Rock. Click here to view statement. The 2026 Synod Assembly voting was conducted using paper ballots.
Synod Council Elected at Synod Assembly
Betty Jane Schaefer-Hassler
Synod Council Elected at Mission District Assemblies
Chris Keller (East Berks), Pastor David Kingsborough (Bethlehem/Easton), Fred Wuertele (Lehigh)
Assembly Documents
Information & Documents for Assembly Participants:
Physical copies of the Assembly documents, including the agenda and bulletin of reports, will not be provided at the event. If you prefer a hard copy, please print it out and bring it with you.
We will continue to add more as they become available.
BISHOP ELECTION
Additional Documents:
Assembly Recordings Available
All recordings from Synod Assembly 2026 are now available on the NEPA Synod YouTube channel. Revisit worship, plenary sessions, the bishop election, and more whenever it fits your schedule
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3: 20-21
Theme: "Imagine"
Our theme is grounded in Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14–21, a prayer spoken on bended knee before “the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.” Paul dares to ask for something audacious: that we would be strengthened in our inner being, rooted and grounded in love, so that we might comprehend “the breadth and length and height and depth” of Christ’s love—and be filled with all the fullness of God. Then comes the word that stretches our imagination to its limits: “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine…”
How big is our God? How big can we IMAGINE?
Our Synod Assembly logo gives us a living metaphor. A tree stretches its limbs outward in every direction—toward light, toward space, toward diversity, toward possibility. Its roots run deep, grounded in love, held within the shape of a heart. This is who we are called to be: a people deeply rooted in Christ’s love, and boldly reaching outward for the sake of the world God so loves. Growth does not happen without grounding. Reaching does not happen without roots. Imagination, too, is nurtured by love.
ELCA REPRESENTATIVE
Plus Saturday’s Eucharist Preacher
Pastor CeCee Mills
Secretary of the ELCA
The Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills was elected Aug. 1, 2025, to serve a six-year term as secretary of the ELCA by the Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix. Prior to her election, Secretary Mills had served as an assistant to the bishop for the call process and as interim director for evangelical mission in the ELCA North Carolina Synod since 2019. She had previously served as an interim pastor, as ELCA African Descent Ministries program associate, and as pastor of Rejoice Lutheran Church, Chesapeake, Va.
FRIDAY'S WORSHIP PREACHER
The Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin
President of United Lutheran Seminary
Dr. Erwin was appointed President of United Lutheran Seminary and Ministerium of Pennsylvania Chair and Professor of Reformation Studies in August 2020.
He was the fourth bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the ELCA from 2013 to 2020. Dr. Erwin was the ELCA’s first gay, partnered bishop and the first openly gay male to serve in that office in any of the churches of the Lutheran World Federation. As an enrolled member of the Osage Nation, on whose reservation he was born in Oklahoma, he was also the first Native bishop in the ELCA. In the ELCA Conference of Bishops, he served on the Executive Committee and as Region 2 liaison bishop to the ELCA Church Council, and as chair of the bishops’ Theological and Ethical Concerns Committee. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at Susquehanna University.
Imagine T-shirts!
A portion of every sale goes to the
2025 Northeastern Pa Synod Assembly Offering
Pre-Orders only - not for sale at Synod Assembly
