6/22/2016 9:00:00 AM

CHICAGO – The Rev. H. Jeffrey Clements, Rockford, was elected June 18 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election was held during the Synod Assembly June 16-18 at Centennial Hall at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.

Clements was elected on the fifth ballot with 278 votes to 181 votes for the Rev. Stacie R. Fidlar, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Rock Island.

“I have never yet served a call in this church that I would have anticipated or sought. Yet, each time the Holy Spirit has spoken through the church, I have been challenged and happy,” said Clements. “The same is true today. I am honored and humbled to receive this call and will gladly serve the Northern Illinois Synod in a time of great transition in the church.”

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