April 30, 2018





Dear Friends,



I am writing today to inform you that, after much prayer and careful thought, I have decided to retire as Bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago at the end of my current term, on August 31, 2019. I will not be standing for re-election at the 2019 synod assembly.



In the spring of 2007, I made the decision to open my hand to whatever God had in mind for the next phase of my ministry, and, quite unexpectedly, this position of leadership was placed in that open hand. Now, to be true to my own teaching and my own belief about faithful Christian living, it is time to open my hand again and to release this trust back to the Church for the sake of our mission to the world on Christ’s behalf and in Christ’s name.



I cannot overstate the honor and gratitude I feel for the opportunity to be the steward of this office. However, in the rapidly-changing mission field around us, I believe that it is time for a fresh perspective and new leadership imagination to carry the work forward. I have chosen to make this announcement now so that I can talk about it openly in my 2018 report to the assembly, and so that you will have ample time to pray, to engage in open conversation together, and then to discern who God is preparing to be the next bishop, to guide you, to pray for you, and to learn from you for the next six years.



In the meantime, we will still have more than a year to continue the work we have begun. I pray that this may be a time of joy and hope as we live toward our common call into God’s open future.



In Christ,



Wayne N. Miller, Bishop

Metropolitan Chicago Synod, ELCA

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