LSTC Celebrates the Election of Alum Yehiel Curry (TEEM ’09, MDiv ’13) as Presiding Bishop of the ELCA

“I won’t end my career in a Bishop’s office. I’m a builder, I’m a mission developer, and I have to build it again.”

— Bishop Yehiel Curry, July 30, 2025

With those words, the Rev. Yehiel Curry, LSTC alumnus, board member, TEEM program visionary, and recently re-elected Bishop of the Chicago Metropolitan Synod accepted his candidacy for the next Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago celebrates this extraordinary moment with joy, pride, and deep gratitude.

Bishop Curry’s election is not just a milestone for the ELCA. It is a powerful testament to the kind of visionary leadership LSTC has been called to nurture: rooted in community, bold in justice, and equipped to transform.

A Bold Formation Beginning at LSTC

Bishop Curry’s journey to leadership in the ELCA began in 1996 at a potluck on Chicago’s South Side. There, he encountered a banner for the SIMBA Circle (Safe in My Brothers’ Arms), an initiative dedicated to mentoring African American youth. What began as an act of service quickly became a call to ministry—and a path that led him to LSTC.

Ordained through the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) program in 2009 and later earning his Master of Divinity from LSTC in 2013, Curry’s educational and spiritual formation was forged in this community. As he once told LSTC, “My experiences are preparing me for future tasks and calls, which are preparing me to become adaptable to serving in various capacities within the Lutheran Church.” Those capacities have led him to being twice-elected Bishop of the Chicago Metropolitan Synod, the home synod of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Today, that future task has presented itself to a visionary leader and a changemaker within the church writ large and presented another calling: Presiding Bishop of the ELCA.

Leadership Through Service, Justice, and TEEM Transformation

LSTC has been not only a foundational part of Bishop Curry’s formation, but also a recipient of his enduring service. He has served faithfully on the seminary’s Board of Directors and is one of only a few alumni to have received both the Emerging Voice Distinguished Alumni Award (2017) and the Distinguished Service Award (2022).

As he said, “My place on the LSTC board is one of the only things I specifically asked for [during the 2022 Conference of Bishops]. I said, ‘I want to serve on that board.’”

Now, as the new Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Bishop Curry’s influence and insight will extend across the entire denomination—and into the lives of future leaders who will walk a path not unlike his own.

LSTC is honored to have been part of Bishop Curry’s journey from the beginning—from his first theological studies, through his ordination, his congregation-building, and his episcopal leadership. We are where he started in this denomination. And we remain his theological home.

Bishop Curry’s impact on LSTC and future generations of leaders in ministry has been profound. His leadership and advocacy are the very reason the seminary reimagined its TEEM program: making it credit-bearing and accessible for those called to both immediate ministry and long-term formation. “First thing as bishop I wanted to do something around the TEEM process, and LSTC said yes,” Bishop Curry recalled. “They said yes to me—and I wanted to say yes to them.”

His early story, once overlooked in traditional ordination pathways, is now a blueprint for how the church can lift up new leaders. The TEEM cohort model and the pathways it has created for emerging ministers are a direct reflection of Bishop Curry’s vision, courage, and persistence. Today, through enhanced asynchronous offerings through Project Starling as well as a newly refreshed TEEM program designed to meet learners where they are, LSTC has taken Bishop Curry’s mantle and committed to forging a future of accessibility, promise, and diverse pathways for our diverse community.

Preacher of Hope, Builder of Bridges: A Look to the Future

Throughout his ministry, Bishop Curry has spoken truth to power while calling communities to rise above fear as they face historic transitions. In a 2022 sermon at LSTC ahead of the seminary’s historic move, he opened with the words: “You can’t stay here.” It was not a critique—it was a call. To face fear, to move through insecurity, and to claim God’s calling with strength. He reminded us: we might have succeeded before. We might have been comfortable earlier. But as God says: You can’t stay here.”

He has continued to embody that same prophetic spirit in times of national pain, calling on the church to dismantle white supremacy, to accompany the traumatized, and to be the presence of Christ in hard places. These are the calls of leadership rooted in justice, of leadership unafraid to confront the very human feelings that can, at times, be paralyzing. 

Bishop Curry knows that the answer to uncertainty is action: from the founding of Shekinah Chapel to the creation of Rescue, Release, Restore (RRR)—a mentoring organization for African American youth across six cities—his ministry has centered justice, joy, and transformation.

This is a moment of celebration, yes—but also a moment of clarity and an affirmation of leadership grounded in transformative action: at LSTC, we know that forming leaders like Bishop Curry is exactly what theological education must do.

LSTC is proud to walk with him, now and always. As LSTC President Rev. Dr. Shauna Hannan stated, “We rejoice with you, Bishop Yehiel Curry, and pray God will bless your ministry among us and around the world.” Congratulations, Presiding Bishop Curry. We thank God for your life, your leadership, and your witness.