Church Council Update
June 8, 2026
Hello Trinity,
As I shared in worship on Sunday, the Metropolitan Chicago Synod has elected Pastor Erik Christensen to serve as its next Bishop.
This is a tremendous honor for Erik and a recognition of the faithful leadership and gifts that we at Trinity have been blessed to experience firsthand. On behalf of the Church Council, I offer our heartfelt congratulations and prayers as he accepts this call to serve the wider church.
I also believe this is a recognition of Trinity itself. Over the past two years, this congregation has been a place where Erik's gifts have been nurtured, challenged, and strengthened. In many ways, Trinity has helped prepare him for this moment, and we can all take pride in the role we have played in his ministry.
Naturally, like many of you, I am feeling two things at once: tremendous joy for Erik and uncertainty about what this means for Trinity. Those feelings can exist together. While this news is unexpected, please know that the Church Council will work closely with Erik, the Synod, and our staff to ensure a thoughtful and faithful transition. We will communicate openly as plans develop and keep the congregation informed every step of the way.
For today, though, let us first celebrate this remarkable honor, give thanks for Erik's ministry among us, and trust that the same God who has guided Trinity throughout its history will continue to guide us into our next chapter together.
~Jason Reno, Church Council President
June 8, 2026
Dear Trinity Friends,
I’m writing this letter to you from the hotel lobby of the Hi-League Service Trip to Albuquerque. We spent the morning building frames for wheelchair accessibility ramps that we’ll be installing tomorrow morning. The kids have finished lunch and are napping or cooling off in the pool before we head out for some sightseeing this afternoon.
You may have heard the news that I was elected at this year’s Synod Assembly to serve as the next bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. However surprising you found this news, I can assure you that I am equally surprised. Once it became known that Metro Chicago would once again be electing a bishop, I began to receive requests to consider letting my name go forward. I had been declining that invitation for a number of months, happy to be at Trinity with all of you and excited by the work that we have begun together. I did not appear in the slate of pre-identified candidates for bishop because I had discouraged people from nominating me.
As long-time mentors, former students, and close colleagues continued to ask me to remain open to the process, my discernment began to shift. I became open to remaining in the conversation that would help the Synod select its next bishop.
Lutherans have long understood that calling and vocation include both an internal and an external element. My internal sense of call has been firmly with Trinity ever since my first interview nearly two years ago. When I arrived at Trinity in the fall of 2024, it was easy and exciting to think that this might be my last call before retirement. You are a joyful, gifted community of Christians, blessed with an abundance of dedicated and talented lay leaders. You already do so much to love and serve your neighbors, and are eager to do more.
As external voices continued to speak to me about this call at assembly, I finally decided that I needed to be open to what the Spirit might be doing. I was not pursuing this new call, but neither was I avoiding it. I decided the most faithful thing to do was to simply be myself and let the assembly do its own proper work of discernment.
I know Trinity has already navigated a number of significant leadership transitions, made even more challenging by the COVID pandemic. In the months ahead, I am confident that the Synod and church leaders will work together to discern the next steps for bridge leadership and the call process. As that work unfolds, I will do my best to ensure that it builds on the thoughtful self-study and reflection Trinity has already completed, while also honoring the congregation’s strong momentum for ministry. You are a wonderful congregation, and your next pastor will be blessed by the chance to partner with you in the ministry of the gospel. I know I have.
I will be back from New Mexico at the end of this week and with you in worship this Sunday. I will meet with Council on Tuesday, June 16. We will share more information as quickly and clearly as we are able.
Until then, I would ask you to hold me and Kerry in your prayers, as you are in ours. These changes bring a whole host of strong and often conflicting emotions that need to be honored and expressed. In the midst of that, we remain the body of Christ for the sake of the world.
Peace,
Pastor Erik Christensen