Eastern Washington-Idaho Synod (ELCA)
The Eastern Washington-Idaho Synod is one of the 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It encompasses congregations in the eastern portion of Washington state, Idaho and 2 congregations in western Wyoming, and supports congregational mission throughout this territory.
In May 2017, The Rev. Kristen E.M. Kuempel was elected as Bishop of the synod. Bishop Martin Wells was the previous Bishop, had been re-elected twice, and chose not to seek a fourth term. The first bishop of the synod was Robert M. Keller. Bishop Kuempel also serves as an officer of the synod council, which is the synod's governing body between assemblies. It is composed of the bishop and 29 members, elected from each of the 12 synodical geographic regions called clusters. There are 88 Lutheran congregations in the synod.
The ELCA has partnered its synods with other regions throughout the world, and the companion synod for Eastern Washington and Idaho is the Ulanga-Kilombero Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania headquartered in Ifakara in southern Tanzania.
