Jim Gonia elected synodical bishop

Jim Gonia, currently the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) program director for West Africa, was elected Rocky Mountain Synod bishop on the fifth ballot, easily outdistancing runner-up Bruce Kuenzel, pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran in Los Alamos, NM.  Gonia previously served as associate pastor at Atonement Lutheran in Denver.  The final vote was 263 for Gonia, 175 for Kuenzel.

Gonia led all the way through, though his supporters were given a moment of heart=flutter when his vote total inexplicably fell slightly on the third ballot.  Some remembered Dick Magnus leading the first two ballots when Allan Bjornberg was elected in 1994, only to fade on the third.  Would history repeat itself?

Previous synodical elections have indicated a tendency for the non-Denver candidate to have an advantage.  That did not come into play in this election for two reasons.  The first is that Gonia is not currently a resident of Denver and wasn't associated with Denver in the minds of the delegates.  Secondly, the New Mexico vote, usually a block, was split between Steve Loy, pastor of Peace Lutheran in Las Cruces, and Kuenzel.

Gonia's astute campaign relied on an enthusiastic base of younger pastors, many of whom were also associate pastors, or new to the synod, when Gonia was at Atonement.  Kuenzel had support, it appeared, primarily among lay people in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.  Loy split the New Mexico vote with Kuenzel, and had pockets of support among older pastors.

The election proceeds by way of "ecclesiastical ballot."  The first ballot is the nominating ballot.  Anyone receiving a vote on the first ballot appears on the second ballot.  

The top seven vote-getters on the second ballot give a speech to the assembly, and the third ballot is taken.  The top three finishers then respond to questions from the assembly, and another vote is taken.  If no one receives 60% of the vote on that ballot, the fifth ballot is cast between the top two candidates.

Photo:  Gonia (center) greets members of Messiah Lutheran Church in Talma, Sierra Leone.