Felix J. Malpica, Janesville, Wis., was elected June 13 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the La Crosse Area Synod of the ELCA. The election took place during an online synod assembly.
Malpica was elected on the fifth ballot, with 108 votes. Rebecca Piper, co-pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rapid City, S.D., received 81 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Janesville since 2017. Prior to that, he served as associate pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas, from 2014 to 2017.
