Dee (“Diane”) Pederson, St. Cloud, Minn., was elected June 12 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Southwestern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA. The election took place during an online synod assembly.
Pederson was elected on the fifth ballot, with 205 votes. Bryant C. Kaden, pastor of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Redwood Falls, Minn., received 186 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as director for evangelical mission in the Southwestern Minnesota Synod since 2019. Prior to that, she served as lead pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud from 2006 to 2019; as pastor of Bethlehem from 1988 to 2006; and as co-pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Spicer, Minn., from 1981 to 1988.
