This spring, TLU alum the Rev. Taryn Montgomery ’04 was elected to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). 

“I am honored and humbled to serve alongside the people of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod in this way,” said Montgomery. “God is stirring something new in the church, and as bishop I am excited to see what this will look like not only in our corner of the ELCA, but the larger kin-dom of God.”

Montgomery has been a minister for the synod since 2023. Before that, she served as hospice chaplain at Ecumen Lakeshore senior living, pastor of Chisago Lake Lutheran Church in Center City, Minnesota, and pastor of Bread of Life Lutheran Church in Minot, North Dakota. 

She earned her Bachelor of Theology from TLU in 2004, and her Master of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary) in 2011. 

Montgomery still carries fond memories from her undergrad years in Texas. “Texas Lutheran University is a place, and people, that really gave me permission to explore new ways of seeing God at work in the world around me—particularly through my theology classes, study abroad experience, and the inclusive nature of my campus community,” Montgomery said. “I believe our Lutheran theology and 'both/and' way of seeing the world is made for this moment in history. And I am grateful to be a part of it.”

[Note: Pictured above are current NEMN Synod Bishop Amy Odgren with Bishop-Elect Taryn Montgomery]