Marie Jerge

Marie Jerge
ChurchEvangelical Lutheran Church in America
DioceseUpstate New York Synod
In office2002–2014
PredecessorLee M. Miller
SuccessorJohn S. Macholz
Orders
Ordination1978
Personal details
Born
Mineola, NY, United States
NationalityAmerican
DenominationLutheranism

Rev. Marie C. Jerge (née Scharfe, born c. 1953) is a former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

She graduated from Babylon High School in 1970[1] and earned a bachelor of arts degree from Smith College in 1974.[2] In 1978, she received a master of divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia[3][4] and was ordained as a minister.[5]

She was elected in 2002 to a six-year term as bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Upstate New York Synod. She was the sixth woman to be elected as a synod bishop in the ELCA. Jerge (YER-gee)[6][7] succeeded the Rev. Lee M. Miller, who did not seek re-election after serving as bishop of the synod for 10 years. She was installed on September 21, 2002.[8][9]

In her time as bishop, she oversaw 198 churches with over 150,000 congregants.[10] She requested the resignation of a pastor who was accused of sexual activity with multiple minors in 2004.[11] In January 2009, during the Gaza War, she traveled with a delegation of American bishops to Israel and Palestine to meet with local officials.[12]

She led the final service at Christ Lutheran Church in Little Falls, New York.[13]

Jerge has written on the benefits of immigration reform.[14]

She received an honorary degree from Thiel College in 2006[15] and an alumni award from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 2015.[4]

After serving two terms, she was succeeded in 2014 by John S. Macholz.[16]

  1. ^ "Congratulations Class of '70, Babylon High School" (PDF). Babylon Beacon. 1970-06-18.
  2. ^ "Academic Degrees". Smith College Catalogue. Smith College. 1974. p. 271.
  3. ^ Wineinger, Amy; Luisi, Mary (2002-06-24). "Marie Jerge Elected Bishop of ELCA Upstate New York Synod". www.elca.org. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  4. ^ a b "Alumni Honors: Philadelphia". United Lutheran Seminary. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  5. ^ "Rev. Jerge Speaker at AAUW Meeting". Dunkirk Evening Observer. 1988-10-14. p. 8 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  6. ^ Jacobs, Jennifer (2002-09-22). "New Lutheran Bishop Makes Local History: Faithful Cheer Marie C. Jerge as CNY Leader of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America". The Syracuse Post-Standard. p. B1, B5 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  7. ^ "Syracuse gets first female Evangelical Lutheran Bishop". Mount Carmel Daily Republican Register. 2002-09-27. p. 1B – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  8. ^ "Religion Briefs". Del Rio News-Herald. 2002-09-28. p. 5A – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  9. ^ "EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH TO INSTALL BISHOP TODAY". The Buffalo News. 2002-09-21. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  10. ^ Gadoua, Renee (2003-06-03). "Lutheran Bishop cites challenges". The Syracuse Post-Standard. p. B3 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. ^ Goller, Robert Lowell (2004-02-12). "MARILLA PASTOR QUITS AMID SEX ALLEGATIONS". Arcane Herald. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  12. ^ Tokaz, Jay (2009-01-05). "Lutheran bishop is visiting Israel and Palestinians". The Buffalo News.
  13. ^ Chanatry, David (2014-02-13). "Church closures become a sign of changing times, demographics". WRVO. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  14. ^ "Immigration reform will benefit Upstate New York: Commentary from Bishop Marie Jerge". Syracuse.com. 2013-10-03. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  15. ^ "Honorary Degree Recipients | Thiel College". www.thiel.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  16. ^ Lensing, Jeremy (2014-06-03). "John Macholz elected bishop of the ELCA Upstate New York Synod". www.elca.org.