Rev. Tom Aitken is being considered for the position of bishop of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The Northeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly will conduct an election for bishop this weekend in Duluth.
Aitken is the pastor at First Lutheran Church in International Falls and Bethany Lutheran Church in Loman.
He is one of five nominees for the bishop position. The other nominees include Rev. Philip Berge of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Two Harbors, Rev. Alan Loose of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, and Rev. David Tryggestad of Concordia Lutheran Church in Duluth. Aitken’s cousin, Rev. Lynn Ronsberg of Zion Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, is also nominated.
Aitken said he’s looking at the election as a win-win situation.
The nominees are all well qualified, intelligent and compassionate, Aitken said.
They have been on the road conducting bishop forums, where the nominees discuss who they are and answer questions. Aitken said some of the questions have been “tough.” It’s the “scary part” — to offer information on one’s self without knowing the outcome, he said.
Aitken has been a pastor in Borderland for 16 years. He has remained here longer than normal for a pastor, but he said he has stayed because he is “energized by where I live.”
It’s an honor to be nominated and if he is elected, it will be a new challenge, he said.
But Aitken said he’ll be OK if he’s not elected bishop. He will be able to continue being a pastor of a “wonderful” congregation. His congregants, he said, have been “so good” about the prospect of him becoming bishop.
“I absolutely love my parish,” Aitken said.
Aitken, who calls himself an emotional person, said he has moments where he begins tearing up over the prospect of leaving.
“It’s a push-pull kind of thing,” he said.
The bishop-elect will take office Aug. 1 and an installation service is scheduled for Aug. 23.
The bishop position is a six-year term and the bishop can serve for two terms.
The Northeastern Minnesota Synod is comprised of 148 congregations with over 75,000 baptized members. The synod is one of 65 synods of the ELCA.