Lutheran denomination plans installation for SC bishop

The Rev. Wade Thomas Roof III will be installed as the fifth bishop of the South Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Lexington.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry will deliver the sermon and preside at the installation.

Rostered ministers — pastors and deacons — and ecumenical clergy partners are invited to vest and process. The color of the day is red.

The installation is a public worship service open to all who wish to attend. The service will also be available via livestream on the synod’s website (scsynod.com/installation) and official YouTube channel.

Roof was elected to serve a six-year term as bishop on June 13, during the 2026 South Carolina Synod Assembly. Prior to the election, Roof served as senior pastor of Mount Tabor Lutheran Church in West Columbia.

He graduated from Newberry College in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in 2009 and is pursuing doctoral studies in congregational leadership at the Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity.

Roof succeeds the Rev. Virginia Aebischer, who served as synodical bishop from 2020-26. He officially assumed office on Sept. 1.

As synodical bishop, Roof serves as the synod’s pastor, called to administer the sacraments, preach, provide pastoral care, advise, ordain, advocate, interpret and serve as the chief ecumenical officer.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with more than 3 million members in nearly 8,700 congregations across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region.

The ELCA South Carolina Synod is a faith community of more than 36,600 baptized people in 137 congregations and worship communities throughout South Carolina. The South Carolina Synod is one of 65 synods that make up the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.