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Chairman Tapani Simojoki

ELCE installs new Chairman

by Mathew Block | Dec 1, 2025

*Participants in the ELCE’s 71^st Annual Synod.*

United Kingdom – The Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE) held its 71^st Annual Synod from November 14-15 in Tottenham, north London, England, during which time Rev. Tapani Simojoki was installed as Chairman and the church body continued work towards a new structure and name change. The synod theme was “The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Chairman Simojoki was elected during the ECLE’s 2024 Annual Synod, but the church practices a year of overlap between outgoing and incoming Chairmen—hence his installation at the 2025 Annual Synod. Chairman Simojoki succeeds Rev. George Samiec, who had declined to stand for another term at 2024’s synod. Rev. Samiec was first elected ELCE Chairman in 2019, and further served world Lutheranism as the European Region’s representative on the International Lutheran Council’s (ILC) board of directors from 2019-2025.

*Outgoing ELCE Chairman George Samiec installs Chairman Tapani Simojoki.*

The ELCE’s Annual Synod ended with a Divine Service, during which Rev. Samiec installed Rev. Simojoki as Chairman. Rev. Samiec served as celebrant, and Rev. Simojoki preached for the event. “It’s easier to say than to feel that the joy of the Lord is our strength,” he said. “The good news for the ELCE and for all Christians is that this joy does not describe our own cheerful feelings, but rather the unquenchable joy that we have in the Lord at all times: the joy of Christ’s death for our sins and the gift of eternal life by His resurrection. Since Jesus is Lord, we have this joy always, and no one can take it away from us.”

Following his installation, Chairman Simojoki installed other ELCE officials who were elected during the synod, including the church’s body treasurer, Dr. Cynthia Lumley, as well as others elected to serve on various committees.

*Outgoing ELCE Chairman Samiec (third from left) and new Chairman Tapani Simojoki (fourth from left) along with other pastors who participated in the installation.*

Among other business, the Annual Synod saw the ELCE’s Executive Council report on work towards a name change for the church body, which will better reflect its presence in more regions than just England. To that end, the church is taking steps to become the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United Kingdom (ELC-UK). Following the synod, the ELCE reported that the Charity Commission has now approved the constitution of the ELC-UK. Continued work towards the transition to the new structure will continue in 2026.

This year’s synod also reaffirmed an earlier decision which will see the title of the church body’s leader change from “Chairman” to “Bishop” under the new structure.

In addition to written greetings from sister churches across the world and from the ILC, the ELCE also received welcomed several church representatives in person. These included General Secretary Patrice Legbanon from the Lutheran Church in Africa – Benin Synod (Église Luthérienne en Afrique—Synode du Bénin – ELA-SBe), as well as Rev. John Fiene and his wife, Solvej, of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The latter were present to report on the Lutheran Mission in Ireland, an ELCE project supported by the LCMS. The mission in Ireland is currently served by ELCE Chairman Simojoki, and has mission sites in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Cork, Ireland.

In light of his new responsibilities as Chairman, Rev. Simojoki is stepping down as editor of the ELCE’s magazine The British Lutheran. This year’s Annual Synod therefore saw the announcement of Hanna Mitchell as the magazine’s new editor.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in England is a member church of the International Lutheran Council, a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, grounded in the authority of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

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British Lutherans hold 70th Annual Synod, elect next Chairman

by Mathew Block | Nov 29, 2024

*Participants in the ELCE’s 2024 Annual Synod pose outside Luther-Tyndale Memorial Church in Kentish Town, London.*

UNITED KINGDOM – The Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE) held its 70^th Annual Synod in London from November 1-2 under the theme “Always Courageous,” based on 2 Corinthians 5:6-7. Delegates and visitors from ELCE congregations and missions in England, Wales, and Scotland met together for fellowship and encouragement; to mark 70 years since the British church became autonomous; and for synodical business, including the election of the church’s next Chairman.

The ELCE is the oldest British Lutheran church body in the United Kingdom, having begun in 1896 and become autonomous 70 years ago in 1954. The ELCE marked this year’s anniversary with a range of photos and film clips which played on loop during breaks at the Synod. An evening event, “Celebration 70,” was also held which consisted of short contributions from congregations of reverie and memory, words and song, describing the ELCE’s history since 1954. It was a warm and nostalgic time recalling family and friends, energy and effort, master plans and God’s plan, compered by ELCE Chairman George Samiec.

*The ELCE’s Pastors’ Choir sing during “Celebration 70.”*

The Pastors’ Choir sang “Thy Strong Word,” with everyone joining in for the final three verses—a symbolic reminder of those who have served the ELCE, and how the ELCE and its theological college, Westfield House, are linked together. [Martin Franzmann, who wrote “Thy Strong Word” (LSB 578) was a Tutor at Westfield House.] The highlight, however, was Rev. Didzis Stilve’s reworking of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” for the occasion, sung by Rev. Stilve and accompanied by Rev. Tapani Simojoki on piano, with the congregation singing the chorus.

At Synod, the ELCE established a Church Endowment Fund with the goal of supporting specific ELCE projects, endowing a Chair of Theology at Westfield House, supporting the ELCE administration, and providing support for the training of church workers.

*ELCE Chairman-Elect Tapani Simojoki and ELCE Chairman George Samiec.*

The ELCE also elected its next Chairman. Rev. George Samiec declined to stand for another term as Chairman, and the church elected Rev. Tapani Simojoki to serve as his successor. The ELCE practises a year’s overlap between outgoing and incoming Chairmen, to help the Chairman-Elect become acquainted with the role and work. Chairman Samiec’s service, then, will end at the conclusion of the ELCE’s 71^st Annual Synod in November 2025, at which time Chairman-Elect Simojoki’s will commence.

Rev. Samiec was first elected Chairman of the ELCE in 2019, after having previously served the church as Vice Chairman since 2010. He also served on the executive of the European Lutheran Conference from 2004-2018, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Lutheran Council. Rev. Simojoki has served as pastor of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Hampshire since 2010. In addition to serving the ELCE on commissions and committees, Rev. Simojoki is editor of the church’s synodical magazine, The British Lutheran, and host of “Sunday Cantata,” a programme on Lutheran Radio UK.

At the closing service, Chairman Samiec reminded participants that Jesus builds His Church, that Jesus provides the means, and that all aspects of ministry and congregational life, when good and healthy, keep the focus on Jesus. We live the 21^st century version of the Great Commission, he said. The harvest is plentiful, the workers are few, but God always gives us courage to go forward with the Gospel in word and deed. “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:6-7).

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of England is a member church of the International Lutheran Council (ILC), a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies and groups which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to Holy Scripture and to the Lutheran Confessions.

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