Rev. Dr. William Gafkjen ’79
Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Indiana-Kentucky Synod
The Reverend Doctor William O. Gafkjen has served as bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Indiana-Kentucky Synod since September 2010. Following his ordination in 1985, Rev. Gafkjen served congregations in Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Indiana as pastor, and as campus pastor at Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania. He has served as chair of the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and in other leadership roles with the ELCA.
Why is it important to you to participate in this committee?
The next president of the college will play a key role in moving St. Olaf into the uncertain and unfolding future before us with vitality and energetic engagement with its mission. As a bishop, an alum, a regent, and as someone who believes deeply in St. Olaf’s mission, I am grateful for the opportunity to assist in selecting a president who will bring the gifts, skills, and experience needed to build on the good work of the last couple of decades to ensure a St. Olaf College that serves the church and the world faithfully and effectively well into the future.
What lens or experience do you hope to bring to this committee?
I bring the experience and perspectives of one who has been engaged in local, regional, national, global and ecumenical church leadership and relationships. I also offer a commitment to being both deeply rooted in Lutheran tradition and open to new ways of embodying, deepening, and expanding on that tradition toward diverse, equitable, inclusive, and neighbor-serving communities and institutions that welcome and form all people to be leaders and citizens for a diverse and too often contentious world.