Join us at the 2026 Gathering in Des Moines, Iowa!

Martha Ambarangu is a Pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and a New Testament PhD Candidate at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. An ELCA Global Mission International Leaders Program scholar, she is also a member of African Women Leaders Network in the Young Women Leaders Pillar of the United Nations and the National Director of the Circle of Concerned Women Theologians in Tanzania. Ambarangu is a wife, mother of two smart and beautiful girls, Michelle and Millicent, and the author of Heri and Nyamandi’s Summer, a children’s book.

The Rev. Martha Ambarangu will lead the workshop, “Voices from Swahili Speaking Women and Global Womanism.”

Elyssa Salinas-Lazarski, Ph.D., MDiv., is Adjunct Faculty in Theology and Honors at Dominican University. She is a recent doctoral graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Her research focuses on theology of the body and sex, integrating her Lutheran faith, and her experience as a Mexican-American woman. Salinas-Lazarski is a graduate of Valparaiso University, where she studied theatre, and holds a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Alongside her studies, she is a poet, hobby baker, and an active member of Grace Lutheran Church which she has been attending since baptism. Salinas-Lazarski’s poetry and blog posts can be found at Bold Café; The Mudroom; Open Plaza by the Hispanic Theological Initiative; and We Talk, We Listen. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband, two children, and two cats.

Dr. Elyssa Salinas-Lazarski will lead the workshop, “Claiming my sacred sex”.

Elise Seyfried is the author of five collections of humorous spiritual essays. Her essays have also appeared in publications including Gather, Living Lutheran, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Next Avenue, HuffPost, Insider, and The Independent. Elise has twice produced This is My Brave (live performances featuring people with mental illness telling their stories), and she is a “bipolar” book in The Human Library (an international program whose motto is “un-judge someone.”). Elise often speaks to groups on the subject of women’s mental health. She is the mom of five and grandma of three, and has retired after 20 years as Spiritual Formation Director at Christ’s Lutheran Church in Oreland, Pa.

Elise Seyfried will present the workshop, “What to expect when you weren’t expecting this–Taking your mental health field guide home.”

Dr. Mary J. Streufert serves as ELCA Director for Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment. With 20 years of experience in this role, she regularly collaborates with others throughout the ELCA, the Lutheran World Federation, and global scholars. She has published extensively as a feminist Lutheran theologian, including three books with Fortress Press:  Transformative Lutheran Theologies: Feminist, Womanist, and Mujerista Perspectives (editor, 2010); Language for God: A Lutheran Perspective (2022); and with Dr. Mary Elise Lowe, ReEngaging ELCA Social Teaching on Faith, Sexism, and Justice (2025).

Dr. Mary J. Streufert will lead the workshop, “What is Faithful Language for God? Exploring the Bible and Artwork to Find Out” based on her book, “Language for God: A Lutheran Perspective”.

Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy, Mato Wašté Winyan [Good Bear Woman], is a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation. She is the first Native Woman Theologian with a Ph.D. in the ELCA. Her work focuses on systemic theology, with a unique approach to Lakota Spirituality and how it can inform Christianity and instill healing. She is an adjunct professor at various institutions, director for MYLE (the ELCA’s Multicultural Youth Leadership Event), on the Board of Directors for the ELCA Youth Ministry Network, as Director of Public Ministry at Nativity Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, and Convenor of the Twin Cities Interfaith Movement Chaplains.

Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy will lead the workshop: “I AM WORTHY—Even when the ground shakes“

The Rev. Dr. Susan Rose founded Diakonos Solutions in 2021 with a passion for advocating for women in ministry. Diakonos Solutions supports newly ordained women by providing gently used stoles through the Stories Behind the Stoles ministry initiative. As a PC (USA) minister for 16 years, Susan brings rich credentials to her work: an MDiv from Memphis Theological Seminary, a DMin in Leadership and Spiritual Formation from Portland Seminary, certification as a Spiritual Director, and certification in Religious Fundraising from the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving. Susan lives in Florida with her husband, Dave Buck, and their two tabby cats and their Goldendoodle Grace.

Dr. Susan Rose will lead the workshop, “

Joy McElroy has been the Executive Director of Cherish All Children since October 2017, transitioning the organization into Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. As part of Metro Homeless Youth Services within LSS, she appreciates how the prevention work of Cherish All Children complements the direct service provided to youth experiencing homelessness and who have experienced or are at risk of sexual exploitation. She is passionate about engaging churches and community groups in prevention work to support young people into safe and healthy relationships both online and in person. She is also a strong advocate for Child Safety Policies in congregations, supporting them in creating and implementing policies and a culture of safety.

Joy has over 30 years of leadership experience in business, education and non-profit organizations. Joy holds a master’s degree in human resources from the University of Minnesota, with a focus on training and development. She lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with her family, attending Christ Lutheran on Capitol Hill where she is active in many youth and community activities.

Joy McElroy will lead the workshop, “Love Listens – Supporting Youth into Safe & Healthy Relationships”

Ginger was newly-elected to the Churchwide Executive Board of the Women of the ELCA in 2023. She currently serves on the Executive Committee, Communications Committee, and the Constitutional Review Committee.
Ginger retired in 2013 after an almost 45-year career as a Quality Management Professional and Leader. She is an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Tullahoma, Tenn.

Ginger is a woman of Transgender experience. Assigned male at birth, she had struggled with her gender identity for over 60 years. In 2021, after a 46-year marriage, Ginger’s wife passed away, and she began her transition to align her body and brain. She is fond of saying, “I am a woman who was raised as a man, that is learning to be a lady!”. Ginger is actively involved in transgender support and inclusion in the Nashville – Middle Tenn., area as politicians work to erase her community from existence.

She deeply believes God has moved her in this direction so she can help others understand Jesus’s message of inclusion and acceptance. Her passion is to help correct the misconceptions and misinformation so prevalent today about the transgender and LGBTQIA+ community.

Ginger Cutrell will lead the workshop, “The Transgender Experience  – A discussion on the myths and commonly misunderstood realities of the transgender experience.”

The Rev. Amy Current has served the Southeastern Iowa Synod in the office of bishop since 2020. She is a graduate of Concordia College, Moorhead, MN (B.A.) and Wartburg Theological Seminary (M.Div.). Prior to her role as bishop, Current served as vice president for admissions and student services at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. Born and raised in North Dakota, Bishop Current was honored to serve as pastor of three Lutheran churches there. Bishop Current is married to Rev. Dr. Samuel Giere. They have two adult children.

The Rev. Minna Bothwell serves Capitol Hill Lutheran Church in the East Village of Des Moines, Iowa. Much of her ministry centers around creating authentic relationships and advocacy for Iowans. When not working she loves spending time with her husband Nat and daughter Ada. In the summer she loves to garden and paint.

The Rev. Tracy Williams is the pastor of Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bellflower, Calif., and also the interim pastor of Community Lutheran in Los Angeles. She was elected to the churchwide executive board of Women of the ELCA at the Eleventh Triennial Convention (2022) and reelected for a second term at the Twelfth Triennial Convention (2023). She is a former educator for 18 years for the public and private school system. She was also a mental health therapist for five years with Pacific Clinics and the Los Angeles probation department as well as several group homes working with children and youth.

Pastor Tracy, as she is affectionately called, began her ministry with the Lutheran church in 2015 when she went through the process of becoming ordained by spending a year and a half at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary learning the Luther years. She had previously been in ministry for 10 years at a Baptist church as an associate pastor. She started her ministry at Holy Redeemer in October 2016, where she served as a TEEM pastor. A TEEM pastor serves a congregation under a supervisor until they are ordained. Pastor Tracy was ordained on October 21, 2018, at Holy Redeemer with a wonderful celebration with family and friends.

She is a member of the Cooperative Candidacy Committee and serves on the Disciplinary Committee as well as an Assistant to the Bishop for Congregational Care for the Southwest California Synod. She has a passion for mental health and is working tirelessly to open a mental health facility on the church campus.

Pastor Tracy holds a bachelor’s in liberal arts/English with an emphasis in organizational leadership. She holds three Masters, in Education, from California State University, San Bernardino; Psychology from California Baptist University; and in Divinity from Azusa Pacific in the Haggard School of Theology.

She is a mother of three young adults, Tracy, Crystal and John Jr., grandmother of six, and has one great grand who brings her much joy. Pastor Tracy loves the Lord, and her favorite Bible verse is Psalm 100. She wants to be remembered as a woman of God that gave her life for the Lord and helped to make life better for young people.

The Rev. DaMisha McFarland-Pollock (she/her) pastors two churches in Burlington, Ia.,- Bethany Lutheran and Messiah Lutheran. She is an eco-womanist theologian who seeks to name the voices in scripture that are often overlooked, misunderstood, or misrepresented so often in sermons and bible studies. She is an ELCA Coach with certifications in Creation Care and Discipleship. She believes that the youth in our churches are the church of today, not the church of the future. They should be included on councils, committees, serving teams, and the life of the church in general. DaMisha loves to read, take hikes, write poetry, and dance. A belief that we are all God’s children and should be treated accordingly guides her daily interactions with herself and those she encounters.

The Rev. Sara Olson-Smith is an ordained ELCA pastor, serving at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. She previously served two congregations in New Jersey. Before that, she served as chaplain for the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy in Russia, a youth minister in Minneapolis and an Urban Servant Corps volunteer working with homeless youth in Denver, Colorado. She is a graduate of the College of St. Benedict and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. 

A mother of two, spouse, quilter, podcaster and writer, she is a frequent contributor to Gather magazine. In her writing, teaching, and pastoral work, Olson-Smith weaves together God’s ancient stories in scripture and contemporary stories, movements and hopes—particularly in light of the current climate crisis. She is working on a book about a congregation she served which faithfully closed and the new life that grew from their generosity. For updates on this project and other work, see her website: www.saraolsonsmith.com 

The Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills grew up in Greensboro, N.C. She completed her seminary studies at The Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Ordained on March 20, 2004, she served her first ten years of ministry in the Virginia Synod. Pastor Mills then served several congregations as an interim in the NC Synod while also serving as an Associate Program Director for African Descent Ministries in the ELCA Churchwide Offices over five years. She served six years on the synod staff of the North Carolina Synod. Initially, she was the Associate Director for Evangelical Mission and but later transitioned to serving as an Assistant to Bishop. Just this past August, she was elected to a six-year term as the Secretary of the ELCA. She relocated to Chicago with her family, which includes her father Willie L. Mills and her thirty-two-year-old son Joshua Mills and began her new call on November 1, 2025.

Sarah Trone Garriott is State Senator for Iowa SD14 (the growing western suburbs of Des Moines in Dallas County), serving since 2020. An ordained Lutheran Minister, Trone Garriott has served as a hospital chaplain, parish pastor, and non-profit leader. Most recently she was the Coordinator for Interfaith Engagement for the Des Moines Area Religious Council, bringing together the diverse religious communities of the Des Moines metro area to assist neighbors in need of food assistance. Trone Garriott is now running to represent Iowa District 3 in the United States Congress. We’ve heard it said: don’t talk about religion or politics in polite company. But the truth is, both religion and politics speak to how we live together. To live faithfully with our neighbors, especially in divisive times, it is imperative we find a way to engage in both.

The Rev. Senator Sarah Trone Garriott will present the workshop, “Religion and Politics.”

Mary Campbell is the Director for AMMPARO, the ELCA strategy to accompany migrants with protection, advocacy, representation and opportunities. ELCA AMMPARO accompanies companions in 25 programs in 19 countries in the world in countries of origin, transit, contention and destination and includes significant work in the US in congregations and synods.

As a lawyer passionate about justice, her legal career has involved work in international human rights and civil, criminal defense and immigration cases in the United State and in El Salvador where she was an ELCA missionary for 5 years in the Department of Human Rights of the Iglesia Luterana Salvadorena.

Mary Campbell will present the workshop, “Who is My Neighbor and How can I Accompany them?”

Rebeca Amaro Treviño is the Director of De la Mano con Jesús, a health ministry for women and children in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Her ministry received support from the Women of the ELCA Raising Up Healthy Women and Girls initiative. She is a 2022 International Women’s Leader graduate. She is excited to return to Des Moines, as she is also a Wartburg College alumna from 2022.

Pastor Al Erickson, Director of Adults Saving Kids and Karen Birkedal, on the board of the North Carolina WELCA Board have worked together over two decades. They have sought to discover what God has provided so our kids grow up faithful to Christ, wise and safe. This workshop will reveal what they have found that can help you go home with a new vision and tools you can bring to your congregation and synod. Come and learn how you can be an important person in the lives of young people you care about.

The Rev. Alvin Erikson and Karen Birkedal will lead the workshop, “Our Young People are Being Attacked in Many Ways, How You Can Battle for Them?“

Karen Birkedal is on the board of the North Carolina WELCA Board and  has worked with Pastor Al Erickson, Director of Adults Saving Kids, for over two decades. They have sought to discover what God has provided so our kids grow up faithful to Christ, wise and safe. This workshop will reveal what they have found that can help you go home with a new vision and tools you can bring to your congregation and synod. Come and learn how you can be an important person in the lives of young people you care about.

Linda Timmons is President and Chief Executive Officer of Mosiac, a service organization that provides support for people with disabilities, mental and behavioral health needs and autism, and aging adults. Linda has been with the organization more than 40 years, beginning work at Bethphage Village in Axtell, Neb. while in high school. Through the years she held numerous positions, working in Nebraska, Texas and Colorado. When Mosaic was formed in 2003, Linda was named Senior Vice President of Program Services and, in 2006, was named President and Chief Operating Officer. She became Mosaic’s President and Chief Executive Officer in 2008. She holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a master of arts from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. She is pursuing a doctorate in education, with an emphasis in leadership and innovation.

Well-known and respected in disability services, Linda serves on the ANCOR board and is a past board chair of both Lutheran Services in America (LSA) and the Council on Quality and Leadership. In 2025, she received LSA’s Innovator Award and served on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church.

Linda Timmons will present the workshop, “The Art of Belonging”

The Blanket Exercise

The Blanket Exercise is an experiential learning tool that leads a group of participants through 500+ years of Indigenous history, highlighting the relationship between the Tribal nations and the European explorers, colonial setters, and U.S. federal and state governments.

The exercise is interactive and requires participants, as they are able, to stand and move throughout the first hour of the experience.  The second hour allows for participants to process the experience and share what they may have learned and what they will take away.

The Blanket Exercise was first created in Canada and has been adapted and used to educate general populations there, in the United States, and in many other parts of the world.  The exercise does engage participants both intellectually and emotionally and can in some instances affect individuals deeply.

Due to the honest nature of the information included in the narration of the exercise, all participants are expected to be 15 years of age or older.

Pastor Khader Khalilia was born and raised in Bethlehem, Palestine—the very town where Jesus was born. He was baptized and nurtured in the Greek Orthodox tradition, where he was formed by the richness of ancient liturgy and sacramental life. Over time, he was drawn to Lutheran theology, particularly its evangelical catholic expression, grounded in the Word, the sacraments, and the theology of the cross.

He attended Talitha Kumi Lutheran School and earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies and Christian Education from Bethlehem Bible College. In 2005, he was invited by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to continue his theological education. He received his Master of Divinity from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California, and was ordained into the ministry of Word and Sacrament in January 2009.

He currently serves as Program Director of Arab and Middle Eastern Ministries in the ELCA. He is actively engaged in several local and national organizations, contributing his voice to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue.

The Rev. Khader Khalilia will lead a short discussion about SUMUD after the showing of the film, “The voice of Hind Rajab,” Friday, July 17 at 8:00 p.m. in Hall C.

Called by Name: Stories of Discernment

What does it look like to receive God’s call and to believe you are worthy of it? This workshop weaves together scriptural stories and our own, exploring how ordinary women have always been called into extraordinary leadership, even in seasons of transition, inconvenience, or crisis. Through shared reflection and discernment practices, you’ll leave with fresh attention to God’s voice and real tools for ongoing discernment.

Cherish All Children was founded in 2006 as a ministry of the ELCA through the Minneapolis Area Synod and then transitioned to LSS-MN in 2017. Women of the ELCA and Cherish All Children have partnered together in our work since the beginning.

Visit the Cherish All Children exhibit in the Exhibit hall. The exhibit will include resources to take home and share with the women’s congregations, such as our Safe & Healthy Relationships Youth and Leader’s Guide, My Neighbor is Not for Sale adult study guide, and info on current issues around protecting children and youth from exploitation and harm. We’ll also have some fun and free merch!

Joy McElroy will present the workshop, “Love Listens – Supporting Youth into Safe & Healthy Relationships”

Visit the Cherish All Children website

Old Lutheran started in 1999 as “The Center of Lutheran Pride” (but not too proud). It was born out of an idea that Lutherans are passionate about our faith. Our faith that is grounded in grace. So passionate that we are willing to debate, and argue and learn and laugh. It was the laughter that first grabbed our attention and so in our early days we poked fun. A lot of our messages were designed to provoke thought. Our philosophy was, if we can laugh at ourselves, perhaps we can learn from ourselves. Our messages were created to provide talking points that could bring us back to our theological beliefs.

Visit the custom WELCA shop for select “I am worthy” T-shirts and more.

Visit the Old Lutheran website

The Rev. Dr. Susan Rose will present the workshop, “Cultivating Courageous Leadership: The Diakonos Solutions Story”

Visit the Diakonos Solutions website

Visit the Mosiac exhibit in the Exhibit hall.

Linda Timmons will present the workshop, “The Art of Belonging”

Visit the Mosiac website

As a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Portico Benefit Services provides retirement, health, life, disability, and wellness benefits to enhance the total well-being of those who serve faith-based organizations.​ Read more on our About us page on our website: https://porticobenefits.org/about-us/

Visit the Portico Website

AMMPARO is the ELCA’s strategy for Accompanying Migrants with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities. It comes from Psalm 46:1 ‘God is our refuge and strength.’ In Spanish, ‘Dios es nuestro amparo y fortaleza.’

AMMPARO is a holistic, whole church commitment by the ELCA to accompany vulnerable migrants and all who are forcibly displaced. It began after witnessing children and families forced to flee chronic violence, poverty, and environmental displacement in Central America, but is now the ELCA’s global migration strategy.

Visit the AMMPARO website