Welcome to Our Synod
We are glad you found this site and welcome you to learn about the ministries of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. Perhaps you are looking for a church home. Perhaps you are here to find information as a leader or congregation. Whether you’re here for a specific reason or just curious, you are welcome here.
As the ELCA professes, we are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person—questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God’s work in Christ’s name for the sake of the world.
Who We Are
The Metropolitan Chicago Synod (MCS) is made up of 152 congregations and nine Synod Authorized Worshiping Communities (SAWC). We are both urban and suburban, with 60,805 baptized members in four counties: Cook, DuPage, Kane and Lake. We are one of 65 synods in the ELCA.
Our mission statement calls us to proclaim the gospel, make disciples and do justice in Jesus’ name. We hope the images and information on these pages will introduce you to our synod—our faith and values, ministries and events. These pages are filled with practical information for congregations and leaders, and will help you become familiar with the synod staff and governance.
A Letter from the Bishops of the ELCA
Beloved in Christ,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we write to you in this moment of national and global tension with clarity and conviction. Our faith compels us to stand where Jesus stands—with and for those whom society often seeks to exclude, erase, or diminish…
Get connected to the MCS by signing up for publications and following us on social media.
As a synod, our work focuses on supporting and partnering with our congregations.
Lay and clergy, find resources that will assist you in the work to which God has called you.
God’s work takes many and various forms. Learn about the ministries of our synod.
Our Stories
Synod youth celebrate being ‘fearfully & wonderfully made’
More than 50 young people and youth ministry leaders gathered at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in West Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 16, for a one-day fall retreat.
Illinois ELCA Bishops Pastoral Message on Executive Orders
Illinois Bishops Stacie Fidlar, Yehiel Curry, Greg Busboom came together to provide a pastoral message on Executive orders.
South African Delegation Visit
A visit from the MCS’s companion synod, the Central Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA), was a highlight of our June 1 synod assembly and the days which followed.
Metropolitan Chicago Synod Office
Ph: 773-248-0021 | Address: 1420 W. Dickens Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614