MNYS INTERIM BISHOP, THE REV. DONALD J. MCCOID
The Reverend Donald J. McCoid served as the Executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), from 2007 to 2015, and as the Director of this section until his retirement in 2016. He is a native of Wheeling, West Virginia and is married to Saundra Piisila McCoid. They have two married daughters, Kimberly Maravich and Elizabeth Kilpatrick.
Bishop Emeritus McCoid served as the Bishop of the ELCA’s Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod from 1987 until September, 2007. He served congregations in Monessen, PA; Pittsburgh and Latrobe, PA. He served as the Assistant to the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA from 2007 through 2016 and as the Executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations.
McCoid has been active in ecumenical relationships, serving on the Christian Leaders Fellowship of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, and as Chair of the Council of Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Faith and Order Conference Board, and as the coordinator of the North American Committee of Lutheran World Federation.
Bishop McCoid served as the chair of the sixty-six member ELCA Conference of Bishops from 1999-2003. He was the United States co-chair for the Lutheran-Orthodox bilateral discussions and served as the co-president of the Lutheran World Federation-Orthodox Church international dialogue. Until 2007, he was the Chair of the Board of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and Chair of the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Theological Seminaries.
In 1983, Thiel College conferred an honorary doctorate of divinity degree to Bishop McCoid for his Appalachian and synodical ministry. He has traveled extensively for ecumenical work in Asia, Africa, and Europe. McCoid served as the President of the National Association of Ecumenical Officers. He met with three Popes, the Ecumenical Patriarch, the two of the Archbishops of Canterbury.
A BRIDGE-BUILDER!
BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN CHRISTIAN COMMUNIONS
Bishop McCoid is recognized internationally for ecumenical work, particularly with the Eastern Orthodox Church. As co-president of the International Bilateral Dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Churches, he helped build consensus on issues that have long divided their churches.
BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN FAITHS
With patience, kindness, and clarity of thought, his leadership has been notably effective because it is grounded in faith. He has worked closely with Jewish rabbis in building bridges with Jewish colleagues, and was a member of the Faith and Order Conference Board.
BUILDING BRIDGES WITH IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES
We are a Sanctuary Synod, and Bishop McCoid supports our commitment to building bridges with immigrant communities, especially those marginalized.
"Seeing people of other cultures wearing a cross as a sign of their faith is a reminder that the church is about humanity. We must always reach out to all who are in need."
–Bishop McCoid
BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST
Bishop McCoid fully supports the ELCA social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," allowing for differing understandings of same-gender sexual relationships within the ELCA.
He also served as Board chair of the Institute for Mission, Columbus, Ohio, overseeing ministries of evangelism, consultation, labor- management, and women and children living in poverty.
Bishop McCoid is a bridge-builder!
He reaches across every division, across all the varied opinions and lifts up that which unites us all in the love of Christ.