Rev. Marie C. Jerge (née Scharfe, born c. 1953) is a former bishop of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

. She graduated from

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in 1970 and earned a bachelor of arts degree from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

in 1974. In 1978, she received a master of divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Seminary at

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and was ordained as a minister. She was elected in 2002 to a six-year term as

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Upstate New York Synod. She was the sixth woman to be elected as a synod bishop in the ELCA. Jerge (YER-gee) succeeded the Rev. Lee M. Miller, who did not seek re-election after serving as bishop of the synod for 10 years. She was installed on September 21, 2002. In her time as bishop, she oversaw 198 churches with over 150,000 congregants. She requested the resignation of a pastor who was accused of sexual activity with multiple minors in 2004. In January 2009, during the

Gaza War The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, she traveled with a delegation of American bishops to Israel and Palestine to meet with local officials. She led the final service at Christ Lutheran Church in

Little Falls, New York Little Falls is a city in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 4,605 at the time of the 2020 census, which is the second-smallest city population in the state, ahead of only the city of Sherrill. The city is built on bo ...

. Jerge has written on the benefits of

immigration reform Immigration reform is change to the current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, ''reform'' means "to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses". In the political sense, "immigratio ...

. She received an honorary degree from

Thiel College Thiel College (, ) is a private college in Greenville, Pennsylvania, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is one of the smallest colleges in the region with about 100 full-time and part-time faculty ...

in 2006 and an alumni award from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 2015. After serving two terms, she was succeeded in 2014 by John S. Macholz.

Personal life

Jerge was born Marie Charlotte Scharfe in

Mineola, New York Mineola is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and the county seat of Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 20,800 at the time of the 2020 United Stat ...

. Her father, Charles L. Scharfe Jr., was vice chairman and chief executive officer of L. K. Comstock & Company. Jerge married James N. Jerge in 1977; he is also a minister in the ELCA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerge, Marie Evangelical Lutheran Church in America bishops Women Lutheran bishops Smith College alumni 1950s births Living people People from Mineola, New York 20th-century American Lutheran clergy 21st-century American Lutheran bishops Year of birth missing (living people)