The Virginia Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...

 is the geographical synod consisting of the entire state of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, except for several counties and cities in the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod

Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod

The Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod is a synod, or diocese, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . The synod consists of all ELCA congregations in Washington, D.C...

.

Its office in are located in the historic Bittle Hall on the campus of Roanoke College

Roanoke College

Roanoke College is an private, coeducational, four-year liberal-arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college is located in Salem, Virginia, a suburban independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia...

 in Salem, Virginia

Salem, Virginia

Salem is an independent city in Virginia, USA, bordered by the city of Roanoke to the east but otherwise adjacent to Roanoke County. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 24,802 according to 2010 U.S. Census...

. The synod consists of 257 pastors serving 162 organized Congregations within 11 conferences. The conference partners with the Islands District of Papua New Guinea.

Organization

Conferences (lower judicatories) within the Virginia Synod include: http://www.vasynod.org/index.cfm/fa/congregation.find.htm

• Northern valley
  Shenandoah Valley
  The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
  
   (NV)
• Central valley
  Shenandoah Valley
  The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
  
  (CN)
• Page
  Page County, Virginia
  As of the census of 2000, there were 23,177 people, 9,305 households, and 6,634 families residing in the county. The population density was 74 people per square mile . There were 10,557 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
  
   (PG)
• Southern valley
  Shenandoah Valley
  The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
  
   (SV)
• Germanna
  Germanna
  Germanna was a German settlement in the Colony of Virginia, settled in two waves, first in 1714 and then in 1717. Virginia Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood encouraged the immigration by advertising in Germany for miners to move to Virginia and establish a mining industry in the...
  
   (GR)
• Highlands (HI)
• New river (NR)
• Southern (SO)
• Richmond
  Richmond, Virginia
  Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
  
   (RI)
• Tidewater
  Tidewater region of Virginia
  The Tidewater region of Virginia is the eastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia formally known as Hampton Roads. The term tidewater may be correctly applied to all portions of any area, including Virginia, where the water level is affected by the tides...
  
   (TD)
• Peninsula
  Virginia Peninsula
  The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
  
   (PN)

Each conference is headed by a Dean. Each Dean is a member of the Office of the Bishop. The bishop oversees the conference. http://www.vasynod.org/index.cfm/fa/content.view/menuID/714.htm

Camps and retreat centers

The Virginia Synod runs two retreat centers:

• Caroline Furnace Lutheran Camp & Retreat Center—in Fort Valley, Virginia
  Fort Valley, Virginia
  Fort Valley is a mountain valley in Shenandoah County, Virginia. The so-called "valley within a valley" lies between the two arms of the northern Massanutten Mountain range in the Shenandoah Valley. The valley is closed at both ends Fort Valley is a mountain valley in Shenandoah County, Virginia....
  
   http://www.carolinefurnace.org

• Hungry Mother Retreat Center—in Marion, Virginia
  Marion, Virginia
  Marion is a town in Smyth County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,968 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Smyth County. The town is named for American Revolutionary War officer Francis Marion.-Tourism:...