Marie Jerge

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American Lutheran bishop (born 1953)

title: "Marie Jerge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["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)"] description: "American Lutheran bishop (born 1953)" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Jerge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American Lutheran bishop (born 1953) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Christian leader"]

FieldValue
birth_placeMineola, NY, United States
term2002–2014
churchEvangelical Lutheran Church in America
dioceseUpstate New York Synod
nationalityAmerican
ordination1978
predecessorLee M. Miller
religionLutheranism
successorJohn S. Macholz
typeBishop
::

| birth_place = Mineola, NY, United States | term = 2002–2014 | church = Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | diocese = Upstate New York Synod | nationality = American | ordination = 1978 | predecessor = Lee M. Miller | religion = Lutheranism | successor = John S. Macholz | type = Bishop

Rev. Marie C. Jerge (née Scharfe, born c. 1953) is a former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

She graduated from Babylon High School in 1970 and earned a bachelor of arts degree from Smith College in 1974. In 1978, she received a master of divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and was ordained as a minister.

She was elected in 2002 to a six-year term as bishop 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, 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.

Jerge has written on the benefits of immigration reform.

She received an honorary degree from Thiel College 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. 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

References

  1. (1970-06-18). "Congratulations Class of '70, Babylon High School". Babylon Beacon.
  2. (1974). "Smith College Catalogue". Smith College.
  3. (2002-06-24). "Marie Jerge Elected Bishop of ELCA Upstate New York Synod".
  4. "Alumni Honors: Philadelphia". United Lutheran Seminary.
  5. (1988-10-14). "Rev. Jerge Speaker at AAUW Meeting". Dunkirk Evening Observer.
  6. Jacobs, Jennifer. (2002-09-22). "New Lutheran Bishop Makes Local History: Faithful Cheer Marie C. Jerge as CNY Leader of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America". The Syracuse Post-Standard.
  7. (2002-09-27). "Syracuse gets first female Evangelical Lutheran Bishop". Mount Carmel Daily Republican Register.
  8. (2002-09-28). "Religion Briefs". Del Rio News-Herald.
  9. (2002-09-21). "Evangelical Luthern Church to Install Bishop Today".
  10. Gadoua, Renee. (2003-06-03). "Lutheran Bishop cites challenges". The Syracuse Post-Standard.
  11. Goller, Robert Lowell. (2004-02-12). "Marilla Pastor Quits Amid Sex Allegations".
  12. (2009-01-05). "Lutheran bishop is visiting Israel and Palestinians". The Buffalo News.
  13. Chanatry, David. (2014-02-13). "Church closures become a sign of changing times, demographics".
  14. (2013-10-03). "Immigration reform will benefit Upstate New York: Commentary from Bishop Marie Jerge".
  15. "Honorary Degree Recipients {{!}} Thiel College".
  16. Lensing, Jeremy. (2014-06-03). "John Macholz elected bishop of the ELCA Upstate New York Synod".
  17. (1977-08-28). "Rev. James N. Jerge Weds Marie Charlotte Scharfe". The New York Times.
  18. (1977-03-20). "Marie Scharfe Sets Marriage to a Cleric". The New York Times.
  19. (2003-11-21). "Clergy couples: God calls some people to combine marriage with ministry, and it isn't always a heavenly union". The Buffalo News.

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evangelical-lutheran-church-in-america-bishopswomen-lutheran-bishopssmith-college-alumni1950s-birthsliving-peoplepeople-from-mineola,-new-york20th-century-american-lutheran-clergy21st-century-american-lutheran-bishopsyear-of-birth-missing-(living-people)