The Central/Southern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a diverse synod comprised of 154 congregations in 76 of the 102 Illinois counties. The synod is largely the lower three-quarters of the State of Illinois. Approximately two-thirds of our congregations are rural and small town, and although we also have the cities of Peoria, Springfield, Champaign/Urbana, Bloomington/Normal, Decatur, and the East St. Louis area in the synod. There are approximately 58,000 baptized members in the synod, and yet a large number of the counties are declining in population and have been for some time.
We have a great number of educational institutions in our synod. In addition to the University of Illinois, we also have Illinois State University, Eastern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University. We officially have campus centers in only two of those universities, and the opportunity to do additional ministry in the others.
We relate to the Ambovombe and Ft. Dauphin Synods in Madagascar and are continually in dialogue about ways in which our relationship with the Malagasy Lutheran Church can deepen. Our Partner Synod is the Upstate New York Synod.
The parts of our synod that are further south actually reflect more of a southern culture than a northern culture which adds to the diversity of the synod. When we take the whole synod into consideration, in addition to great educational institutions, we have one of the greatest number of prisons per capita of any synod. The number of wineries continues to increase and coal mining is on the rise in spite of the concerns of global warming. Several recreational lakes are in our synod as well as the Shawnee National Forest.
The Illinois State Capitol is in our synod and continues to expand on the Abraham Lincoln theme including the nationally renowned Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library. Consequently tourism continues to be a major industry of Central/Southern Illinois.