The Rev. Pedro M. Suárez was reelected June 8 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election was held during the synod assembly June 8-10 at the Caribe Royale resort in Orlando, Fla.

Suárez was reelected on the first ballot, with 282 votes. A total of 274 votes was needed for election.

Suárez has served as bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod since 2017. Prior to becoming bishop, he served as pastor of St. Stephen Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pompano Beach, Fla., from 2015 to 2017; director for evangelical mission in the ELCA Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod from 2011 to 2015; and associate pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison, Wis., from 2002 to 2011.

Suárez earned the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree from the Seminario Evangelico Asociado in Venezuela in 1980 and a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) in 1992. LSTC is one of seven ELCA seminaries.