1977, the AELC ordained its first female minister, Janith Otte Murphy of Oakland, California. Murphy subsequently took an associate pastor's position at the University Lutheran Chapel in Berkeley, California. The AELC was the third U.S. Lutheran church body to ordain a woman as a minister, following similar moves by the American Lutheran Church (ALC) and the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) in 1970. The Rev. Will L. Herzfeld, an associate of Martin Luther King Jr. and former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Alabama chapter, served as the AELC's second and last presiding bishop. He was the first African American to lead a U.S. Lutheran church body. Merger The AELC played an important role in efforts toward Lutheran unity in the United States. The AELC's leaders, Seminex president John Tietjen among them, served as the catalyst for merger talks with the American Lutheran Church (formed in 1960, with approximately 2.25 million members), and the Lutheran Church in America (formed in 1962, with approximately 2.85 million members). The effort drew on the expertise of C. Thomas ("Tom") Spitz, the executive director of the Lutheran Council in the United States of America, a coordinating advisory organization for the LCMS, ALC, and LCA, who had authored "A Call for Lutheran Union" in 1978. These two churches, both also more moderate than the LCMS, with the LCA more historically liberal, finally agreed with the AELC in 1982 to unite as one church. The three bodies officially completed their merger on January 1, 1988, thereby creating the current Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which at that time encompassed two-thirds of American Lutherans. Presidents/Presiding Bishops William Kohn (1976–1984) Will L. Herzfeld (1984–1987) The designation used for the AELC leader was initially "president" and the title was later changed to "presiding bishop". References External links The Doctrinal Situation of Three Merging Churches by John Baumgart Lutheran denominations in North America Evangelical Lutheran Church in America predecessor churches Christian organizations established in 1976 1976 establishments in the United States Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod