Katrina Foster

She was ordained on December 4, 1994 and served as a pastor at Fordham Evangelical Lutheran Church in New York City from 1994 to 2010.^[1] She risked being defrocked in 2007, prior to a change in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, for coming out as gay and marrying a woman.^[3] She later served as a pastor at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Amagansett and at Incarnation Lutheran Church in Bridgehampton from 2010 to 2015.^[1] From 2015 to 2025, she served as a pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church in Brooklyn.^[4][5]

On May 3, 2025, Foster was elected to serve a six-year term as the bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.^[2] She was elected on the fifth ballot with 196 votes, finishing ahead of Rev. Stephanie Jaeger of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Manhattan, who received 144 votes.^[2] She succeeded Bishop Paul Egensteiner.^[6] Foster is the first woman and the first openly gay bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod.^[7] She was formally installed on November 22, 2025 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine by Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry.^[7]

Foster is originally from Fernandina Beach, Florida.^[8] She lives in The Bronx.^[1] She is lesbian.^[4] Foster is married to Pamela Kallimanis.^[8] They have one daughter, Zoia.^[8]