Born in Alabama in 1937, Will Herzfeld grew up in the Jim Crow South. He attended Lutheran parochial schools throughout his childhood before attending Immanuel Lutheran College in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he earned an Associate of Arts degree. In 1961, Herzfeld earned a Masters of Divinity from Immanuel Lutheran Seminary. Ordained by the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, Herzfeld began his pastoral career at Christ Lutheran Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. While there, he and others organized the first Tuscaloosa chapter of the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), with Herzfeld as the first president, and also the Tuscaloosa Citizens for Action, which organized protests over segregation.
In 1965 Herzfeld moved west to Oakland, California to accept a call as “missionary-at-large.” There he developed social ministries for multiple congregations in the Oakland area. In “A Rumor of Black Lutherans,” James R Thomas wrote, “While issues in Tuscaloosa were often related to the racial Black/White binary, The California-Nevada-Hawaii District was one of the most culturally diverse locations in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Will’s work in the district place him in the company of a medley of people, including indigenous people, brown people, LGBTQIA+ people, mixed race people, and migrant communities—individuals who did not find themselves within the dominant Black/White narrative. Part of Will’s work in the district was bringing people together, sharing the gospel, and creating community.” [1]
In 1973, Herzfeld answered the call of a predominantly Black congregation in Oakland, Bethlehem Lutheran Church and School. Then, in 1975, Herzfeld and Bethlehem left the LCMS to join the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) during a dispute over scripture and ecumenism. Always a leader, Herzfeld became a vice president of the AELC. In 1984, the ALEC elected Herzfeld as its presiding bishop (though he remained pastor at Bethlehem). Thus, he was the first Black presiding bishop of a Lutheran Church entity in the United States. He was the second and last presiding bishop of the AELC, shepherding its union with the LCA and ALC into today’s ELCA.
In 1992, Herzfeld took his talent for bringing people together global, accepting the position of Director of Global Community and Overseas Operations of the Division for Global Mission/ELCA. Over the next decade, he worked to combat poverty and disease, particularly malaria and HIV/AIDS in Africa. After contracting malaria himself during a 2002 trip to Central African Republic, Herzfeld passed away at the age of 64 years.
[1] Thomas, J. (2024). A rumor of Black Lutherans: The formation of Black Leadership in early American Lutheranism. Fortress Press.
Resources:
Thomas, J. (2024). A rumor of Black Lutherans: The formation of Black Leadership in early American Lutheranism. Fortress Press.
http://thecresset.org/2011/Lent/Thomas_L2011.html
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/the-rev-will-herzfeld-ex-oakland-pastor-2834974.php
https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2020/04/28/feast-of-will-herzfeld-june-9/