The SELC had been formed in 1902 in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and had changed its name to the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in 1959 due to decreasing identification with the Slovak language and culture.

Spread over 11 U.S. states (Florida, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and Connecticut) and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, the great majority of congregations are in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions.

[1] SELC District offices are located in Macungie, Pennsylvania.

Delegates from each congregation meet in convention every three years to elect the district president, vice presidents, circuit visitors, a board of directors, and other officers.

Waldemar R. Vinovskis is the current district president, elected to his first term in 2018.