Kanouse New Bishop of ELCA Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Kevin Scott Kanouse, 46, Advent Lutheran Church, Arlington, Texas, was elected bishop of the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at its assembly April 28-30 at the Marriott Quorum Hotel in Addison, Texas.
     Kanouse was elected April 29 on the fifth ballot, receiving 201 votes to 174 for the Rev. Wayne L. Menking, executive director of The Ministry Development Center, Arlington.  The Rev. Samuel D. Zumwalt Jr., St. Martin Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas, was also considered on the fourth ballot.  About 50 names were on the first nominating ballot.
     "The bishop must provide the vision, the consistency of message, inspiration and motivation," Kanouse told the assembly, describing how he hoped to equip and strengthen the synod's congregations and clergy. "But first I must listen to the parishes and respond to what I hear."
     Kanouse will succeed the Rev. Mark B. Herbener, 68, who plans to retire at the end of June.  Herbener was first elected bishop in 1987, when three Lutheran church bodies merged to form the ELCA, and re- elected in 1991 and 1994.
     Born in Berwick, Pa., Kanouse graduated from Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa., and Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pa.  Ordained in 1980, he served as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Penryn, Pa., before he was called to Advent in 1983.
     The Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod includes 37,655 Lutherans in 117 ELCA congregations across 258 counties in northern Texas and 26 parishes in northern Louisiana.  The synod office is in Dallas.

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