CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Robert W. Mattheis was elected May 20 to a second six-year term as bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during the synod's assembly at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, Calif.
Mattheis received 329 votes on the third ballot for re-election. The Rev. Donna R. Duensing, El Cerrito, Calif., received 103 votes on that ballot which included 12 names.
In 1994 the synod elected Mattheis to succeed the Rev. Lyle G. Miller as bishop.
Mattheis, 64, is a graduate of Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, and of Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. He has been a pastor of Lutheran congregations in Ferndale and Lodi, Calif., and in Hartington and Crofton, Neb.
The ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod is about 78,500 Lutherans in 214 congregations in northern California and northern Nevada. Synod offices are in Oakland, Calif.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
