CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Warren D. Freiheit, First English Lutheran Church, Peoria, Ill., was elected June 10 to a six-year term as bishop of the Central-Southern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during the synod's assembly at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield, Ill. On the fifth and final ballot, he received 250 votes to 165 votes for the Rev. Dennis Meyer, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, St. Joseph, Ill.
The Rev. David Cox, assistant to the bishop, Springfield, was also considered on the fourth ballot. There were 64 names on the first and nominating ballot.
Freiheit, 52, succeeds the Rev. Alton Zenker as the synod's bishop on Sept. 1. Zenker was elected in 1994 to a six-year term, succeeding the late John P. Kaitschuk as bishop, and plans to retire at the end of August.
The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, will install Freiheit as bishop in a ceremony Sept. 16 at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Springfield.
Born in Preston, Minn., Freiheit is a graduate of Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, and Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. He served as pastor for Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Ill., and the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Oak Forest, Ill., before moving to Peoria in 1986.
He and his wife Sandra are the parents of two grown daughters.
The Central-Southern Illinois Synod includes 61,000 Lutherans in 159 congregations across 76 Illinois counties.
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
