Hansen Re-Elected Bishop of ELCA North/West Lower Michigan Synod

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gary. L. Hansen was re-elected May 20 to a six-year term as bishop of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Hansen, 57, was re- elected at the synod assembly at the Holiday Inn-South, Lansing, Mich.
Assembly voting members chose Hansen on the first ballot for bishop, giving him 296 of 339 votes. The Rev. Walter F. Taylor, Jr., a professor at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, received eight votes. Of the remaining 18 eligible candidates who received votes on the nominating ballot, no one totaled more than two votes.
Hansen's new term begins Sept. 1.
Born in Shelby, Mich., Hansen received a bachelor's degree in 1966 from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., an ELCA higher education institution. He earned a master of divinity degree in 1970 from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, one of eight ELCA seminaries. Hansen earned a doctoral degree in 1985 from Drew Theological School, Madison, N.J.
Before he was first elected bishop in 1995, Hansen served seven years as assistant to the bishop of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod. He previously served as pastor for ELCA congregations in Muskegon, Mich. and Greenville, Mich.
Hansen and his wife June Ann are parents of four grown children.
The ELCA North/West Lower Michigan Synod has 55,158 baptized members in 131 congregations. Its offices are in Lansing, Mich. -- -- -- * The Rev. Julie L. Carey, Hillsdale, Mich., is synod correspondent and supplement editor for The Lutheran, the magazine of the ELCA.

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