CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Craig E. Johnson was elected to a six-year term as bishop of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) June 2 at the synod's assembly at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn. Since 1996, Johnson has served as associate vice president for church relations at Gustavus Adolphus, a college of the ELCA.
Johnson will succeed the Rev. David W. Olson as bishop on Sept. 1. Olson was ineligible for re-election because of the synod's term limits for bishop. Olson has been the synod's bishop since 1987.
Johnson will be installed as bishop Oct. 22 at a site to be determined.
On the assembly's fifth ballot for bishop, Johnson received 532 votes to 275 votes for the Rev. Christopher P. Nelson, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Minneapolis. The Rev. Ann Svennungsen, Trinity Lutheran Church, Moorhead, Minn., was a candidate on the fourth ballot. There were 66 names on the first and nominating ballot.
Born June 7, 1947, in St. Croix Falls, Wis., Johnson is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus and Northwestern Theological Seminary, Minneapolis (now Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.). He served as pastor of Nativity Lutheran Church, Shreveport, La.; Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, Minneapolis; and Transfiguration Lutheran Church, Bloomington, Minn.
Johnson and his wife Cynthia (Cindy) are the parents of three children.
The ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod has 230,000 members in 175 congregations across seven Minnesota counties. Synod offices are in Minneapolis. --- [* Ann E. Hafften is communication associate for the ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod.]
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
