CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Paul R. Landahl, 63, was elected June 1 to a six-year term as bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Landahl, associate to the bishop, ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod, will succeed the Rev. Kenneth R. Olsen. Olsen announced earlier this year he planned to pursue other opportunities in the church and would not seek re-election as bishop.
Landahl was elected at the synod assembly at the Arthur Andersen Worldwide Center for Professional Training, St. Charles, Ill. He will become bishop Sept. 1.
He was elected on the third ballot for bishop with 393 votes over the Rev. Said R. Ailabouni, ELCA Division for Global Mission, Chicago, who received 103 votes. Others receiving votes on the third ballot were the Rev. M. Wyvetta Bullock, executive director, ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries, Chicago, 61 votes; and the Rev. Mary W. Anderson, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Evanston, Ill., 35 votes. There were 43 names on the nominating ballot.
The Rev. H. George Anderson, ELCA presiding bishop, will install Landahl as bishop Sept. 22 at Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, Ill.
Landahl, who was born in Chicago, earned a bachelor's degree in history from Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind., and a master of divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, Ill., a seminary of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). The seminary is now located in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Following his ordination in 1965, Landahl was mission developer and pastor at Hope Lutheran Church, Warren, Mich., an LCMS congregation. He was pastor at Ascension Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Riverside, Ill., before he became assistant to the bishop.
He and his wife Carolyn are parents of three grown children.
The ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod, with offices in Chicago, has 119,561 members in 231 congregations. -- -- -- [*Karen Stetins is a program administrator with the ELCA Metropolitan Chicago 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
