CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Michael J. Neils, 51, was elected June 2 to a six-year term as bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during the synod's assembly May 31-June 2. Neils is senior pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church, Phoenix.
Neils was elected on the fifth ballot for bishop, 199-178, over the Rev. Joel S. Bjerkestrand, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Fountain Hills, Ariz. There were about 70 names on the nominating ballot.
Neils will succeed the Rev. Howard E. Wennes, who has served as bishop since 1987 and announced that he would not seek re-election. Neils will assume the bishop's role Sept. 1. He will be installed Sept. 9 at the Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler, Ariz.
Neils, who was born in Dalles, Ore., earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1971 from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash., where he graduated magna cum laude. Pacific Lutheran is one of the 28 ELCA higher education institutions. He attended Christ Seminary in Exile, St. Louis, Mo., where he earned a master of divinity degree in 1976. In 1985, he completed additional graduate study at Union Theological Seminary, N.Y.
After his ordination in 1977, Neils served as assistant pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, New Providence, N.J. He later served as pastor at First Lutheran Church, Montclair, N.J., until 1991, when he became pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church.
Neils and his wife, Cheryl, have two children.
The ELCA Grand Canyon Synod has 79,587 baptized members in 106 congregations across Arizona and southern Nevada. Its offices are located in Phoenix.
[*Michelle T. Mills is a senior at Bradley University, Peoria, Ill. This
summer she is an intern with ELCA News and Information.]
[*Margery Mayes is synod supplement editor for The Lutheran, the magazine
of the ELCA, and newsletter editor for the ELCA Grand Canyon 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
