INDIANAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, 54, bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was elected presiding bishop of the ELCA on the fifth and final ballot Aug. 11.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 8-14 at the Indiana Convention Center. There are more than 2,000 people participating, including 1,040 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "Making Christ Known: Sharing Faith in a New Century."
Hanson received 533 votes, 51.6 percent of the votes cast by 1,032 voting members of the assembly. The Rev. Donald J. McCoid, 57, bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Pittsburgh, received 499 votes, 48.4 percent. McCoid is also chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops, an advisory body of the church's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary. Hanson is vice chair of the Conference.
"I do not regard this as an election won but a calling received," Hanson said, addressing the assembly after he was elected. "I now face a daunting task and recognize that we will be united as a church in mission. As [presiding] bishop, I will tend to the meal of this church .. to make sure it's the Gospel of Jesus Christ," he said.
Hanson extended a word of "special gratitude" to McCoid. "We share a common confession of faith," he said.
"Thank you for this Holy calling. I accept it with grace and gratitude," Hanson told the assembly with his wife, Ione Agrimson Hanson, standing beside him.
Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson's term of office will end on Oct. 31. Hanson will begin his six-year term as the third bishop of the ELCA on Nov. 1. His installation is planned for Oct. 6 at the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago.
Hanson was educated at Augsburg College, Minneapolis; Union Theological Seminary, New York; Luther Seminary, St. Paul; and Harvard Divinity School. He had also served as pastor of University Lutheran Church of Hope, Minneapolis; Prince of Glory Lutheran Church, Minneapolis; and Edina Community Lutheran Church, Edina, Minn. Hanson was ordained in 1974.
Hanson is a member of Augsburg College Board of Regents and member of the Common Board Communities for the Archdiocese Housing Corporation, Minneapolis. He also served on the National Council of Churches Emergency Ministries.
Hanson and Ione, director of social work for Children's Hospitals, Minneapolis and St. Paul, have six children and one grandchild. - - -
Information about assembly actions is at http://www.elca.org/assembly/01 on the ELCA's Web site. Recorded updates during the assembly are available by calling 773/380-2477.
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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.
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