CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On Sept. 19 the council of the Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) named the Rev. Paul M. Werger to serve as the synod's interim bishop. The synod's current bishop, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, was elected in August to become ELCA presiding bishop on Nov. 1.
Werger begins his responsibilities as interim bishop Oct. 1 with meetings in Chicago. He will attend Hanson's installation as presiding bishop Oct. 6 at Rockefeller Chapel, University of Chicago.
The ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod will elect a new bishop at its assembly April 19-21, 2002, at Concordia University, St. Paul, Minn. Werger, 70, will serve as interim bishop through June 1, 2002.
Born in Greenville, Pa., Werger is a graduate of Thiel College, an ELCA college in Greenville. He earned his master of divinity degree in 1957 from Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary, Minneapolis (now Luther Seminary, St. Paul).
Werger served as pastor of Lutheran Church of the Apostles, Shoreview, Minn., and St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Bloomington, Minn. In 1978 the Iowa Synod of the former Lutheran Church in America elected him president.
The ELCA was formed in 1988, and Werger served as the first bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Iowa Synod until his retirement in 1996. Since then he has served as interim pastor at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City of Jerusalem (Israel) and at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Iowa City, Iowa.
Werger is married to Dianne Ellisen Werger, and they currently reside in Iowa City. They are the parents of four adult children and grandparents to seven.
The Saint Paul Area Synod is one of 65 synods in the ELCA and includes 120 congregations with some 165,000 baptized members in Minnesota's Anoka, Chisago, Dakota, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
- - -
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
