CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, bishop of the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected vice chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops on Oct. 5.
The Conference of Bishops, an advisory body of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop and secretary, is meeting here Oct. 4-9.
DeGroot-Nesdahl, Sioux Falls, succeeds the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, who was elected presiding bishop of the ELCA by the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Indianapolis, Aug. 8-14. The Conference of Bishops attended Hanson's installation Oct. 6 at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago.
Elected on the fifth ballot, DeGroot-Nesdahl received 32 votes. The Rev. E. Roy Riley, bishop of the ELCA New Jersey Synod, Trenton, received 31 votes. DeGroot-Nesdahl led on the second, third and fourth ballots. The Rev. Steven L. Ullestad, bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Iowa Synod, Waverly, Iowa, and DeGroot-Nesdahl received eight votes each on the first ballot.
The Rev. Donald J. McCoid, bishop of the ELCA Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Pittsburgh, is chair of the Conference of Bishops.
DeGroot-Nesdahl was a nominee for ELCA presiding bishop at the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. She was one of seven candidates on the third ballot.
On May 31, DeGroot-Nesdahl was re-elected to serve a six-year term as synod bishop at the South Dakota Synod Assembly. On June 6, 1995, she was the second woman in North America and the sixth in the world to be elected a bishop in the Lutheran Church.
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
