CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Paul W. Stumme-Diers, All Saints Lutheran Church, Wales, Wis., was elected June 1 to a six-year term as bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He will succeed the Rev. Peter Rogness, who has served as the synod's bishop since the ELCA was formed in 1988.
The synod's assembly, May 30-June 1 at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis., elected Stumme-Diers on the fifth ballot for bishop. He received 252 votes to 209 votes cast for the Rev. Gregory P. Van Dunk, All People's Gathering Lutheran Church, Milwaukee. The Rev. Jeffrey S. Barrow, Holy Communion Lutheran Church, Racine, Wis., was also a candidate on the fourth ballot. There were 54 names on the first and nominating ballot.
Stumme-Diers will become bishop on Sept. 1. A ceremony of installation is planned for Nov. 2 at St. Mary's Lutheran Church, Kenosha, Wis.
The synod constitution limits bishops to two six-year terms. Rogness served 14 years as the synod's bishop, because that limit was established when the length of a bishop's term was extended from four to six years.
The ELCA Saint Paul (Minn.) Area Synod elected Rogness as its bishop April 21. He will take office there this summer. Before the ELCA was formed, Rogness served two years as bishop of the Southern Wisconsin District of the former American Lutheran Church.
Stumme-Diers, 41, was born in Waverly, Iowa. He graduated from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash., and Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. He served as pastor of Resurrection Lutheran Church, New Berlin, Wis., from his ordination in 1989 until 1998, when he moved to Wales.
The bishop-elect is married to the Rev. Laurie K. Stumme-Diers, Cross Lutheran Church, Ixonia, Wis. They are the parents of two children, Maren and Micah.
The ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod includes 97,803 Lutherans in 141 congregations across seven counties in southeast Wisconsin. The synod office is in Milwaukee.
Carthage College and Pacific Lutheran University are two of the ELCA's 28 colleges and universities. Wartburg Theological Seminary is one of the ELCA's eight seminaries. The ELCA's 10,816 congregations are organized into 65 synods. -- -- --
The ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod maintains a site at http://www.milwaukeesynod.org/ on the Web.
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
