Bolick Re-elected Bishop of ELCA North Carolina Synod

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Leonard H. Bolick was re-elected to a
six-year term as bishop of the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod's assembly June 5-7 at
Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, N. C. Lenoir-Rhyne is one of 28 colleges
and universities of the ELCA.
Bolick, 56, has served as bishop of the synod since 1997. He was
re-elected June 5 on the first ballot. Bolick received 471 votes out of
616 valid ballots cast. The Rev. Stephen P. Gerhard, Epiphany Lutheran
Church, Winston-Salem, N. C., and the Rev. J. Larry Yoder, professor of
religion, Lenoir-Rhyne College, were second with 19 votes each. There
were 55 nominees on the first ballot for bishop.
Before becoming bishop, Bolick served as assistant to the bishop
for the North Carolina Synod. He served as pastor at St. James Lutheran
Church, Fayetteville, N. C., and Calvary Lutheran Church, Concord, N. C.
Bolick was born in Blowing Rock, N. C. He received a bachelor of
science degree from Appalachian State University, Boone, N. C., in 1968.
He attended the ELCA's Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia,
S. C., where he received a master of divinity in 1972, and McCormick
Theological Seminary, Chicago, where he received a doctor of ministry
degree in 1982. In 1989, he received a doctor of ministry from Graduate
Theological Foundation, Notre Dame, Ind.
Bolick and his wife, Rita, currently reside in Salisbury, N. C.
They have two children, Joseph and Sara.
The ELCA North Carolina Synod has 236 congregations and 88,653
baptized members. The synod office is located in Salisbury, N. C.
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*Jessica A. Crane is completing her degree at Concordia College,
Moorhead, Minn. This summer she is an intern with ELCA News and Media
Production.


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