CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gary M. Wollersheim was elected to a second six-year term as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly June 18-19 at Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill. Augustana is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities.
Wollersheim, 53, was re-elected on the first ballot for bishop. He received 392 of 469 ballots cast. Second was the Rev. Janet H. Hunt, who serves as assistant to the bishop, Northern Illinois Synod. She received 10 votes. There were a total of 36 names on the nominating ballot.
Wollersheim was first elected bishop in 1998.
Born in Chicago, Wollersheim earned a bachelor of arts in secondary education in 1973 from Augsburg College, Minneapolis. In 1977, he earned a master of divinity from Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary (later, Luther Seminary), St. Paul, Minn. In 1995, he earned a doctor of divinity from Luther Seminary. Augsburg College is an ELCA college; Luther Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
Following his ordination in 1977 Wollersheim served as pastor of Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Cicero, Ill., and as pastor/developer and pastor at Hosanna! Lutheran Church, St. Charles, Ill. From 1990 to 1998, he was assistant to the bishop, Northern Illinois Synod, and was a shared churchwide staff member as a mission director and stewardship specialist.
During his first term as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod, he has served in numerous denominational capacities, including as chair of the ELCA Evangelism Task Force. That effort resulted in the adoption of an evangelism strategy for the ELCA at the 2003 Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee.
Wollersheim and his wife, Polly, are parents of three grown children.
The ELCA Northern Illinois Synod has 98,160 baptized members in 164 congregations. The synod office is in Rockford.
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Information about the ELCA Northern Illinois Synod is at http://www.nisynod.org/ on the Web.
* Anne Bergren is director for synodical communications for the ELCA Northern Illinois Synod.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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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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Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
