David Olson Appointed Interim Bishop of ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The synod council of the Metropolitan New
York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
appointed the Rev. David W. Olson, Clinton, Conn., to serve as
interim bishop of the synod, effective Feb. 4. Olson is the
former bishop of the ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod and is now
retired from active ministry. He will assume the role of interim
bishop from the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, who left to become
executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and
Congregational Mission (EOCM).
Olson, 69, was recommended by the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA
presiding bishop, and will serve until a permanent successor to
Bouman takes office this summer. A new bishop will be elected at
the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod assembly, May 15-17,
Westchester Marriott Hotel, Tarrytown, N.Y.
Olson expressed appreciation for Bouman's ministry and said,
"This is an exciting opportunity, and I'm very honored to be
invited to serve as interim bishop. It's a blessing for me."
Olson said he is excited to serve "in a great, urban synod,"
where there is significant diversity with 17 different languages
represented and which includes significant metropolitan area
congregations similar to Minneapolis.
Olson said his top priorities as interim bishop will be to
assist the newly elected bishop so that person will be
successful, and to address anxieties that normally occur with a
change in leadership.
"We sensed in Bishop David Olson a strong insightful leader,
a pastors' pastor and someone who had chaired 14 synod
assemblies," said Hans Vogel, Wantagh, N.Y., vice president of
the synod. "We felt that all of these qualities were of equal
importance during the transition period. The months ahead were
not seen merely as a wait-and-see period but of continuing the
vital mission and ministry of this synod."
Olson served as bishop of the ELCA Minneapolis Synod from
1987 to 2001. He was ineligible for re-election because of the
synod's term limit for bishops.
Born in St. Paul, Minn., Olson earned a bachelor's degree in
English from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., and a master of
divinity degree from Luther Seminary, St. Paul. St. Olaf is one
of 28 ELCA colleges and universities; Luther is one of eight ELCA
seminaries. Olson did graduate study at Union Seminary, New
York; Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Mass.; and Duke
University, Durham, N.C.
Following ordination in 1964, Olson served Lutheran
congregations in Baltimore and Crystal, Minn. He was director of
the North Minneapolis Lutheran Coalition; associate director,
contextual education, Luther Seminary; and director of cross
cultural concerns and later, associate dean of students, Luther
Seminary. He was assistant to the bishop, Southeastern Minnesota
District of the former American Lutheran Church, before he was
first elected bishop in 1987.
Olson has an extensive record of community and church
service, and has written several publications. Among honors and
awards, Olson was a Bush Summer Leadership Fellow in 1975 through
a grant awarded by the Bush Foundation, St. Paul.
Olson and his wife, Nancy, are parents of three adult
children.
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* Wendy Healy is communications consultant for the ELCA
Metropolitan New York Synod.

Information about the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod is at
http://www.mnys.org on the Web.

A news release about Stephen Bouman's new role is at
http://www.ELCA.org/news/releases.asp?a=3776 on the ELCA Web
site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog