wfn.org | ELCA Presiding Bishop to Be Installed Oct. 6 in Chicago

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 6, 2001

ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP TO BE INSTALLED OCT. 6 IN CHICAGO
01-225-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson will be installed as the
third presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) Oct. 6 here at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on the campus of the
University of Chicago.  Hanson, 54, was elected to a six-year term as
presiding bishop Aug. 11 at the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in
Indianapolis.
     "We are looking forward to a day of celebration and giving thanks
to God as we look forward to the ministry of Mark Hanson as ELCA
presiding bishop," said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director, ELCA
Department for Communication and chair of the installation planning
committee.
  "This is a day not only for the Hanson family but also for the
Church Council, the Conference of Bishops, churchwide staff and the
whole of the ELCA to celebrate churchwide ministry and leadership as we
thank God for the work we are privileged to do together in Christ's name
in the ELCA," he added.
  The installation service will begin at 3 p.m. EDT, and a reception
for Bishop Hanson and his family will follow.  Hanson and his wife,
Ione, are parents to six children, and they have one grandchild.
  Hanson is currently bishop of the ELCA Saint Paul (Minn.) Area
Synod.  He was first elected bishop there in 1995 and re-elected this
spring prior to the churchwide assembly.  He will assume the role of
ELCA presiding bishop Nov. 1.  The current ELCA presiding bishop, the
Rev. H. George Anderson, 69, will conclude his six-year term Oct. 31.
The ELCA's first presiding bishop, the Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, served
two terms before he retired in 1995.
  At Hanson's request, the Rev. Heidi B. Neumark, Transfiguration
Lutheran Church, Bronx, N.Y., will preach at the installation service.
Dr. Addie J. Butler, ELCA vice president, Philadelphia, will be
assisting minister.   David Cherwien will be organist, Deborah Ford will
be soloist, and other musicians will participate.  Special music for the
event will be provided by the Lenoir-Rhyne College A Capella Choir,
Brass Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble.  Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory, N.C., is
one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities.
  Among invited guests are leaders of the five churches with which
the ELCA has a relationship of full communion.  In such a relationship,
the churches agree to share a variety of ministries, and, in certain
circumstances, clergy from one church body may serve in a congregation
of the other.  The five churches which share a full communion
relationship with the ELCA are the Episcopal Church, USA, Moravian
Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in
America and United Church of Christ.
  In addition, Lutheran bishops from outside the United States who
have confirmed their attendance include the Rev. Medardo Gomez Soto,
bishop of the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod, San Salvador, El Salvador; the
Rev. Maria Jepsen, bishop of the Hamburg Diocese, North Elbian
Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hamburg, Germany; the Rev. Ambrose Moyo,
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, Bulawayo; the
Rev. Julius Paul, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur.
  Offerings will be shared by the ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission
and the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.
  Hanson will be the first ELCA presiding bishop installed into the
"historic episcopate," of the Episcopal Church, a line of bishops
extending back to the early days of the Christian church.  The
installation procedure is part of the full communion relationship of the
ELCA and Episcopal Church.
  The service will be available live through a Webcast on the ELCA's
Web site.
  Aid Association for Lutherans, a fraternal benefits society based
in Appleton, Wis., and Lutheran Brotherhood, a fraternal benefits
organization based in Minneapolis, are providing financial support for
some installation activities.
-- -- --
  Information about Presiding Bishop-elect Hanson's installation is
available at http://www.elca.org/installation/# on the ELCA's Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html