wfn.org | Worship, Bible Study Leaders for ELCA Churchwide Assembly Named

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Title: Worship, Bible Study Leaders for ELCA Churchwide Assembly Named
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>July 2, 2009  

Worship, Bible Study Leaders for ELCA Churchwide Assembly Named
09-147-CD*

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Preachers, presiding ministers and Bible study
leaders chosen for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ECLA)
Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis this August come from diverse
backgrounds.

The preachers, presiders and Bible study leaders were chosen by the
Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop.  The Rev. Jennifer P.
Ollikainen, associate for worship resources, said the goal with this
group was to have "broad representation" of the church body.

The presiding and preaching ministers include four pastors who are
bilingual, a first-year pastor, a university chaplain and the president
of the United Methodist Council of Bishops. The leaders at the assembly
serve an important role, Ollikainen said.

"Word and Sacrament are at the center of the church," she
said. "Those who are ministers have a central role in proclaiming the
gospel of Jesus Christ and administering the means of grace for the sake
of the work of the assembly."

Prayers for the assembly, normally written by one person, were
written by a group of pastors who have been serving for 10 years or
less.  The change was made so that more voices could be heard at the
churchwide assembly, she said.

The worship leaders met with Hanson this spring to talk about the
meaning of the assembly.  This was the first time that ministers
assisting in worship for an assembly met to study as a preaching
community before the assembly, Ollikainen said.
Presiding are:
+ Aug. 17, 23: The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop
+ Aug. 18: The Rev. Natacha D. Kemp, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church,
Wichita, Kan.
+ Aug. 19: The Rev. Lit-Inn Wu, Truelight Lutheran Christian Church,
Schaumburg, Ill.
+ Aug. 20: The Rev. Callista S. Isabelle, associate chaplain, Yale
University, New Haven, Conn.
+ Aug. 21: The Rev. Rani R. Abdulmasih, Mother of the Savior Lutheran
Church, Dearborn, Mich.
+ Aug. 22 at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis: The Rev. Sylvia De La
Garza, St. John Lutheran Church, San Juan, Texas
Preaching are:
+ Aug. 17: The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop
+ Aug. 18: The Rev. Megan L. Torgerson, Augustana Lutheran Church, West
St. Paul, Minn.
+ Aug. 19: The Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director, ELCA
Global Mission
+ Aug. 20: Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, president, United Methodist Council
of Bishops
+ Aug. 21: The Rev. Christine A. Timm, Olivet Lutheran Church, Sylvia,
Ohio
+ Aug. 22: The Rev. Linda O. Norman, chief financial officer, Development
Services and ELCA Foundation
+ Aug. 23: The Rev. Allan C. Bjornberg, bishop, ELCA Rocky Mountain
Synod, chair, ELCA Conference of Bishops

De La Garza and Malpica Padilla lead worship in English and Spanish,
Abdulmasih leads worship in English and Arabic, and Wu leads worship in
English and Chinese. De La Garza, Abdulmasih and Wu will lead parts of
liturgy in their respective languages at the assembly.
Bible study leaders are:
+ Aug, 19: Dr. Diane Jacobson, professor of Old Testament, Luther
Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. and director, ELCA Book of Faith Initiative
+ Aug. 20: The Rev. Jessica R. Crist, bishop, ELCA Montana Synod, Great
Falls
+ Aug. 21: The Rev. Ronald T. Glusenkamp, Bethany Lutheran Church, Cherry
Hills, Colo.; Peter Mayer, lead guitarist for Jimmy Buffet and leader of
the Peter Mayer Group
+ Aug. 22: The Rev. John A. Nunes, president and chief executive officer,
Lutheran World Relief, Baltimore

>---

* Carrie L. Draeger is a senior communication major with a concentration
in journalism at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash. This summer
she is an intern with the ELCA News Service.

More information on the Churchwide Assembly can be found at
http://www.ELCA.org/assembly on the Web.

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