wfn.org | Viterbo College Honors ELCA Bishop with Pope John XXIII Award

[NEWS <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 25, 1999

VITERBO COLLEGE HONORS ELCA BISHOP WITH POPE JOHN XXIII AWARD
99-140-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -  The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was one of two
recipients of the 1999 Pope John XXIII Award for Distinguished Service,
presented May 12 by Viterbo College, LaCrosse, Wis.
     The other recipient was Sister Helen Prejean, of the Sisters of
St. Joseph of Medaille.  She is a well-known death penalty opponent from
Louisiana and author of "Dead Man Walking," a book which inspired the
Academy Award-winning movie with the same title.
     Previous recipients of the award include Charles Kuralt, Norman
Vincent Peale, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh and
the Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, former presiding bishop of the ELCA.
     The award was established in 1975 to "recognize men and women who
have distinguished themselves through service to higher education, to
community and to humankind," according a description of the award.
Recipients are selected by the executive committee of the college's
Board of Advisors on the basis of outstanding leadership that
exemplifies the spirit of Pope John XXIII.  Pope John XXIII, elected in
1958, convened Vatican II, which led to significant reforms in the Roman
Catholic Church.  He died four-and-one-half years after his election.
     Anderson is the spiritual leader of the 5.2 million member ELCA,
which includes nearly 11,000 congregations, and numerous campus, prison
and military locations throughout the world.  He is a Phi Beta Kappa
graduate from Yale University and earned graduate degrees from the
University of Pennsylvania and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at
Philadelphia.  He served on the faculty of Lutheran Theological Southern
Seminary, Columbia, S.C., and was its president from 1970 to 1981.  He
also served as president of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, for 13
years before his election as presiding bishop of the ELCA in August
1995.
        Anderson was chair of a series of dialogues between Lutherans
and Roman Catholics in the 1980s and 1990s. He is also known for his
writings on Lutheran history.  His work includes many scholarly essays
and book chapters.  Anderson writes a regular column in The Lutheran,
the magazine of the ELCA, and published "A Good Time to be the Church, A
Conversation with Bishop H. George Anderson," in February 1997.

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