wfn.org | ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod Bishop Declines Another Term

[news@ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 22, 2001

ELCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO SYNOD BISHOP DECLINES ANOTHER TERM
01-67-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Kenneth R. Olsen, bishop of the
Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), will not seek a second term, he announced in a letter
this month to leaders in the synod.  Olsen, 65, will leave office
when his six-year term expires Aug. 31, and plans to pursue other
opportunities in the church.
     The ELCA is organized into 65 synods, each headed by a bishop
elected by the synod assembly.  Olsen was elected in 1995 over the
incumbent bishop, the Rev. Sherman G. Hicks.
     A primary reason for Olsen's decision was personal health
concerns, he said.
     "I continue to be humbled by the support and affirmation of the
pastors and people of this synod, and am so very grateful for the
opportunity that you have given me to serve you for the past six
years," he said in his letter. "It is obvious to me that I am not yet
ready to retire, but as of this writing, I am still contemplating and
examining my future plans for ministry."
     The Metropolitan Chicago Synod Assembly will elect Olsen's
successor when it meets June 1-2 at the Arthur Anderson Worldwide
Center for Professional Training, St. Charles, Ill.
     The Metropolitan Chicago Synod has about 119,000 members in 230
congregations.
     Olsen is a native of Chicago.  He previously served as
associate director of the ELCA Foundation; assistant to the bishop,
Metropolitan Chicago Synod; stewardship director, ELCA Commission for
Financial Support; stewardship director, Illinois Synod of the former
Lutheran Church in America; and pastor for Lutheran congregations in
Aurora, Ill. and Wheaton, Ill.
     Olsen graduated from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, one of eight ELCA
seminaries.
     Of the 27 elections for bishop in ELCA synods this year, at
least 13 bishops will not seek re-election.  Some are subject to term
limits; others announced they will retire or seek other opportunities
in the church.

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