Title: Duane Pederson Elected Bishop of ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 5, 2007
Duane Pederson Elected Bishop of ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin 07-096-LL*/SH*
CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Rev. Duane C. Pederson, senior pastor, First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Wis., was elected June 2 to a six-year term as bishop of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Pederson, 52, was elected on the fifth ballot for bishop, 329-126 over the Rev. Gary A. Hedding, assistant to the bishop, ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin.
Pederson will succeed the Rev. Robert D. Berg, who previously announced he would not be available for re-election. Berg will become assistant to the president for church relations, ELCA Board of Pensions, Minneapolis, on Aug. 1. Berg, 59, has been serving as bishop of the synod since 1995.
Pederson led on the fourth ballot with 286 votes. Hedding received 131 votes, and the Rev. Richard J. Bruesehoff, director for lifelong learning, ELCA Vocation Education, received 63 votes. There were 95 names on the first or nominating ballot.
Pederson will assume his new role as bishop on Aug. 1. He will be installed on Aug. 26 at the University of Wisconsin, Barron County campus, Rice Lake.
Born in Kalispell, Mont., Pederson received a bachelor's degree in 1977 from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. In 1981 he received a master of divinity degree from Luther Theological Seminary (now Luther Seminary), St. Paul, Minn. In 1984 he received a master of education in counseling from Montana State University, Bozeman, and in 1991 he received a doctorate in organizational development from McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. Concordia College is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities; Luther Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
Pederson served congregations in Bozeman and Chicago before he became pastor at First Lutheran Church.
Pederson and his wife Sylvia are parents of two adult children. The Pedersons reside in Eau Claire.
The ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin has 106,344 baptized members in 210 congregations. The synod office is in Rice Lake.
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Information about the ELCA Northwest Wisconsin Synod is at http://nwsynod-wisconsin.org on the Web.
* Sue Hildebrand, editor of the ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin newsletter, provided information.
* Lauren A. Lamb is a senior public relations and speech communication major at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. This summer she is an intern with the ELCA News Service.
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