Title: B. Penrose Hoover Elected Bishop of ELCA Lower Susquehanna Synod ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 11, 2007
B. Penrose Hoover Elected Bishop of ELCA Lower Susquehanna Synod 07-102-FI/BM*
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. B. Penrose Hoover, Grace Lutheran Church, Camp Hill, Pa., was elected June 9 to a six-year term as bishop of the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He was elected on the fifth ballot during the synod assembly June 7-9 in Gettysburg, Pa., by a vote of 321-276 over the incumbent bishop, the Rev. Carol S. Hendrix.
Hoover, 60, trailed on the fourth ballot by 24 votes -- 285 for Hendrix and 261 for Hoover. The Rev. David L. Ritterpusch, Advent Lutheran Church, York, Pa., was also a candidate on the fourth ballot. There were 81 names on the first or nominating ballot.
Hoover will assume the role of bishop on Sept. 1. The date and location of his installation are yet to be determined.
"I am truly taken by surprise," Hoover told the assembly after his election. "My prayer throughout this process has been that God's will be done. My further prayer is that together we will be able to carry out the Great Commission. Thank you for your dedication and your faithfulness," he said.
Born in Harrisburg, Pa., Hoover received a bachelor of arts degree in 1968 from Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, and a master of divinity degree in 1972 from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC). Gettysburg is one of 28 colleges and universities of the ELCA, and LSTC is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
After he was ordained in 1972, Hoover was pastor of Saint John Center Lutheran Church, East Earl, Pa., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pa., and Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lebanon, Pa., before he was called in 2002 to Grace Lutheran Church, Camp Hill. In material provided to the assembly, he noted his 35 years of experience in "parish ministry in rural, downtown, urban and suburban settings."
Hoover serves on the synod's Committee on Church in Society. He has served on the policy council of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania and on the synod's committee for world hunger.
Hoover is a widower. He and Elisabeth Hoover, who died in 2006, were the parents of four adult children.
Following his election as bishop, Hoover announced his engagement to the Rev. Sharon F. Vak, Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lebanon.
The ELCA Lower Susquehanna Synod has 125,000 baptized members in 262 congregations. The synod covers Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties in Pennsylvania. The synod office is located in Harrisburg. -- -- --
Information about the ELCA Lower Susquehanna Synod is at http://www.lss-ELCA.org on the Web.
*Barb Myers, director for communication, ELCA Lower Susquehanna Synod, provided information for this story.
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