CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gerald L. Mansholt was elected June 9 to a six-year term as bishop of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Mansholt, 52, is pastor at Reformation Lutheran Church, Wichita, Kan.
Mansholt was elected on the fifth ballot for bishop at the synod assembly in Kansas City, Mo. Assembly voting members gave him 299 votes, over the Rev. Gordon D. Peterson Jr., who received 240 votes. Peterson is the synod's senior assistant to the bishop. On the fourth ballot for bishop, the Rev. Russell E. Saltzman, Ruskin Heights Lutheran Church, Kansas City, Mo., received votes for bishop as did Peterson and Mansholt. There were 85 nominees on the first ballot.
Mansholt will assume the role of bishop Sept. 1, succeeding the Rev. Charles H. Maahs, who has served as bishop of the synod since 1987. Maahs announced earlier he would not seek re-election.
"I intend to be the bishop to everyone, to all congregations, all pastors, all the baptized and to work for unity of the church," Mansholt told the assembly following his election.
Mansholt will be a fine bishop for the Central States Synod, Peterson said. "He will serve you well," Peterson said. "He is a good churchman, steeped in the gospel. He will touch you with the good news of Christ."
Mansholt has served on the ELCA Central States Synod Council and the council's finance committee. He has also served on the synod's mission planning committee. Mansholt has also been active in a variety of community service activities.
Mansholt, who was born in Alton, Ill., earned a bachelor's degree at Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Ind., a Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod (LCMS) higher education institution. He earned a master of divinity degree from Christ Seminary-Seminex, St. Louis. He was ordained in the LCMS in 1974, before joining the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) in 1977.
The AELC, Lutheran Church in America and American Lutheran Church merged in 1987 to the form the ELCA.
In 1989 he earned a doctor of ministry degree at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, an ELCA seminary.
Before he was pastor at Reformation Lutheran Church, Mansholt served at Lutheran Church of the Living Christ, Florissant, Mo., Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, Chickasha, Okla., both ELCA congregations, and First Lutheran Church, Chickasha, Okla., an LCMS congregation.
Mansholt and his wife Anita are parents of two grown children.
The ELCA Central States Synod has 71,670 Lutherans in 219 congregations. Its offices are in Shawnee Mission, Kan. -- -- -- [*Cheryl L. Hollich is assistant to the bishop of the ELCA Central States Synod.]
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
- - -
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
