Bishop Wollersheim re-elected on the first ballot:

ELCA News Release

Video of the announcement

DATE: June 18, 2010

CONTACT: Karin Graddy, Communication Director, Northern Illinois Synod
                        karin@nisynod.org, 815-762-0758 (cell)

Wollersheim Re-Elected ELCA Northern Illinois Synod Bishop

 ROCK ISLAND, IL -- The Rev. Gary M. Wollersheim was elected to a third six-year term as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly June 18-19 at Augustana College, Rock Island, IL. Augustana is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities.

 Wollersheim, 59, was re-elected on the first ballot for bishop. He received 331 of 433  ballots cast. Second was the Rev. Stacie Fidlar, who serves as Pastor of St John Lutheran Church in Rock Island, IL. She received 13 votes. Third was the Rev. Jeffrey Clements, who serves as assistant to Bishop Wollersheim. He received 12 votes. There were a total of 43 names on the nominating ballot.

Wollersheim was first elected bishop in 1998. He was elected on the first ballot to serve a second term in 2004.

Born in Chicago, Wollersheim earned a bachelor of arts in secondary education in 1973 from Augsburg College, Minneapolis. In 1977, he earned a master of divinity degree from Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary (later, Luther Seminary), St. Paul, MN. In 1995, he earned a doctor of ministry degree from Luther Seminary. Augsburg College is an ELCA college; Luther Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.

Following his ordination in 1977, Wollersheim served as pastor of Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Cicero, IL, and as pastor/developer and pastor at Hosanna! Lutheran Church, St. Charles, IL. From 1990 to 1998, he was assistant to the bishop, Northern Illinois Synod, and was a shared churchwide staff member as a mission director and stewardship specialist.

During his previous terms as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod, he has served in numerous denominational and ecumenical capacities, including as chair of the ELCA Evangelism Task Force. That effort resulted in the adoption of an evangelism strategy for the ELCA at the 2003 Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee.

Currently Wollersheim serves as co-chair of the Illinois Conference of Churches and chair of ELCA Region 5 Bishops.

 Wollersheim and his wife, Polly, are parents of three grown children.

 The ELCA Northern Illinois Synod has more than 100,000 baptized members in 160 congregations and five synodically authorized worshiping communities. The synod office is in Rockford.

The ELCA is the fifth largest Protestant denomination in the United States with 4.6 million baptized members who belong to more than 10,300 congregations. It has more than 270 agencies and institutions that are the second largest provider of human services of any non-governmental social services agency. The ELCA is committed to growing in diversity and strengthening its global, ecumenical and interfaith relationships around the world.

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Information about the ELCA Northern Illinois Synod is at www.nisynod.org.
Information about the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is at www.elca.org.

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