July 28, 2003

WINNIPEG, Canada - The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) July 26. He was elected on the first ballot, receiving 267 votes to 111 votes for the only other nominee, the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, vice-president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). The vote was by secret, written ballot.

Hanson, who was elected to a six-year term as ELCA presiding bishop in 2001, will continue in that role. The six-year term he will serve as LWF president is a volunteer position and will be in addition to his responsibilities as ELCA presiding bishop.

As LWF president, he chairs LWF Council meetings, the LWF Assembly, and, in consultation with the LWF General Secretary, LWF Council and other leaders, the president speaks publicly about topics and issues of concern to the LWF.

Upon his election, Hanson said he accepts the office "with a great spirit of humility. ... The task for me," he declared, "is to listen, to lead by learning and accompanying you." He encouraged the representatives of LWF member churches to "challenge, encourage, correct me ... I lead not apart but with you."

Hanson said he hoped he never forgets his 22 years as a parish pastor where the centerpiece of ministry is Word and Sacrament, and so it should continue to be for the LWF communion, he said. At a news conference immediately following his election, Hanson declared that the new office will allow him to speak even more publicly, with Lutherans throughout the world, about the economic and military dominance of the United States. But, he added, "The voice of the communion should speak, not just its president."

On his hopes for dialogue with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Roman Catholic Church, Hanson said that he is committed to continuing conversation with both bodies. He said he looks forward to the second round of conversations with the International Lutheran Council in Finland next year, and said, "Large churches shouldn't use emerging churches as pawns in power struggles for Lutheran control."

With regard to the Roman Catholics, Hanson said, "I'm very heartened ... We are just beginning to experience the fruits of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, beginning to do catechetical work, and are now in the difficult dialogue on ecclesiology and nature of ministry. It's remarkable we've come this far." He expressed the hope that Catholics and Lutherans could collaborate in some fashion to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

When asked about his plans to encourage the full and equal role of women in LWF deliberation and actions, he stated, "As men and as men in leadership, we need to be silent and listen to women and to let women lead." Yet he pointed to the need for sensitivity to each church's historical context, culture and history.

Hanson declared his commitment to discussions among Lutherans that will include all points of views. "We should continue amongst ourselves lively conversations about what it means to be Lutheran."

Hanson is the eleventh person to hold the position of LWF President since the Federation was founded in 1947. He will succeed Bishop Emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick, Germany, Dr Christian Krause, whose term expires at the conclusion of the Assembly July 31.

A president of the LWF serves a six-year term, from assembly to assembly. The holder of this position represents one of the seven regions of the Federation namely, Africa, Asia, Central Eastern Europe, Central Western Europe, Nordic Countries, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. Krause was elected at the 1997 Assembly held in Hong Kong, China.

None of the other six LWF regions nominated a candidate. Hanson was elected LWF vice president for North America at the September 2002 LWF Council meeting in Wittenberg, Germany. He serves on the LWF Council and Executive Committee. He is a member of the executive board of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.

The LWF Assembly also formally elected 48 nominees to the LWF Council, representing the seven LWF regions. Elected to represent the North America region were four clergy: the Rev. Emmanuel Grantson and the Rev. Barbara Rossing, both from the United States; from Canada, the Rev. Raymond Schultz and the Rev. David Pfrimmer. One lay person was elected: Abigail Zang from the United States.

ELCA News Service