News
Svennungsen elected synod bishop T
he Minne- apolis Area Synod Assem- bly elected Ann Svennungsen, 56, as bishop, effective May 6. She was elected Feb. 18 on the fifth ballot with 339 votes. Kelly Chat- man, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, received 317 votes.
At the time of her election, Sven- nungsen was serving as interim pastor of St. Olaf College, North- field, Minn. A graduate of Concor- dia College, Moorhead, Minn., and Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., she began her ministry as the first woman to serve Zion Lutheran Church, Iowa City, Iowa. She was
11
also pastor of Edina [Minn.] Com- munity; Beaver Creek, Joice, Iowa; and Trinity, Moorhead.
Svennungsen served as presi-
dent and CEO of the Fund for Theological Education in Atlanta and as president of Texas Lutheran University, Seguin.
She replaces Craig Johnson,
who resigned in 2011 to become pastor of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, Minneapolis. In other business, the assembly voted against changing the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. The amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota goes before voters Nov. 6.
Sara Masters
Masters is director of communications for the Minneapolis Area Synod.
Yohames Sulamin told the Jakarta Globe that minorities who don’t claim one of the six official faiths (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confu- cianism) will still be on the receiving end of contempt and discrimination. Indonesia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
Leader deplores killings Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, head of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, called the burning of Qurans by members of the U.S. mili- tary “a deplorable act of incitement.” But he condemned the February kill- ings in Afghanistan that ensued, say- ing: “Killing is not acceptable, we condemn [it], it’s deplorable, it’s for- bidden, and it’s against all values.” At presstime, more than 30 people had been killed, including four U.S. soldiers, despite an apology from President Barack Obama.
Crackdown in Congo
After the Roman Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo called for review of an elec- tion in which President Joseph Kabila was declared the winner, an onslaught of violence against churches ensued. Incidents included the stabbing death of a nun, the arrest of three priests and two nuns, and police breaking up a peaceful march the church organized in February to demand truth about the November polls.
PHOTO COURTESY THE MINNEAPOLIS AREA SYNOD
Here I ride The Minneapolis Area Synod had a special visitor at its assembly in Febru-
ary—Martin Luther. The plastic statue rode to the assembly with Sara Mas- ters, synod communications director, and was later spotted at the registra- tion table. One of 500 created by artist Ottmar Hörl, the statue was a gift from the synod’s companion, the Leipzig [Germany] Parish. Originally the statues were displayed in Wittenberg while the permanent statue of Luther in the town square was renovated in anticipation of the upcoming 500th anniver- sary of the Reformation.
Correction
Those sharing the peace in a Rejoicing Spirits photo (March, page 15) were Betty Peterson, Judy Schlosser, Greg Binner, and Karen and Fred Gaffney.
For more news, visit
www.thelutheran.org/feature/april 12 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52