The two most visible positions within the ELCA were up for election in 2007. In one case, there was little in the way of suspense. The other case, however, promised a change in leadership for the first time in the denomination’s 20-year history.
The reelection of Mark Hanson as the presiding bishop of the denomination was hardly unexpected. Since his election to the post in 2001, Hanson has projected an image of a likeable leader with a pastoral heart. His calm, deliberate speaking style and self-deprecating sense of humor endeared him to the voting members. His regular use of evangelical language helped to mask his consistently liberal positions on matters such as human sexuality, immigration, and the ongoing war in Iraq.
ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson was elected overwhelmingly at the 2007 Churchwide Assembly. (Photo courtesy ELCA) |
Only a quirk in the assembly voting rules kept the popular presiding bishop from receiving the 75 percent approval necessary for election on the first ballot. Hanson was elected overwhelmingly on the second ballot. His second term will conclude in 2013.
While the presiding bishop remained the same, the office of denominational secretary saw its first change in 20 years. The Rev. Lowell Almen, elected to the position at the first Churchwide Assembly in 1987, had decided to retire.
Almen has obtained a certain celebrity status among the ELCA faithful for his deadpan sense of humor with a droll and expressionless delivery. His ability to inject humor into even the most routine of announcements has delighted two decades of assembly attendees, and he would have been overwhelmingly re-elected had he chosen to seek another term.
The position of secretary in the ELCA is one of significant influence. The secretary serves as gatekeeper for information coming in and out of the denomination’s Chicago headquarters, primary historian, and constitutional interpreter. Although this election lacked the national attention of the sexuality debates, traditional and revisionist elements in the church rightly saw it as one of vital importance.
After several ballots, David Swartling, an attorney from Seattle serving as the Assembly’s parliamentarian, was elected as the new secretary. A lay member, Swartling appeared to be a compromise selection—a bit of an unknown entity with impeccable qualifications and no real track record. His greatest asset was that he had no apparent ties to either the conservative WordAlone/Lutheran CORE group or the liberal Lutherans Concerned/Goodsoil contingent.
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