American to Lead Lutheran Federation
The top bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was elected president of the Lutheran World Federation at the group’s meeting in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The Rev. Mark Hanson was elected to a six-year term. Hanson, who will remain as head of the 5.1-million-member ELCA, was elected on the first ballot in a 267-111 vote, beating out the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
The federation, based in Geneva, is composed of 136 member churches representing 61.7 million Lutherans around the world.
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