Title: Seven Lutheran Bishops to Retire in 2000
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 10, 2000

SEVEN LUTHERAN BISHOPS TO RETIRE IN 2000
00-05-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Seven of the 65 synod bishops of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have announced plans to retire in
2000.  Synod assemblies elect or re-elect bishops to six-year terms.
Bishops serve as synods' chief pastors, exercising administrative
oversight of the synods' work; they are also members of the ELCA
Conference of Bishops.

EAST-CENTRAL WISCONSIN
     The Rev. John C. Beem, 64, bishop of the ELCA East-Central Synod
of Wisconsin, Appleton, Wis., plans to retire July 31 -- the end of a
six-year term to which he was elected in 1994, succeeding the Rev.
Robert H. Herder as bishop.  He announced his plans at the synod's 1999
assembly.
     Beem was pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, Humboldt, Iowa;
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Muskegon Heights, Mich.; Holy Trinity
Lutheran Church, Dubuque, Iowa; and Peace Lutheran Church, Oshkosh, Wis.
He also served as assistant to the bishop of the Iowa District of the
former American Lutheran Church.
     Beem plans to retire, move to Alexandria, Minn., and offer his
pastoral services to small congregations in the area.  He would like the
pastors of those congregations to have opportunities to take sabbatical
leave.
     The East-Central Synod of Wisconsin will elect a bishop during its
assembly June 9-10 at the Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton.   The synod
includes more than 101,000 Lutherans in 147 congregations in 20
Wisconsin counties.

SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS
     The Rev. James E. Bennett, 64, bishop of the ELCA Southwestern
Texas Synod, San Antonio, plans to retire at the end of August.  He was
elected to a six-year term in 1994 to succeed the Rev. Henry Schulte as
bishop.
     Bennett was pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Export, Pa.; Faith
Lutheran Church, Lexington, Ky.; Berkeley Hills Lutheran Church,
Pittsburgh; and St. Martin Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas.  He also
served as assistant to the bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the
former Lutheran Church in America.
     In retirement, Bennett plans to assist the Lutheran Seminary
Program in the Southwest, Austin, Texas, and the ELCA's Theological
Education for Emerging Ministries.
     A synod assembly May 18-20 at Texas Lutheran University, Seguin,
Texas, will name Bennett's successor.  The Southwestern Texas Synod
includes 73,000 Lutherans in 178 congregations across 67 Texas counties.

NORTHERN TEXAS-NORTHERN LOUISIANA
     The Rev. Mark B. Herbener, 68, bishop of the ELCA Northern 
Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod, Dallas, plans to retire at the end of June.
He was first elected bishop in 1987, when three Lutheran church bodies
merged to form the ELCA, and re-elected in 1991 and 1995.  His current
term was to end in 2001.
     Herbener was pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church, Richardson, Texas,
and Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Dallas, before becoming bishop.  He was
also director for the Dallas Region of the National Conference of
Christians and Jews.
     A new bishop will be elected at the synod assembly April 28-30 at
the Marriott Quorum Hotel in Dallas and will take office July 1.
     The Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod includes more than
37,000 Lutherans in 117 congregations across 258 counties in northern
Texas and 26 parishes in northern Louisiana.

NEW ENGLAND
     The Rev. Robert L. Isaksen, 62, bishop of the ELCA New England
Synod, Worcester, Mass., plans to retire at the end of August.  He was
elected bishop in 1987 and re-elected in 1991 and 1995.  His current
term was to end in 2001.
     Isaksen served as pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church and St.
Peter Lutheran Church, both in Bronx, N.Y., and Bethlehem Lutheran
Church, Baldwin, N.Y.  He was coordinator for the Bronx Lutheran
Planning Association and served as a mission director for the former
American Lutheran Church.
     The synod will elect a new bishop June 1-3 at the Sturbridge Host
Hotel in Sturbridge, Mass., to take office Sept. 1.  In a letter mailed
in September to synod congregations, Isaksen announced his retirement
and called on Lutherans "to use the time between now and next June as a
time of spiritual discernment."
     The New England Synod includes more than 75,000 Lutherans in 191
congregations across the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, and three counties of New York.

NEBRASKA
     The Rev. Richard N. Jessen, 62, bishop of the ELCA Nebraska Synod,
Omaha, Neb., plans to retire at the end of August.  He was elected
bishop in 1990 to succeed the Rev. Dennis A. Anderson, who became
president of Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio.  Jessen was 
re-elected in 1994 to a six-year term.
     "The responsibilities of the office of bishop are heavy enough
that I feel a sense of relief simply in making known this decision,"
Jessen said in an August letter to Nebraska Lutherans.  "There is also
regret over the prospect of no longer being actively involved in
life-giving relationships with so many fine people of faith which God
has formed into the Nebraska Synod."
     Jessen served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Chicago; Grace
Lutheran Church, Champaign, Ill.; Our Saviour's Lutheran Church,
Arlington Heights, Ill.; and First Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
He also served as an assistant to the president of the Illinois Synod of
the former Lutheran Church in America.  In retirement, Jessen plans to
serve as interim pastor of congregations with pastoral vacancies.
     A synod assembly June 9-10 at the Sioux Land Conference Center,
Marina Inn, South Sioux City, Neb., will elect a bishop to take office
Sept. 1.  Special meetings will be held at various locations across the
state Feb. 26 to nominate candidates for bishop.  Nominations will also
be accepted at the assembly.
     The Nebraska Synod includes more than 128,000 Lutherans in 266
congregations across the state of Nebraska.

DELAWARE-MARYLAND
     The Rev. George P. Mocko, bishop of the ELCA Delaware-Maryland
Synod, Baltimore, plans to retire at the end of August.  He was elected
bishop in 1991, succeeding the Rev. Morris G. Zumbrun, and re-elected in
1995 to a term that was to end in 2001.
     "After nine years as bishop, after 41 years as an active pastor,
approaching my 66th birthday, I have decided to retire a year shy of
completing my second elected term," Mocko wrote in December to announce
his plans.  "The final year would inevitably have been one of 'winding
down.'  I'd rather leave something charging down the road at full
steam."
     Mocko was pastor of Jacob's and Outwood Lutheran Churches, Pine
Grove, Pa.; St. Mark Lutheran Church, Wilmington, Del., and Ascension
Lutheran Church, Towson, Md.  "The 41 years have been workaholic years.
I want to be a husband, father and grandfather," he wrote.
     A synod assembly June 15-17 at Western Maryland College,
Westminster, Md., will elect a bishop who will begin a six-year term
Sept. 1.
     The Delaware-Maryland Synod includes more than 98,000 Lutherans in
189 congregations across Delaware, the city of Baltimore and 18 counties
in Maryland, and two counties in Virginia.

CENTRAL-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
     The Rev. Alton Zenker, 66, bishop of the ELCA Central-Southern
Illinois Synod, Springfield, Ill., plans to retire at the end of August.
He was elected in 1994 to a six-year term, succeeding the late John P.
Kaitschuk as bishop.
     "In many ways the last six years have been the 'best' and the
'worst' of times," Zenker wrote in October to announce his retirement.
"I am very grateful for the privilege of serving as your bishop," he
wrote.  "On the other hand, difficult decisions had to be made which
altered the lives of others."
     Zenker was pastor of American Lutheran Church, Flasher, N.D.; St.
John Lutheran Church, Carson, N.D.; Peace Lutheran Church, Linton, N.D.;
and Immanuel Lutheran Church, Thomasboro, Ill.  He also served as
assistant to the bishop of the Illinois District of the former American
Lutheran Church and as an assistant to Kaitschuk.
     A synod assembly June 8-10 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in
Springfield, Ill., will name Zenker's successor.  The Central-Southern
Illinois Synod includes 61,000 Lutherans in 159 congregations across 76
Illinois counties.


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