Title: Rev. Jon S. Enslin Named to Interim Role as ELCA Ecumenical Leader
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 14, 2001

REV. JON S. ENSLIN NAMED TO INTERIM ROLE AS ELCA ECUMENICAL LEADER
01-233-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Jon S. Enslin, former bishop of the
South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), has been named interim director of the ELCA Department
for Ecumenical Affairs, effective Nov. 1.
     The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop-elect, appointed
Enslin for a six-month period concluding April 30.  Enslin will begin
working in the department Oct. 15, learning his new role.  The Rev. H.
George Anderson, ELCA presiding bishop, concurred with Enslin's
appointment.  Hanson will assume the role of presiding bishop Nov. 1,
the day after Anderson's six-year term concludes.
     Under terms of the agreement, Hanson and Enslin agreed that Enslin
will not be nominated for the director's position on a permanent basis;
however, the interim term may be extended on a month-by-month basis if
needed.
     Enslin, 63, will succeed the Rev. Daniel F. Martensen, who has
served as department  director and assistant to the presiding bishop
since 1996.  Martensen, 65, announced this spring he will retire from
the active clergy roster Oct. 31.  He said he plans to move to
Rockville, Md., where he has a lifetime relationship with the Washington
Theological Consortium, Washington, D.C., as distinguished ecumenical
research fellow, a title he was granted in 1987 by the consortium's
board of trustees.
     Hanson said he appointed Enslin for several reasons. "Pastor
Enslin's deep involvement in our ecumenical relationships, his
commitment to our full communion partners, and his openness to calling
this church to continued conversation regarding our future ecumenical
work makes him an excellent choice," Hanson said.
     Hanson said he asked Enslin to concentrate his work on the
"continuity of commitment" to the ELCA's full communion partners, and to
provide opportunities for dialogue about the church's ecumenical
relationships.
     "Jon Enslin has been personally invested in ecumenical matters on
the synodical and statewide level and also on the national level as a
vice-president of the National Council of Churches (NCC)," Anderson
said. "I am very grateful that he has consented to share his experience
and leadership during this period of transition."
     "I am very excited about the opportunity to serve the church in an
area very important to me and an area that is a passion of mine," Enslin
said.  "I am deeply thrilled and honored at the prospect of assisting
the church in this way."
     Enslin served as bishop of the ELCA South-Central Synod of
Wisconsin since 1991.  He was defeated in a bid for a third term June 2
at the synod assembly in Fontana, Wis., by the Rev. George G. Carlson.
Carlson was elected 196-192 over Enslin on the fifth ballot for bishop.
Carlson's term began Aug. 1.
     In the past several years, Enslin gained considerable ecumenical
experience.  He is currently a vice president of the NCC through 2004.
He served on a search committee for the NCC's general secretary.  While
a synod bishop, Enslin served on the ELCA Conference of Bishops
ecumenical committee.
     He has served on the board of trustees for Wartburg Seminary, one
of eight ELCA seminaries; the board of the Wisconsin Council of
Churches; and the ELCA Region 5 executive board, where he was vice
chair.  Enslin was a member of the executive board of the Wisconsin-
Upper Michigan Synod of the former Lutheran Church in America, a ELCA
predecessor church body.  During that time, he was a member of the
executive committee and chaired the administration and finance
committee.
     Enslin served as a member of the transition task force for the
formation of the ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin.
     Enslin was born in Milwaukee.  He attended the Wisconsin
Conservatory of Music, Milwaukee, where he completed studies in piano in
1956.  In 1960, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and
history from Carroll College, Waukesha, Wis.  In 1964, he earned a
master of divinity from Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary,
Minneapolis.  He was awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree from
Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis., in 1992.  Carthage is one of 28 ELCA
colleges and universities.
     After he was ordained in 1964, Enslin was mission developer and
pastor at Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, Waukesha, Wis., and later,
was senior pastor at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church, Monona, Wis., for 12
years.  In 1988, he was named assistant to the bishop in the South-
Central Synod of Wisconsin, and served in that role for three years
before he was elected bishop.
     Enslin and his wife, Crystal, are parents of two grown sons.  They
live in Madison, Wis.
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     Information about the ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs is at
http://www.elca.org/ea/ on the Web.



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