ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 10, 2012

James Hazelwood elected bishop of ELCA New England Synod
12-39-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Rev. James E. Hazelwood was elected June 9 to
serve a six-year term as bishop of the New England Synod of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He was elected on the
fifth ballot at the synod's assembly June 8-10 in Springfield, Mass.
     Hazelwood is pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Charlestown,
R.I. He succeeds the Rev. Margaret G. Payne, who is retiring. She served
two terms as synod bishop.
     On the fifth ballot, Hazelwood received 325 votes and the Rev.
Timothy R. Oslovich, Trinity Lutheran Church in Vernon, Conn., received
235. On the fourth ballot, Hazelwood received 271 votes, Oslovich
received 202 and the Rev. Theodore W. Asta, assistant to the bishop at
the synod, received 99 votes.
     Born in Concord, Mass., Hazelwood earned a bachelor's degree from
California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He attended Union
Theological Seminary and earned a Master of Divinity degree at Pacific
Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif. He earned a doctorate
at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. California Lutheran is
one of the ELCA's 26 colleges and universities; Pacific Lutheran is one
of eight ELCA seminaries.
     After his ordination in 1987, Hazelwood was pastor at Bethany
Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. Prior to his ordination, he served as a
program director for El Camino Pines Camp in Frazier Park, Calif; youth
director at All Saint's Lutheran Church in Danville, Calif.; intern
pastor at Burr Oak and Hesper Lutheran Church, Burr Oak, Iowa; and, he
was superintendent at a school in Brooklyn. He also participated in a
variety of ELCA churchwide ministries and synod activities.
     Information about the ELCA New England Synod is available at
http://www.nesynod.org.
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United
States, with 4.2 million members in 10,000 congregations across the 50
states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work.
Our hands," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in
Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's
roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.

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