ELCA NEWS SERVICE June 9, 2008 Mark Narum Elected Bishop of ELCA Western North Dakota Synod 08-083-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark E. Narum, Prairie Lutheran Parish, was elected June 7 to a six-year term as bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Western North Dakota Synod. Prairie Lutheran Parish consists of four North Dakota congregations: Faith Lutheran Church, Palermo; Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Ross; American Lutheran Church, Stanley; and Knife River Lutheran Church, Stanley. Narum will be installed Aug. 17 at a service at Trinity Lutheran Church, Bismarck, N.D., and will succeed the Rev. Duane C. Danielson on Sept. 1. Danielson served two six-year terms as the synod's bishop and was ineligible for re-election. Narum was elected with 207 votes on the fourth ballot for bishop during the synod's assembly June 6-7 in Minot, N.D. The Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, former bishop, ELCA South Dakota Synod, Sioux Falls, received 83 votes on the fourth ballot and the Rev. Steven A. Sathre, Trinity Lutheran Church, Bismarck, received 52 votes. There were 56 names on the first and nominating ballot. Narum, 45, was born in Garrison, N.D., and graduated from Minot State University, Minot, and Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. Wartburg is one of eight ELCA seminaries. Narum has served as pastor of the four-point parish since ordination in 1999. "I am a product of the Western North Dakota Synod. I love this place and the ministry God has set before us here," Narum said. "I like to dream, draw others into that dream and then see where the Spirit leads. What new possibilities does God have in store, and what can we dream into reality through Christ?" Narum and his wife Janice reside in Stanley. They are parents of three children. The ELCA Western North Dakota Synod includes approximately 74,000 Lutherans in 197 congregations across 34 North Dakota counties and four parishes in South Dakota. The synod office is in Bismarck. -- -- -- The home page of the ELCA Western North Dakota Synod is at http://www.wndsynod.org/ on the Web. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog