Bishop Mark S. Hanson

Bishop Hanson is the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In August 2001, he was elected by the Churchwide Assembly to be the presiding bishop of the ELCA. Before being elected as the presiding bishop, he served as the bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod (3H) and he was elected to serve a second term that same year. Bishop Hanson was born in Minneapolis on December 2, 1946. He graduated from Augsburg College with a Bachlor's degree in Sociology. He then went to the Union Theological Seminary in NYC and recived a Master of Divinity degree. He was elected in 2003 as the president of the Lutheran World Federation, a position he holds concurrently with his position as presiding bishop of the ELCA. Bishop Hanson has the opportunity to speak with Lutherans throughout the world about the social, economic, and political injustices that we, the people of God, are called to confront. He is the author of, Faithful Yet Changing, the Church in Challenging Times and Faithful and Courageous, Christians in Unsettling Times, which are both published by Augsburg Fortress, Publishers. Him and his wife, Agrimson have six children. He is better known as grandpop to two grandkids.