New Lutheran Leader Calls for Revival of Synod
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KIRKWOOD, Mo. — Gerald Kieschnick has been installed as the 12th president in the 154-year history of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Kieschnick, 58, was elected in July to succeed Alvin Barry, who died in March of complications from leukemia. Kieschnick served for 10 years as president of the church’s Texas district.
In his installation speech, he called on Lutherans to revitalize the denomination. He noted the drop in the number of clergy, and the decline in membership and Sunday school enrollment in many congregations.
The Missouri Synod is the ninth-largest Protestant denomination in America, with 2.6 million members.
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