Matthew C. Harrison
|
The Reverend Matthew C. Harrison |
|
|---|---|
| President | |
 |
|
| Church | Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod |
| Elected | July 13, 2010 |
| Installed | September 11, 2010 |
| Predecessor | Gerald B. Kieschnick |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1991 |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 14, 1962 Sioux City, Iowa |
| Spouse | Kathy Harrison ('nee Schimm) |
| Children | Two sons |
| Previous post | Executive Director, LCMS World Relief/Human Care |
| Alma mater |
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (M.S.T., 1991), (M.Div., 1989) Morningside College, Sioux City (1984) |
Matthew Carl Harrison (born March 14, 1962 in Sioux City, Iowa) is the 13th and current President of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. He was elected to the presidency on July 13, 2010 at its 64th regular convention held in Houston, Texas. Rev. Harrison officially took office on September 1, 2010, and was formally installed in a service on September 11, 2010 at Concordia Seminary St. Louis. He was elected by a 54 - 45% margin on the first ballot. On July 6, 2013, the LCMS announced his election to a second three-year term following a first ballot victory in the church body's first online presidential election. On June 15, 2016, the LCMS announced he had been elected to a third three-year term, having received 56.96 percent of the vote on the first ballot.
Harrison previously served as the Executive Director of the Department of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, and as founding president of the LCMS Housing Corporation (also known as Lutheran Housing Support).
Matthew Harrison was born in Sioux City, Iowa on March 14, 1962. He was baptized at Bethel Lutheran Church in Lawton, Iowa. He grew up in Sioux City, where his family belonged to Redeemer Lutheran Church. He graduated from Sioux City East High School in 1980 and Morningside College in 1987. Harrison attended seminary at Concordia Theological Seminary at which he earned a Master of Divinity and, in 1991, a Master of Sacred Theology degree. In 2011, he received honorary doctorates from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana and Concordia University Ann Arbor in Michigan.
Matthew Harrison's first parish was at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Westgate, Iowa, where he served from 1991 to 1995.
Harrison served as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church of Fort Wayne, Indiana from 1995 to 2001. During his ministry at Zion, the urban decay around the church moved him to join with St. Peter Catholic Church and community leaders to revitalize the Hanna-Creighton neighborhood. This joint effort recruited investors to clear many dilapidated homes, restore others and build new ones in that ten block area. The effort was a success and led to the construction of a new branch of the Allen County Public Library and an office for the Fort Wayne Urban League in the neighborhood. This initiative continues in the City of Fort Wayne's Renaissance Pointe project.
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