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Chicago (ELCA)-JB — The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected Daniel J. Lehmann Nov. 11 to a four-year term as editor of "The Lutheran," the magazine of the ELCA. Lehmann's appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2006.
The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here Nov. 11-13. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is here Aug. 6-12, 2007.
Lehmann will succeed the Rev. David L. Miller, who resigned June 30 as editor to accept a five-year term as Dean of the Chapel and the first Cornelsen Director of Spiritual Formation at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Since Miller's departure, Sonia C. Solomonson, the magazine's managing editor, has also served as interim editor.
Lehmann is the first lay person named editor of the denomination's magazine in more than 40 years, including the ELCA and predecessor Lutheran church bodies.
The advisory committee for The Lutheran, in consultation with the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, nominated Lehmann following a search and interview process.
"Dan Lehmann has a passion for deepening the content of The Lutheran as a way of engaging ELCA readers," Hanson said. "He will build upon the strength of The Lutheran without minimizing the constant challenges facing such publications in a complex and ever-changing world of communication. He brings strong experience in journalism, a love for the church and desire to explore what it means to be Lutheran Christians in the 21st century."
Lehmann, 54, has served here since 1999 as public information officer, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. In that role, he was responsible for media relations, public information, community outreach programs and educational initiatives to increase understanding of the federal court's presence in the community.
Lehmann was born in St. Louis. In 1973 he earned a bachelor of journalism degree and a bachelor of arts in political science degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia.
He began his journalism career in 1974 at The Mining Journal, Marquette, Mich., where he was a reporter for two years. From 1976 to 1983 Lehmann was an editor at The Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.
From 1983 to 1999, Lehmann was a reporter, and later editor, with the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. Among his roles there, Lehmann was a copy editor, editorial page makeup editor, Sunday news editor, religion writer, federal court reporter, Cook County Criminal Courthouse reporter and night city editor. He had several national and international assignments with the Sun-Times, including the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Lehmann was unit chair and vice chair for the Newspaper Guild at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he negotiated or helped negotiate guild contracts. He was also treasurer of the organization.
He has served on the board of elders and as president of Grace Lutheran Church and School, River Forest, Ill.
Lehmann and his wife, Julia Schmidt Lehmann, attend Christ the King Lutheran Church and reside in the city here. They are parents of two adult children, Felicia, Oak Park, Ill., and Elliott, Springfield, Ill.
This is the first time the editor of The Lutheran has been elected by the Church Council. The 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted constitutional amendments that included a change in the election process for the magazine's editor. All previous editors of The Lutheran were elected by the churchwide assembly.