The Lower Susquehanna Synod

 

Meet Bishop B. Penrose Hoover

 
The Rev. B. Penrose Hoover is the third bishop of the Lower Susquehanna Synod, ELCA. He was elected on June 9, at the 2007 Lower Susquehanna Synod Assembly at Gettysburg College. He began his six-year term on September 1, 2007, and was installed at St. Patrick Cathedral on October 27, 2007.

Bishop Hoover, a native of Harrisburg, Pa, was born on September 21, 1946. He graduated from Central Dauphin East High School in 1964, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968 from Gettysburg College, and a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 1972.

Our new bishop was ordained in the Central Pennsylvania Synod, Lutheran Church in America, in 1972, and served as a parish pastor until the time of his election as bishop. From 1972-1974 he was pastor of St. John (Center) Lutheran Church, East Earl, Pa; from 1974-1991 he was associate pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pa; from 1991-2002 he was senior pastor of Salem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, Pa; and from 2002-2007 he was senior pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, (Highland Park) Camp Hill, Pa.

 
He served as dean of the Lebanon Conference, as a member of this synod’s Committee on Church in Society; as a member of the World Hunger Committee, and as a member of the policy council of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania.

Bishop Hoover has served extensively on various community agency boards dealing with children and youth, domestic violence intervention, and family health services. He has written several plays that have been performed both in church and community settings. He speaks fluent German and enjoys reading, films, theatre, walking, and occasional cooking.

Bishop Hoover, the widower of Elisabeth Hoover of Germany, has four adult children and five grandchildren. He married the Rev. Sharon Vak, a pastor on the roster of the Lower Susquehanna Synod, on November 17, 2007. They reside in New Cumberland, Pa.

LOWER SUSQUEHANNA SYNOD
900 South Arlington Avenue, Suite 220B    Harrisburg, PA 17109
(717) 652-1852    (800) 692-7282 (PA Only)   Fax: (717) 652-2504