About Our Synod
The Northern Great Lakes Synod
Lutheran Christians in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin are on the edge of a new millennium. Walking together into a new century are the 94 congregations, 137 pastors and 41,000 Lutherans of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
This Synod is one of 65 in the ELCA. The 11,000 congregations of the ELCA comprise 5.2 million baptized members.
In 1987, the latest in a series of Lutheran church mergers created the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS), encompassing the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the six adjacent counties in northeastern Wisconsin.
Immigrants from Finland, Sweden, Norway and other European nations began the Lutheran ministry in this Synod area well over a century ago.
The oldest continuous congregation in the Synod is Gloria Dei in Hancock, MI., founded in 1867. The newest congregation is Christ Lutheran in Shingleton, MI., organized in 1995.
Spreading the Gospel, the Synod in the past 12 years has embraced a new mission start at Prince of Peace in Eagle River, WI., and Keweenaw Lutheran Ministry in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Other vibrant Synod ministries include the Parish Nurse Ministry, Christian Prison Ministry, Summer Campground Ministry and the Lay School for Mission.
The Eastern and Coastal Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and the Northern Great Lakes Synod are involved in an active Companion Synod program.
Many NGLS members have visited and worked on projects in Tanzania, including the building of a library at the Kisarawe Lutheran Junior Seminary. Teacher exchanges from the NGLS and the Tanzanian diocese have been great successes. The 13-member Kurasini/Temeke Christian Choir toured and taught East African singing and dancing for one month in 1999.
Ministry Partners
The Synod’s institutional partners include Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp in Crystal Falls, MI.; Suomi College in Hancock, MI.; and Northland Lutheran Retirement Community in Marinette, WI.
Other partners include Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan and Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northern Michigan University in Marquette and Michigan Technological University in Houghton.
The Bishops of the Northern Great Lakes Synod
The Rev. Harry S. Andersen was the first bishop to serve the NGLS from 1987-91. A native of Marquette, Nebraska, Andersen graduated from the Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut. His first call was in Marlette, Juhl, and Brown City, MI. After nine years at St. Stephen’s in Chicago, IL., Andersen went on to administrative work in the Wisconsin LCA Synod and then became the NGLS’s first bishop in Marquette, MI. Bishop Emeritus Andersen and his wife Dorothy have retired to Lac du Flambeau, WI, and are members of Ascension Lutheran in nearby Minocqua. They have two sons, one daughter, and three grandchildren.
The Rev. Dale Skogman served as the second bishop of the NGLS from 1991-99. After attending Augustana College in Rock Island, IL., Skogman graduated from the Lutheran School of Theology on Chicago’s Rock Island campus. Skogman served four parishes in his 26 years as pastor: the two-point parish of Grace in South Range, MI., and Our Savior’s in Atlantic Mine, MI., for 6 years; First Lutheran of Gladstone, MI., for 5 years; Holy Communion of Racine, WI., for 9 years; and Mount Zion of Wauwatosa, WI., for 6 years. He and his wife Jo are retiring to Gladstone, MI. They have two daughters, one son, and nine grandchildren.
The Rev. Thomas Skrenes was elected the third bishop of the NGLS for the term of office 1999-2005. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Skrenes received his master of divinity degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. He served Trinity Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, MI., from 1980-93. In 1993, Skrenes received the Call to become Assistant to Bishop Dale Skogman. He was elected Bishop at the NGLS Synod Assembly in 1999 and re-elected for a second six-year term in 2005. He and his wife, Luanne, a nurse educator, live in Ishpeming. They have four sons.