To read Bishop Hanson's Sermon, click "This Far By Grace."

Between services, the celebration continued with a "Scandinavian Reception" in the Gathering Place.

About Bishop Hanson... The Rev. Mark Hanson has been Presiding Bishop of the  ELCA since 2001. He was re-elected to lead the ELCA — with its nearly 5 million baptized members and 10,500 congregations — in 2007. The Rev. Hanson is a Minneapolis native and served as pastor at several Twin Cities area churches from the mid 1970s to 1995. He was elected bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod of the ELCA in 1995 and has served as president of the Minnesota Council of Churches and was vice chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops. The Rev. Hanson has since 2003 been president of the Lutheran World Federation. He also serves on the executive council of the executive board of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.