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| BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION | |
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Ralph E. Jones was born in Kittanning, PA the third child of Victor H. and Margaret J. Jones (both deceased). He was raised in West Franklin Township, attended the Worthington Schools and was a member of Evangelical Lutheran Church. |
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He was educated at the college and seminary in Gettysburg, PA receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Gettysburg College in Religion and a Master of Divinity Degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary. He received a Master of Arts Degree from Duquesne University in theology and ethics. During graduate studies at Duquesne University, he concentrated on the areas of 1) Scripture and Tradition, 2) Church and Sacraments, 3) General Principles of Moral Theology, 4) War and Peace in Christian Perspective, and 5) Lutheran and Roman Catholic Dialogues. He served as a pastor with Zion, Oil City; Faith, Apollo; Town and Country Lutheran Ministry, Apollo (a cooperative ministry of nineteen small membership congregations located in four counties); and St. Paul's, Corry. His entire ministry has been served on the territory of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod. He has served synod-wide with the Stewardship Committee, the Campus Ministry Committee, the Bishop's Resource Team, the Church Vocations Committee, and the Synod Council. He has been one of the instructors for the Lay Worship Leaders providing basic preparation for preaching and continuing education opportunities. He has served the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg as a member of the Rank and Tenure Committee. He also served as a member of the Town and Country Church Institute's Advisory Council, an institute of the Seminary. He assisted in the development of the Town and Country Concentration, taught the Town and Country Summer Practicum, and has been a guest lecturer in town and country courses. He has lead workshops in the synods of Region 8 on Outreach, Preaching, Ministry Assessment, Strategy Development, Cooperative Ministry and the Town and Country context. He was elected Bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod in June 2001, assumed office on September 1, 2001 and was installed as the second bishop of the Synod on September 29, 2001. Since his installation, Bishop Jones has concentrated on the areas of shared ministry and leadership development. The staffing pattern in the Office of the Bishop models shared ministry—assistants to the Bishop also serve as parish pastors, a campus pastor and an interim pastor. Cooperative ministries which are both ecumenical and intra-Lutheran have been established in Potter County and Elk County. Further cooperative ministries are being processed in various locations in the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod. Synod Authorized Ministries have been strengthened by restructuring the Lay Worship Leader program and the creation of the Lay Distributor of Holy Communion. The number of candidates preparing for church vocations have increased to nineteen, the greatest number at one time in the history of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod. Ten of these candidates are participating in the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries process which prepares candidates to serve the missional needs of the Church. Bishop Jones has provided the primary leadership in adapting this process to Northwestern Pennsylvania and Region 8 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Bishop Jones and his wife, Pastor Sandra K. Jones, live in Forest County. They are the parents of four grown children-- Rachel, Justin, Jessica, and Patrick. |
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