PITTSBURGH — Southwestern Pennsylvania's largest Lutheran denomination has a new bishop.

Bishop Kurt Kusserow was officially installed during a ceremony attended by more than 700 people at Pittsburgh's Calvary Episcopal Church on Saturday.

The church was chosen because no Lutheran church in the city was considered large enough.

Bishop Kusserow, 44, a small-town pastor and the son of missionaries, is expected lead the more than 200 congregations of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with deep faith and a down-to-earth touch.

The ceremony was attended by other area church leaders, including Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, Bishop Lawrence Brandt of the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg and Episcopal Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh.

He said his goals included increasing collegiality among pastors, reaching out to other denominations and bringing hope through the gospel.

By The Associated Press