Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) is committed to the full participation of persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the life and ministry of the Lutheran church.

The Rev. Dale Poland

Reverend Dale Poland was ordained and installed as Associate Pastor of St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church on July 14, 1991. The Reverend L. Alexander Black, Bishop of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod, was the Presiding Minister; The Rev. Paul B. Conner II, Pastor of St. Mark was the Assisting Minister; the Rev. David R. Saylor was the preacher. Dale a native of Rio, WV, graduated from Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary with academic honors in New Testament Studies on May 17, 1991. Previously, he had earned a Bachelors' of Science Degree in Forestry and Wildlife Resources from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1987. Dale is the son of Woodrow and Eileen Poland of Rio, and has one older sister, Diana Poland Burgess, and one older brother, Chip Poland.