MILWAUKEE (ELCA) -- About 280 social ministry organizations operating in about 3,000 locations joined the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in a corporate partnership -- Lutheran Services in America (LSA) -- and named a board of directors.
LSA is one of the largest organizations of housing, counseling, child care, adoption, refugee resettlement, health care, nursing home and AIDS ministries in the United States and Caribbean.
The social ministry organizations elected nine of the LSA's 18 board members:
* The Rev. Robert C. Greene, president, Lutheran Social Services of
the South, Austin, Texas; * Jane Hartman, president, Bremwood Lutheran Home, Waverly, Iowa; * David A. Jacox, president, Bethphage Mission Inc., Omaha, Neb.; * David Keller, president/CEO, Luther Manor, Milwaukee; * Edith M. Lohr, president, Lutheran Social Services of New England,
Natcik, Mass.; * The Rev. Nelson C. Meyer, president, Lutheran Social Services of
Central Ohio, Columbus, Ohio; * Dianne Nissen, president, Lutheran Social Services-Southern
California, Alhambra, Calif.; * Emelda Rasmussen, president, Northfield Care Center, Northfield,
Minn.; and * William Thayer, president, Madrid Homes, Madrid, Iowa.
The 5.2 million-member ELCA appointed six members:
* Norene N. Goplen, director, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Oregon,
Portland, Ore.; * Kathy Kelker, board chair, St. John's Lutheran Home, Billings,
Mont.; * The Rev. Donald J. McCoid, bishop, Southwestern Pennsylvania
Synod, Pittsburgh; * The Rev. Charles S. Miller, executive director, ELCA Division for
Church in Society, Chicago; * Dr. Jane Mitcham, assistant to the bishop, ELCA North Carolina
Synod, Salisbury, N.C.; and * The Rev. Lee H. Wesley, president, Lutheran Social Services of
Metropolitan New York.
The 2.6 million-member LCMS named three:
* The Rev. Richard L. Krenzke, executive director, LCMS Board for
Human Care Ministries, St. Louis;
* The Rev. Donald W. Sandmann, president, LCMS New Jersey District,
Mountainside, N.J., and
* Dr. John P. Schuelke, executive director, LCMS Board of Directors,
St. Louis.
The board elected Meyer as its chair, and it appointed Joanne
Negstad to a two-year term as LSA's president and CEO, with offices in
St. Paul, Minn.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
