wfn.org | Halverson Named Director for ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 12, 1999

HALVERSON NAMED DIRECTOR FOR ELCA FUND FOR LEADERS IN MISSION
99-209-LS

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Cynthia J. Halverson, former vice president of
The Alford Group, a national nonprofit consulting firm based in Chicago,
began a new position Aug. 2 as director for the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) Fund for Leaders in Mission. Halverson will
work with the ELCA Foundation and Division for Ministry.
     "Cynthia brings very strong gifts to the position because of her
background in development in the Lutheran church," said the Rev. Joseph
M. Wagner, executive director, ELCA Division for Ministry.
     Prior to her position at The Alford Group, Halverson, 41, was the
director of development for  Lutheran Child and Family Services of
Illinois and vice president of resource development at Lutheran Social
Services of Illinois.
     Halverson is a Certified Fund Raising Executive accredited by the
National Association of Fund Raising Executives. She is a former
executive secretary for the Association of Lutheran Development
Executives.
     The ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission was established by the 1997
Churchwide Assembly with the ultimate goal of financially supporting
every synodically endorsed student attending an ELCA seminary preparing
for lay or ordained ministry in the church, said the Rev. Donald M.
Hallberg, executive director, ELCA Foundation. The fund is a "natural
tie" to the ELCA Initiative "develop leaders for the next century," one
of seven strategic goals set by the 1997 Churchwide Assembly, he said.
     Two fraternal benefits organizations -- Lutheran Brotherhood,
Minneapolis, and Aid Association for Lutherans, Appleton, Wis., -- gave
$500,000 each for initial financial support to the fund.
     "The fund will impact the leadership of the ELCA for decades to
come as we attract committed people for positions in our church.
Leadership is crucial as we move into the next century," Hallberg said.
     "Many young people graduating from seminary are carrying debt
loads that prohibit them from taking calls at smaller parishes," he
said.
      Halverson will "focus the churches' attention" on the need to
support ELCA candidates for ministry financially, Hallberg said.
     ELCA seminaries currently offset 42 percent of the average
seminarian's tuition cost of more than $5,000 per year, according to
"Equipping Leaders for Mission," a resource booklet created by the
Division for Ministry for the 1997 Churchwide Assembly.
     Halverson is married to the Rev. Brian K. Halverson, Northlake
Lutheran Church, Northlake, Ill. They are the parents of two daughters,
Madeleine, 4, and Eliza Grace, 2.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html