wfn.org | Lutheran Social Services Merge in Idaho, Oregon and Washington

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 27, 2001

LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES MERGE IN IDAHO, OREGON AND WASHINGTON
01-206-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Social Services of Washington & Idaho
and Lutheran Family Services of Oregon & Southwest Washington merged
July 1 to create a new, tri-state social ministry agency -- Lutheran
Community Services Northwest (LCSNW).  LCSNW serves Washington, Oregon
and Idaho communities through 25 offices and dozens of other service
sites throughout the region.
     The combined operation serves more than 300,000 individuals
annually.  The new agency has an annual budget of about $25 million and
employs more than 800 staff.
     Advocacy, alcohol and drug treatment and prevention, community
development and congregational services, crisis intervention, individual
and family counseling, foster care and community education services,
in-home services, parenting and family support, prevention and
"wellness" programs, refugee resettlement, services to the
developmentally disabled, transitional housing, violence intervention
and victim services, and volunteer opportunities for seniors are among
the services LCSNW continues to provide.
     Lutheran congregations in Oregon and Southwestern Washington
established Lutheran Family Service in 1926.  It has grown to support
one of the largest refugee resettlement programs in the United States
with offices in Portland, Ore., and Seattle and Vancouver, Wash., also
offering immigration counseling in conjunction with these services.
     Lutheran Social Services of Washington and Idaho was formed in
January 1979 from the merger of three agencies: Lutheran Family and
Child Service, the Community Service Center of Lutheran Community
Services and the Seattle Seaman's Center.  Those agencies provided
services to Lutherans and the general public for a combined total of 157
years.
     LCSNW executive and fiscal offices are located in SeaTac, Wash.,
while  program operations are based in Portland, Ore.  The boards of the
two previous organizations form the governing board of the new agency.
     Roberta Nestaas, CEO and president of Lutheran Social Services of
Washington & Idaho, serves as chief executive officer of LCSNW.  Bruce
Strade, executive director of Lutheran Family Services of Oregon &
Southwest Washington, is the chief operating officer of LCSNW.
     "Our new name and mission reflect a history of serving communities
according to their self-identified needs.  Locally programs will
continue 'as usual' and any changes in our organizational structure are
designed to support our commitment to the highest quality of services,"
said Nestaas.
     "We individually have a tremendous amount of professional talent
and program strength which, when combined, will make it possible for us
to become a premier agency in the Northwest," said Strade.
     LCSNW is owned by four synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) and the Northwest District of The Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).  The ELCA is organized into 65 synods,
including the Eastern Washington-Idaho Synod, Northwest Washington
Synod, Oregon Synod and Southwestern Washington Synod.
     The financial support of donors and congregations will continue to
support local services in areas the previous organizations served.
Funding from the ELCA and LCMS, government contracts, client fees,
private grants and the United Way also continue.
     LCSNW is a member of Lutheran Services in America (LSA).  LSA's
296 social ministry organizations, in alliance with the ELCA and LCMS,
form a national network of social service and long-term care programs,
providing more than $3 billion in services in 3,000 communities each
year.  There are 18 other LSA member agencies based in Idaho, Oregon and
Washington.
-- -- --
Information about the merger and LCSNW services is available at
http://www.lcsnw.org/ on the Web.
Lutheran Services in America maintains a site at
http://www.lutheranservices.org/ on the Web.

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