wfn.org | New Director Named for ELCA Ministerial Health, Wellness Program

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 31, 2001

NEW DIRECTOR NAMED FOR ELCA MINISTERIAL HEALTH, WELLNESS PROGRAM
01-JB/TM*

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Division for Ministry of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has named Dr. Gwen W. Halaas, Kenosha,
Wis., as project director for the ministerial health and wellness
program for rostered clergy and lay leaders.
     Halaas will guide the program through the ELCA Division for
Ministry in Chicago.  She will work with the ELCA's 65 synods,
seminaries, social ministry organizations and other churchwide units to
develop resources and programs aimed at maintaining the health and
wellness of the church's rostered clergy and lay leaders, said the Rev.
Joseph M. Wagner, executive director, ELCA Division for Ministry.
     "The calling of Gwen Halaas really moves the program to a higher
level for rostered leaders and their families. We are pleased to have
Dr. Halaas' service because of her love and commitment to this church
and her deep knowledge of health and wellness issues that face our
rostered leaders," Wagner said.
     The Division for Ministry began work with ministerial health and
wellness initiatives in the mid-1990s, in partnership with an inter-
Lutheran coordinating committee that includes The Lutheran Church-
Missouri Synod and the ELCA Board of Pensions.
     Substantial funding for the position was provided by the ELCA
Board of Pensions, Wagner said.  Halaas has a one-year renewable
contract, he added.
     Until recently, Halaas was a member ELCA Board of Pensions' board
of trustees, a position to which she was elected by the 1997 ELCA
Churchwide Assembly.  She resigned from the board of trustees to be
considered for the health and wellness position.
     "The arrangement between the Division for Ministry and Board of
Pensions is a unique partnership of units in this church, and a
promising blend of our strengths and abilities," Wagner said. "We both
share an interest in and commitment to helping rostered leaders have
healthy and productive lives."
     As the ELCA's benefits administrator, the Board of Pensions
recognizes the role health and wellness plays in the lives of rostered
leaders and their families, said John G. Kapanke, president of the Board
of Pensions. "The program receives a boost with the church experience
and medical knowledge Dr. Halaas brings as a former trustee, practicing
physician and health care administrator," Kapanke said. "Preventive
programs that address the whole person will also help underpin our
efforts to provide comprehensive benefits coverage that meets the needs
of this church."
     As project director, Halaas will assist the Board of Pensions in
its benefits-related initiatives involving ministerial health and
wellness. She will coordinate the ELCA's participation in the inter-
Lutheran coordinating committee on ministerial health and wellness in
cooperation with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and assist with the
ELCA's program to prevent clergy sexual misconduct.
     Halaas' work as project director is effective immediately.  In
addition, she will continue to serve as executive vice president for
PatientWise Corporation, Kenosha.
     Halaas received a master of business administration degree in
medical group management from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul,
Minn., and her doctorate in medicine from Harvard Medical School,
Boston.  She began her clinical practice in 1985 in St. Paul and is a
confirmed diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice.
     The Division for Ministry provides services, programs, grants and
counsel to undergird the diverse ministries of the ELCA. The
Minneapolis-based ELCA Board of Pensions is a churchwide unit that
provides pension, health, disability and survivor benefits and related
services to 50,000 pastors, rostered laypersons and lay employees, and
their families.
-- -- --
* Terrance G. Mencel is communications manager for the ELCA Board ofPensions.

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