wfn.org | [LCMSNews] RF deaconess program reinstated

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	October 30, 2003 ............... LCMSNews -- No. 124

	River Forest regents reinstate
	deaconess-training program

	The Board of Regents of Concordia University, River Forest, Ill.
(CURF), voted last month to fully reinstate the undergraduate deaconess
program there -- the only one in the Synod.

	In April, the regents placed a moratorium on admissions to the
program as a cost-saving measure.

	"With cost-cutting measures fully in place and fiscal stability
well under way," said Rev. William Ameiss, chairman of the regents, "it
was both a joy and a relief for the regents to reinstate the deaconess
program. The university's number-one priority is ... preparation of
church workers for The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.

	"The Board of Regents felt that a strong expression of support
from around the Synod merited a renewed effort to promote deaconess
training both within the Synod and here at River Forest," said Dr. Ralph
Reinke, CURF's chief executive and chief operating officer. "Efforts to
identify the funding needed to support the program remain in progress."

	The Synod's Board of Directors was among those calling for the
River Forest regents to retain the program.

	"Our deaconess students and I are so grateful that the regents
fully reinstated the program," said Kristin Wassilak, director of the
CURF deaconess program. "It is an amazing testament to the commitment of
our seven new students who entered this fall with only hope for
continuance of the program."

	Wassilak said there are 52 "accepted deaconess students we
advise and oversee" -- 37 enrolled in course work at CURF this fall and
15 working on colloquy requirements. She also said that interns and
graduates there will be placed in January and next summer and that
recruitment for the fall 2004 incoming deaconess class at CURF is
"already under way."

	For more information about the undergraduate deaconess-training
program at CURF, contact Wassilak at (708) 209-3136;
kristin.wassilak@curf.edu . Or, go to www.curf.edu/departments/deaconess
<http://www.curf.edu/departments/deaconess>  on the Web.

	*********************************

	If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release,
contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

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