Title: Lutheran Deaconess Association Names Lisa Polito Director ELCA NEWS SERVICE
February 11, 2008
Lutheran Deaconess Association Names Lisa Polito Director 08-012-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran Deaconess Association, a center for diaconal service and learning at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind., named Deaconess Lisa Polito its new executive director. Polito began her new duties last month, following the retirement of Deaconess Louise Williams.
Valparaiso is an independent Lutheran university with about 4,000 students enrolled.
The Lutheran Deaconess Association (LDA) prepares women for ministries of service to those in need in the church and the world, supports deaconesses in their varied ministries, affirms people in their own Christian service and assists the church in its diaconal mission, according to a Valparaiso University news release. The association works with the university's Department of Theology to prepare women for deaconess ministry, serving in congregations or institutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Polito, a 1990 graduate of Valparaiso, said she is looking forward to supporting deaconesses in their ministries and communicating their stories.
"God continues to bless the LDA with superb leadership," said Dr. David Schroeder, LDA board president and associate professor of information and decision sciences at Valparaiso. "Polito's love of the deaconess community will guide her decisions, building on the past 89 years of the education and formation of women for service and building on relationships with church bodies globally and ecumenically."
Prior to her new role, Polito was LDA's director of development and public relations for seven years. Polito was director of chaplaincy services for Good Shepherd Lutheran Home of the West in southern California. She has written for the Lutheran Women's Missionary League Quarterly, and is a conference speaker and retreat facilitator.
Williams, executive director emeritus, retired from the LDA after serving 33 years. Under Williams' leadership, the LDA underwent significant revisions of its education and formation process. She helped to establish an endowed scholarship fund to assist students with financial need. Wartburg Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, one of eight ELCA seminaries, awarded Williams an honorary doctor of divinity. She also received the Alumni Achievement Award from Valparaiso University.
Christi Thieme, a 1998 graduate of Valparaiso, will succeed Polito as LDA director of development and public relations. Thieme earned a master's degree in nonprofit management from Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, in 2004, and has been director of fund development at the Indianapolis Civic Theatre for the past five years.
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Information about the Lutheran Deaconess Association is at http://www.valpo.edu/lda/contact.html on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog