ELCA NEWS SERVICE March 23, 2005 Arnison Named Director For ELCA World Hunger Program 05-050-MRC CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Nancy D. Arnison, Minneapolis, will become director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) World Hunger Program effective July 5. Arnison is completing work for a doctorate in theology from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Arnison, 49, succeeds the Rev. John Halvorson, who served as coordinator for the ELCA World Hunger Program from 1987 to 2004. "Nancy brings a wealth of talent and experience to this position, including a love for this church and a strong commitment to social justice," said the Rev. Rebecca D. Larson, executive director, ELCA Division for Church in Society. "Lutherans are leaders in combating world hunger with comprehensive approaches that tackle immediate needs, long-term development and root causes. Responding to God's loving call, people of the church are turning their gifts into bread for the hungry and policies that ensure justice. I am honored to join this vital ministry. It is a privilege to partner with talented staff and committed congregations as we move boldly forward in this living witness to God's love for all of creation," Arnison said. "In the faces of our starving brothers and sisters, we see the suffering of God and are called to act. In a world of abundant resources, the extent of hunger is shocking and unnecessary," she said. Born in Evanston, Ill., Arnison received a bachelor's degree in social work from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill., in 1977. She earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, in 1984. Arnison's teaching experience includes serving as an adjunct professor of religion and human rights at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, New Brighton, Minn., in 2004. From 2002 to 2003 she participated in the Wabash Fellowship for Teaching Comparative Religions, University of Chicago Forum on Pedagogy and the Study of Religion, University of Chicago Divinity School. Arnison served as a lecturer on a number of topics including international human rights, economic and health issues for women and children, and humanitarian law at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, from 1992 to 1997, and was adjunct professor of international human rights and human rights in Eastern Europe at the university from 1989 to 1990. Arnison developed archives of articles on Lutheran ethics for the ELCA Journal of Lutheran Ethics in 2002. From 1997 to 1999 she served as director of resource development at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Arnison was deputy director and director of policy and programs at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, Minneapolis, from 1993 to 1997, and was director of the refugee and asylum project there from 1992 to 1993. Arnison was program director of Physicians for Human Rights, Boston, from 1990 to 1992, and she was an attorney at Briggs and Morgan Law Firm, Minneapolis, from 1985 to 1990. Arnison's international experiences include serving as a member of the Working Conference on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, International Commission of Jurists, India, in 1995, and a non-governmental delegate at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland, in 1989 and 1993. She has organized human-rights, fact-finding missions around the world. Arnison has published numerous articles and delivered keynote presentations across the country. Arnison is a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Minneapolis. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news