Title: Women of the ELCA Director Says Goodbye ELCA NEWS SERVICE July 14, 1996 CHARLOTTE FIECHTER: VISION FOR WOMEN OF THE ELCA 96-WO-21-AH MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Dr. Charlotte E. Fiechter, executive director of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said goodbye to the organization's Triennial Convention. She has resigned effective July 31. Fiechter said she kept her promise to outgoing president Jan Peterson and stayed in her position through the triennium. "Now we stand at the beginning of a new triennium and I am here to say goodbye." Fiechter said, "My six and a half years as executive director of this great organization have been productive years. We have had many dreams and we have had many achievements. I believe that I brought stability to the organization, that I helped the board in setting a vision and goals." She said, "I believe it is time for me to move on to new tasks and new responsibilities, and I believe it is time for the organization to bring in new leadership." Fiechter said, "The work of these past six and one half years has been to build (our)house ... to establish financial policies, to reorganize the grants and scholarship programs, and to provide support for synodical organizations and congregational units. "Other achievements include our work to establish a cross-cultural and anti-racism strategy, the beginning of a comprehensive research program, our collaborative work with other ELCA units, and our work with the church ecumenically," she said. Fiechter said she has worked to develop a vision for Women of the ELCA as "an organization that helps its participants grow in ministry, which helps them develop in faith and theological understanding, in leadership, in service to God and to their sisters and brothers." She sees the organization as one which "not only helps to feed the hungry and stop the hand of the abuser, but which helps change systems, structures and perceptions which hurt, abuse and oppress women and children everywhere, an organization called to service not only in shelters ... but also in board rooms and legislatures where decisions are made which affect the lives of women." The charge of Women of the ELCA must be "improvement in the status of women worldwide, said Fiechter." It must be an organization "which understands that, ultimately, women bear most of the burdens of war and poverty, of violence and abuse, of economic and family dislocation ... an organization which seeks full partnership for women in this church and works to make the church a safe place for women. It must always endeavor to create wider opportunities for women in this church and society, and to empower women to meet these opportunities." For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service, (312) 380-2958; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312) 380-2955; Lia Christiansen, Asst. Dir., (312) 380-2956