Title: Agencies Moving into New Lutheran Center in Baltimore
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 24, 1999

AGENCIES MOVING INTO NEW LUTHERAN CENTER IN BALTIMORE
99-233-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two international Lutheran ministries, Lutheran
World Relief (LWR) and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS),
have moved their international headquarters to a new six-story facility
in downtown Baltimore, near the redeveloped Inner Harbor. The facility
is called "The Lutheran Center."
     In addition to LIRS and LWR, the new building will house the
offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Delaware-Maryland 
Synod, one of 65 synods of the ELCA.  The Rev. George P. Mocko
is bishop of the synod.  The facility will also be home to the Baltimore
operations of Tressler Lutheran Services, Mechanicsburg, Pa., one of the
largest Lutheran social ministry organizations in the United States, and
the Eastern Regional Office of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS)
Foundation.  SERRV Self-Help Handcrafts, with headquarters in New
Windsor, Md., will sell handcrafts made by artisans in developing
countries at a store in the lobby.
     LIRS and LWR moved into the new facility Sept. 20, and the ELCA
Delaware-Maryland Synod is expected to move Oct. 2.
     LWR is the overseas relief and development ministry of the ELCA
and the LCMS.  LIRS is a cooperative agency of the ELCA, LCMS and the
Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  It was established by
Lutheran churches in the United States to carry out the churches'
ministry with immigrants and refugees.  This year LIRS is celebrating
its 60th anniversary.
     LWR and LIRS both moved to Baltimore from offices they shared in
New York City.  The new building is located on land owned by Christ
Lutheran Church, a 1,300-member ELCA congregation located adjacent to
The Lutheran Center.  The congregation agreed to lease the land on which
the building sits for $1 per year, said the Rev. Elizabeth S. Risch,
Christ Lutheran Church.
     "We're looking forward to a friendly, long-lasting relationship
with all of the agencies," she said. "This is a unique opportunity for
any congregation."
     In its downtown setting, Christ Lutheran Church maintains active
outreach programs to homeless women and children, and it assists
refugees, she said.  The congregation also works in partnership with a
local elementary school.
     "It is wonderful to be here after so much planning and hard work,"
said Kathryn F. Wolford, LWR president.  The move to Baltimore will help
the agency in its collaborative work with other relief agencies such as
Catholic Relief Services, also located in Baltimore, she said.  The
people of Baltimore also have "affirmed" LWR's mission as a nonprofit
religious organization, Wolford added.
     Attracting attention for the international ministry of LIRS and
being able to attract future LIRS personnel were among the reasons the
agency chose to move to Baltimore, said Ralston H. Deffenbaugh Jr.,
president.  LIRS had been headquartered in New York because the city was
home to many international organizations, and for much of this century
it was the place where most immigrants first entered the United States,
he said.  "New York is not the only gateway to the country anymore,"
Deffenbaugh said.
     The new office space is expected to save funds for the agencies.
Deffenbaugh and Wolford said their organizations will benefit by being
closer to government agencies and organizations located in nearby
Washington, D.C.  Both praised Christ Lutheran Church for its work in
making The Lutheran Center a reality.
     LIRS announced a new management plan as part of the move.  The
plan is a reflection of LIRS' growth, Deffenbaugh said.  The number of
refugees the agency resettled annually has grown to nearly 15,000, up
from 9,000 a few years ago, Deffenbaugh said.  The agency's other
programs have grown, too, requiring a shift in administrative
responsibilities, he explained.
     Deffenbaugh, formerly executive director of LIRS, remains as
president.  Four vice presidents were named: Annie Wilson, vice
president for programs; Timmi Pierce, vice president for agency
advancement; Barbara Day, vice president for resettlement; and George N.
Letsa, vice president for finance and administration.

[Editors: The Lutheran Center will be dedicated Oct. 24 at 4 p.m. in a
worship service at Christ Lutheran Church, 701 S. Charles St.,
Baltimore.  Many special guests have been invited, including the Rev. H.
George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America, who will preach.]


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