Title: Hallberg to Lead ELCA Foundation ELCA NEWS SERVICE November 22, 1996 HALLBERG TO LEAD ELCA FOUNDATION (76 lines) 96-28-084-AH CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Donald M. Hallberg, 56, Itasca, Ill., was elected executive director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Foundation by the executive committee of the ELCA Church Council, meeting here Nov. 7. He succeeds the Rev. Harvey A. Stegemoeller, who retired Aug. 31. The Rev. Melvin L. Johnson, ELCA Foundation's associate director, continues as interim executive director until Hallberg takes office on Jan. 1. Hallberg has served as president of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) since 1980. He was also a member of the Church Council, a position he resigned upon accepting this position. LSSI is a statewide social service organization operated by the Illinois synods of the ELCA. Hallberg was interim president of LSSI in 1980 and vice president of the Human Resources Division during 1979 and 1980. The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, said, "Don Hallberg brings exactly the right combination of personal talents to this position. His years of experience as an executive, his strong links with all parts of our church, and his knowledge of the many instruments of giving make him an excellent choice for the leadership of the ELCA Foundation." Kathy Magnus, Denver, vice president of the ELCA, said, "While the loss of Don Hallberg as a member of the Church Council and chair of the budget and finance committee is a significant loss, Don's leadership in the Foundation will be an incredible gift to the whole church. His energy for and commitment to the mission and ministry of this church will move the Foundation in exciting new ways as we go into a new century." "It is with some grief that I leave LSSI, an important ministry of the church in Illinois. Yet I am privileged to have received the call of my church and bishop to serve in this new way," Hallberg said. The ELCA offers members of the church opportunities for planned giving through wills and bequests. The Foundation administers a $1,800,000 budget. In fiscal 1995 it received $26.3 million in gifts, bequests and life income agreements. Hallberg said, "The ELCA Foundation is a vehicle by which members of the church can support ministry in all of its expressions by good stewardship and planning for the future." He said, "Gifts to the Foundation help support Lutheran seminaries, higher education, social ministry organizations, new mission development within the United States and around the world, local parishes and much more. I welcome this new opportunity and challenge for ministry." From 1977 to 1979 Hallberg was the director of human resources for Lutheran Welfare Services of Illinois, the predecessor of LSSI that was related to the former American Lutheran Church and Lutheran Church in America. He also served as assistant to the executive director and as director of the community development program. Hallberg is a graduate of Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. His clinical pastoral study was at Emanuel Hospital, Portland, Ore., and he earned a master's degree in social work at the University of Illinois, Chicago, with an emphasis on community organizing and planning. Hallberg was ordained in 1966. Prior to his work in social ministries he served as a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Des Plaines, Ill.; St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Chicago; and Incarnation Lutheran Church, Burbank, Ill. In 1964 Hallberg married Susan C. Nelson; they are the parents of Erik, Linconshire, Ill., and Krista, Chicago. LSSI provides a broad array of community-based and residential services. Its ministry reaches more than 200,000 people each year through program sites throughout Illinois. Programs include adoption, adult day care, alcoholism/drug dependence services, children's day care, counseling, foster care, prison ministry, mental health services, and residential programs for older adults, emotionally disturbed adolescents, and developmentally disabled children and adults. For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service, (312) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312) 380-2955 or [log in to unmask]