Lutheran Housing Support names new interim CEO
ST. LOUIS—December 13, 2011—Deborah Rutt of St. Louis has been appointed interim chief executive officer of Lutheran Housing Support (LHS).
Lutheran Housing Support is a separately incorporated nonprofit that expands the housing ministry of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The agency connects LCMS congregations, districts and LCMS Recognized Service Organizations with expertise and financial resources to help revitalize neighborhoods and provide affordable housing.
The LHS Board of Directors recently appointed Rutt to the interim Chief Executive Officer position to replace Marie Kienker, who died in October 2010 after a long battle with cancer. The Board has begun a search to find a permanent CEO.
Rutt has served since November 2007 as vice president for fund development of LHS. Prior to joining LHS, she served as assistant vice president of institutional advancement for Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., for more than seven years.
"Lutheran Housing Support will benefit greatly from Deborah's years of experience and support of the nonprofit in recent years," said Barbara Below, assistant to the president of the LCMS. "We believe Deborah, through her leadership, will help strengthen the important work of Lutheran Housing Support—to support congregations as they infuse life into struggling neighborhoods by sharing Christ's love."
About The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), is a mission-oriented, Bible-based, confessional Christian denomination headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. Founded in 1847, the LCMS has more than 2.3 million baptized members in some 6,200 congregations and more than 9,000 pastors. Two seminaries and 10 colleges and universities operate under the auspices of the LCMS, and its congregations operate the largest Protestant parochial school system in America. The church broadcasts the saving message of Jesus Christ over KFUO Radio, and it has relationships and active mission work in 89 countries around the world. In the last five years, the LCMS has awarded more than $35 million through more than 900 domestic and international grants for emergency response and disaster relief. Today, the LCMS is in full doctrinal fellowship with 33 other confessional Lutheran church bodies worldwide and is a founding partner of Lutheran Services in America, a social ministry organization serving one in every 50 Americans. For more information, visit www.lcms.org.
—30—