A Message from the President of ALSM
	The Role of ALSM's Board of Trustees
	History of ALSM

 




A Message from the President

I have often wondered what God’s drawing board must have looked like during the first few days of creation. I have spent many silent times walking through magnificent aquariums contemplating the ethereal beauty of a jellyfish. The sea anemones wave their fragile tendrils, eager to reach out and touch someone. I gaze in wonder at clown fish, which look like neon. On the bottom of the aquarium, shrimp line up to clean parasites off other fish that swim slowly and methodically by. These sea creatures remind me that God’s imagination never quits.

A friend of mine who is a biologist tells me that the only creature that has not grown or contributed to some other relative on the evolutionary scale is the sponge. She claims that the sponge was either one of God’s most perfect ideas or an artistic dead end, since nothing else developed along that line.

At any rate, create God did, and has, and does, and that power has not stopped creating. God is a thinking God, and as such must be coming up with new ideas constantly. Some people may believe that everything God created and said exists already. I do not agree.

I believe that Jesus came to create new ways of thinking. To give us a new testament. He was not content to sit around and reminisce about what used to be. John, the staff member who wrote about Jesus in one of the four Gospels, said that if someone wrote down everything Jesus did, the world itself could not contain the books that would have to be written. Jesus said, “My Father goes on working, and so do I.” On the cross He looked down at John and said, “John. Mary is your mother now. And you must be her son.” By doing so, He was saying to all of us, “My work here is finished, but yours has just begun.”

As the Board of Trustees of Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries (ALSM) embarks on a planning process throughout 2005, we celebrate the successes of the ministries that have touched the lives of people through our fifty-seven year history. We pray that we will have the wisdom to plan and implement for ministries that will continue to serve the needs of people for many years to come.

“Our work has just begun.”

Sincerely,

Pat Savage

CEO

The Role of ALSM's Board of Trustees

Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries' (ALSM) mission is “to serve people through a ministry of love, compassion, and mercy in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Each day we fulfill this mission through the skills of our staff, volunteers, board members, congregations, friends, and benefactors.

ALSM is a not-for-profit, charitable organization that is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees. The people who volunteer to serve ALSM in this role have a great responsibility. They establish and review major policies and plans of the agency. They communicate with ALSM leadership, think strategically, and make decisions that set the future for ALSM.

Each board member is elected as a representative of one of the seven conferences of the Allegheny Synod or as a member-at-large. The Board of Trustees meets bimonthly to discuss issues facing ALSM. Each board member also serves on a committee like finance, ministry, human resources, nominating, or advancement committee. Several board members also volunteer for other charitable organizations in their communities. All of the board members take their position seriously and serve Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries tirelessly. These dedicated individuals are committed to ensuring that ALSM serves people for another 50 years, and more.

History of ALSM

1940's IN THE BEGINNING… It all started with a dream.
When those who can still recall them are asked to remember the early days--the days before what is now an enormous social service ministry was even a plan–they always mention Rev. Dr. Luke H. Rhoads. In 1946, when everything began, Dr. Rhoads was a young minister, pastor of the First Lutheran Church in Altoona , where he saw a new challenge arising in his ministry.

After World War II, in response to the changing society, the Lutheran Church built the National Lutheran Home in Washington , D.C. for older people in the denomination who had no one to care for them in their declining years. But that home was far away and was quickly filled. In those days, the Lutherans in Central Pennsylvania had no local home for older people, and time and again members of Dr. Rhoads’ congregation asked when something would be done. Finally, Dr. Rhoads and the Council of his church took matters into their own hands, passing a motion that as a congregation, they "should endeavor to secure the cooperation of other congregations to the end that a home for older people may be established in our area."


On April 5, 1948 , The Allegheny Lutheran Home was incorporated, and the members of the steering committee became its first Board of Directors, with Dr. Rhoads as their president. One of the board’s most important duties was to find a qualified person to serve as Pastor-Superintendent of The Home. The board was considering a Harrisburg pastor for the position, and they wrote to the gentleman, requesting a personal interview. In order to save on postage, the letter was sent unsealed (an option the U.S. Postal Service has long since discontinued), and when the time came for the interview, the candidate did not arrive.

Dr. Rhoads telephoned the gentleman and learned that he had recently returned from a short vacation and had only opened his first class mail, leaving the rest—including the appointment letter–unopened until later, so he had not known of their interest in him. Dr. Rhoads left him on the line while he consulted with the Board about a new date when they could meet with him. But in the few minutes during which Dr. Rhoads left to inform the candidate of the new date, the Board decided that they already had the best man for the job: Dr. Rhoads himself.

As Pastor-Superintendent Elect, Dr. Rhoads continued as pastor of the First Altoona Church , serving there for a total of seventeen years by the time he moved his family to Hollidaysburg to take up his new duties at The Allegheny Lutheran Home.

Nancy Pannebaker was the first employee of The Lutheran Home, and she vividly recalls the early days, before there was even a building. Her first workspace was located in a room the First Church donated, which happened to be the church nursery. Mrs. Pannebaker sat at a tiny nursery table, typing pledge cards on a manual typewriter. The first real office was located at Deininger and Rupe Dental Lab in Altoona , until The Home was built.

In retrospect, building The Home at all seems a giant leap of faith. The project was financed entirely by donations made by individuals and churches in the six-county wide Allegheny Lutheran Conference. Pastor Tome recalled the dedication of people in the early days. Everyone wanted a Home, and they were all willing to give of themselves and their resources to see that it was built.

New Executive Director Named
Dr. Luke Rhoads was the first president of the Board of Directors of The Lutheran Home, and when he was named as Pastor-Superintendent (later Executive Director) of the Home, Dr. Walden M. Holl replaced him as Board President. It then seemed only natural when Dr. Rhoads retired as Executive Director to once again name Dr. HolI to replace him.

In accepting the position of Executive Director of ALH/LSS-AR, Dr. Holl wrote in The News:

"No One knows better than I how difficult it will be to fill the place that Dr. Luke H. Rhoads is leaving. He has given magnificent leadership to our institutions and agencies. I have always felt that he was God's choice to he our first leader. My hope and prayer is that I may be able to continue building upon the foundations he has established.”

Up until his appointment as Executive Director, Dr. Holl had been a pastor, a calling he thoroughly enjoyed. In his acceptance letter, he also said, "...I anticipate continuing to be a pastor for I want to go on serving people in Christ's Name. I pray that buildings and programs may never be primary but may always be regarded as a means for bringing God's love to His people."

But the ministry at the Homes had changed through the years. When Dr. Rhoads started, he was literally the pastor of The Lutheran Home. By the time he retired, however, he had become the administrator of a large corporation. Gone were the days when the Director would have Sunday dinner with the residents of the Home, communing with them as minister to flock.

THE BIRTH OF ALSM
For thirty-five years, The Allegheny Lutheran Home and Lutheran Social Services–Allegheny Region had operated side by side, working under the same executive director and the same board of directors, but still two distinct corporations. On April 18, 1991 , the Board of Directors voted to merge the two agencies into one under the new title of Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries.

As Dr. Daun McKee, the President/CEO at that time, explained in the July 1991 issue of The Allegheny News, each word in the new title was chosen with care:

As Dr. McKee went on to explain: "Now the two ministries are blended into one Synod-wide agency. We plan together, we work hand-in-hand for the people of the Synod, we serve for one purpose (to honor our Lord and God), and we support each other in our service. The merger helps us, as one agency, to symbolically declare our oneness in ministry and structurally to declare our oneness in function."

Shortly after the merger, the Executive Director’s title was changed to President and Chief Executive Officer. The title change was due to the reorganization and made Dr. McKee an officer in the new corporation, allowing him to sign documents on the corporation’s behalf. Although his title changed, however, his duties remained the same.

A NEW LEADER FOR THE NEW CENTURY
When Dr. Daun McKee, now of Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, accepted the position of President/CEO with The Lutheran Home at Topton, Patricia Werner Savage assumed the office of President/CEO of ALSM on January 29, 1996 .

Dr. Savage is the first lay person to be named President/CEO of ALSM, and she brings a wealth of gifts and talents to the agency. In her initial meetings with management and staff, she revealed her major goals as CEO:

1. Focus on the mission of the ALSM ministry "To serve people through a mission of love, compassion, and mercy in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ."
2. Continue to build on the quality care provided by ALSM.
3. Maintain staff accountability and fiscal responsibility to insure responsible stewardship of skills and funds respectively.