Palmberg Elected by Wide Margin to Second Term

KEYSTONE, CO (June 27, 2002) - President Glenn R. Palmberg was elected for a second four-year term by an overwhelming vote margin during Thursday morning's business session at the 117th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC).

Palmberg received 465 'yes' votes to 61 'no' votes. Election requires at least a two-thirds affirmative vote by delegates.

Two other administrative candidates likewise were approved by delegates. Doreen Olson was re-elected for a second term as executive minister of the Department of Christian Formation. David A. Dwight was elected as president of Covenant Ministries of Benevolence (CMB), succeeding Paul V. Peterson who retires in September, bringing to a close a 24-year CMB administrative career.

Dwight comes with considerable Covenant experience, having served 22 years with Covenant Retirement Communities (CRC), most recently as president. More about Dwight can be found on the Annual Meeting link at www.covchurch.org.

Delegates also approved candidates for 34 board and officer positions, including four slots on the ECC's Executive Board. A complete list of those elected to various positions will be found in the special Annual Meeting segment of this Covenant web site.

A highlight of Thursday's activities was presentation of the T.W. Anderson Award for 2002. The award is the highest honor bestowed on laypersons in the Evangelical Covenant Church. This year's award went to Arlan and Bonnie Anderson of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Aberdeen, Washington.

Arlan, who grew up in the Aberdeen church and has been a member since 1947, has worked for the City of Aberdeen since 1967, serving as manager of the city's water department since 1989. He has served as chair of the church and was worship leader for 35 years while caring for the church's physical plant. Bonnie, a transcriptionist for a local doctor, has been a member of the church since 1960. She has served on the church's worship and care teams and has taught Sunday school. Three generations of the family have served as church chairs, a testament to their ministry in the local congregation.

"It was a moving thing to hear how many lives were impacted by these people," said Palmberg as he recalled attending a dinner honoring the Andersons Wednesday night.

The T.W. Anderson Award is named for Theodore W. Anderson, the only lay president of the ECC. A separate story about the Andersons can be found In the special Annual Meeting section on the Covenant web site at www.covchurch.org.

Thursday's business meeting opened with presentation of a citation by Palmberg to longtime missionary Donna Larson for service to Congo and Mexico (see top photo). Larson began her work in mission service in 1967. Department of World Mission coordinator of missionary services Byron Amundsen praised Larson's advocacy for educating women in Congo and her passion for teaching girls and women during her years of ministry.

A total of 603 credentialed delegates from 261 churches had registered as of Thursday's morning meeting. There were 837 total registered conference attendees.

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