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David Dwight Nominated to Head Covenant Benevolence
CHICAGO, IL (February 15, 2002) - David A. Dwight has been recommended for the position as president of Covenant Ministries of Benevolence (CMB), it was announced today by Marlene Soderstrom, chair of the CMB Board of Directors.
If the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) in June approves a call, Dwight will succeed Paul Peterson, who announced last year his decision to retire September 1 this year.
"David comes with a breadth of experience," Soderstrom said in making the announcement. "His years of experience with Covenant Retirement Communities will serve us well. He also knows the direction Covenant Ministries of Benevolence is pursuing. We felt that he can carry that direction through for the future. He reflects an obvious commitment to and a love for the mission of our ministries."
Dwight's recommendation also drew the praise of Glenn Palmberg, ECC president. "David Dwight is deeply committed to the whole mission of the Evangelical Covenant Church, with significant experience in ministries of benevolence, especially Covenant retirement communities," Palmberg said.
"David is respected by his colleagues and staff for his intelligence, gentleness of spirit, integrity and vision," Palmberg continued. "I am very pleased with his nomination. Covenant Ministries of Benevolence has played a major role in furthering the mission of the entire church, most recently under the leadership of Paul Peterson, and I am confident that will continue under David Dwight as president."
Peterson also expressed confidence in Dwight's ability to move ministries forward, while retaining the strength of the past. "David is a capable individual with a good knowledge of the Covenant and good relationships with people," Peterson said. "The institution is strong and will continue to be strong. Institutional ministries will always be the basis for the Board of Benevolence in ministry. With David's leadership, a clear focus on our mission will continue to be in the forefront of everything we do.
The search process began eight months ago following Peterson's announcement that he would retire. "Early in the process the search committee identified certain characteristics we believed would be important in evaluating candidates," Soderstrom explained. "We had superb candidates - excellent candidates, which in some ways makes the decision-making process more difficult.
"On the one hand, we recognized the importance of institutional ministries to the larger church," Soderstrom continued. "However, we also looked for a sense of passion and vision for the future. He's sincere. He has an obvious love of Christ and his sense of a life mission to do Christ's work is evident."
"The value of Covenant Ministries of Benevolence is not in its past as much as in its future," Peterson said in echoing that forward-looking theme. "The future lies in the continued expansion of ministry, things like Churches Planting Ministries or assistance to the developmentally disabled. Working with conference and local churches is paramount in this effort."
That thinking fits perfectly with Dwight's passion as he contemplates a new role.
"We need to keep what's working going, and going well," he said following today's announcement. "Our focus has been around our institutional ministries - the hospitals, the retirement centers. We have significant commitments and obligations to these ministries to sustain and maintain them.
"My real dream is that through outreach ministries, we can expand what we do using our established institutional ministries with their wealth of resources - the people, the talent and the vision they represent," he continued. "That will allow us to expand the ways in which we serve people."
Irvington Village, a new residential center that includes low-income housing, was developed in Portland, Oregon, through partnership with a local Evangelical Covenant church, Irvington Covenant Church. It is one example of the kind of outreach Dwight and others envision. "That project would never have happened without the resources of Covenant Retirement Communities working with the local church and its leadership," he said. "It is the talent of all the people, and their sense of wanting to do something important, that makes that kind of project possible. There were major obstacles. It would have been easy to walk away. We were down to the midnight hour - literally 11:59 and counting - before everything came together to make the project go.
"We cannot jeopardize our commitments to our existing residents and employees and the others we serve," he continued. "Given that, we also cannot hoard our resources. We need to expand the ways in which we serve people . . . as we are part and parcel of the outreach ministries of the Evangelical Covenant Church."
"With David's leadership, a clear focus on our mission will continue to be in the forefront of everything we do," Peterson concluded.
Dwight received his undergraduate degree from North Park University. He received a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Illinois and a Master of Business Administration degree from Loyola University. He has served as president of Covenant Retirement Communities, one of CMB's ministry arms, since July 1997. He is a member of Northbrook Covenant Church in Northbrook, Illinois.
If called, Dwight will formally assume his new duties September 1. A transition process is under way to assure a seamless and smooth transition of leadership, Peterson said. A search process for Dwight's replacement as president of Covenant Retirement Communities will begin under the direction of CRC Board Chair Ralph Sager.
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