District conventions next week
Filed Under: , Ad Hoc Commission, Convention, District, Year of Jubilee
All 12 districts will be meeting in convention early next week to discuss local and synod issues. At two of the conventions, new district presidents will be elected—Rev. Larry Cross, president of the Minnesota district, is retiring June 30 and Rev. Paul Janke, president of the Arizona-California district, is not accepting nominations for re-election.
"For me, 10 years is good," says Janke. "It's been a privilege to serve, but I desire to get back into the parish ministry full time. There is quite a bit of travel involved in being district president, so there are a lot of things in the parish that I miss. I'm really looking forward to teaching Bible studies and Bible information class and visiting—those are some of the real joys."
After he retires, Cross and his wife are planning to move to Texas. Cross says there are a lot of things he's going to miss. "Far and away the most enjoyable time of the year is the assigning of the new graduates to their first calls—just being with them and helping them to get up and going," he says. "I also enjoyed attending and participating in all of the conventions and the pastor and teacher conferences. It's always a fine thing to see the unity among the people that really exists."
District presidents are responsible for the supervision of doctrine and practice within their districts—they also serve on the Conference of Presidents, a group composed of all 12 district presidents and the synod president and vice presidents that oversees doctrine and practice on a synodwide level. "It's been a privilege to serve on the Conference of Presidents," says Janke. "I just tremendously admire the pastoral hearts of the men [who serve]. There's a real camaraderie that exists there—it's more than just friendship; it's a shared faith in Jesus Christ and a commitment to confessional Lutheranism."
Aside from local elections, all districts will hear a preliminary report of the Ad Hoc Commission, which was established by the 2007 synod convention to analyze the synod's problems and potential and to recommend how to improve its ministry. District presidents will also be launching the Year of Jubilee, a special offering authorized by the 2007 synod convention to address the synod's capital debt of $22.4 million.
Watch for post-convention coverage in the June 16 issue of "Together."
