Final report of the Ad Hoc Commission
From the office of President Mark Schroeder
The Final Report and Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Commission is now available online. The report will also be published in the Book of Reports and Memorials and will be presented to the synod convention in July.
The commission has been working on its report for 18 months. A preliminary report was submitted to the district conventions last summer. The commission considered feedback from the districts and made a number of changes to its final report.
Along with the adoption of the budget for the next two years, the report of the Ad Hoc Commission will be a major item of business at the convention. Sections of the report have been assigned to six convention floor committees for study and reaction.
The assignment of the commission was to review all areas of the synod's work and to bring recommendations to improve the way in which the synod carries out its mission. Its report begins with a lengthy preamble outlining the nature of the synod's mission and purpose.
The report is divided into nine sections, each addressing a different aspect of the synod's work. Each section contains endorsements of actions already taken in various areas, as well as recommendations for addressing specific issues.
The report contains approximately 80 separate recommendations. Some of the more significant recommendations or proposals are:
- The Synodical Council would be asked to develop a comprehensive policy governing the establishment, use, and number of special funds.
- In an effort to foster spiritual health, several new districts would be created from the five largest districts. The change would enable better spiritual care from district presidents by reducing the size of circuits to no more than eight congregations. Since this proposal would require a great deal of study, the commission recommends that a complete redistricting proposal be brought to the 2011 convention.
- The commission recommends placing the ministries now a part of Parish Services under the oversight of the Conference of Presidents so that they can be more fully utilized in serving congregations. Since the these ministries would report to the Conference of Presidents, the report recommends that the Parish Services board and the position of Parish Services administrator be eliminated and the overall number of commissions be reduced.
- To encourage a commitment to excellence in our called workers, the commission recommends that a greater number of merit-based scholarships be offered at Martin Luther College; that study fellowships and directed study programs be instituted at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary; that a sabbatical program for seminary professors be reestablished; and that a comprehensive and flexible program for continuing education for called workers be developed over the next two years and presented to the 2011 convention.
- The commission recommends that a four-year cycle of doctrinal studies be carried out in districts, conferences, and circuits. Suggested topics for these studies include the efficacy of the means of grace, a proper understanding of Christian vocation, care of souls, and the sacramental life.
- The commission recommends a limited restructuring of the Synodical Council, replacing the chairmen of the four areas of ministry with four at-large members (three pastors and one teacher) elected by the synod convention. The purpose of this recommendation is to increase grass-roots representation and to avoid having members of the Synodical Council involved in decisions that govern the areas in which they serve.
- Recognizing the increasing costs of ministerial education, the commission is recommending increased efforts to provide scholarship assistance and/or reduced tuition rates for those preparing for the public ministry.
We encourage all members of the synod to become familiar with this important report.
Serving in Christ,
Mark Schroeder
Filed Under: Ad Hoc Commission, Synod Convention
Top Stories
Compiled by WELS Communication Services
Reno area mission holds first service
The Springs Lutheran Church, Spanish Springs, Nev., held its first Sunday worship service on April 5. Profiled in April's edition of WELS Connection, this home mission congregation was established as a partnership between Shepherd of the Mountains, an established WELS congregation in nearby Reno, and WELS Board for Home Missions (BHM). It is one of six new mission congregations authorized and funded by BHM in 2008.
Rev. Steve Hillmer, pastor of The Springs, has been on site canvassing neighborhoods and developing contacts since July 2008. He reports that 83 people attended Sunday's service—45 were visitors from the community.
"What a joy and excitement it was to see many of the people we've talked to during our canvassing and Easter for Kids event," says Hillmer. "There were also a good number of people who just came from the flyer in the mail. Our ushers were setting up more chairs for those who arrived at the last minute."
A WELS Kingdom Workers team will help Hillmer follow up on the prospects from the first service and from the Easter for Kids event that attracted 45 non-member children.
Learn more about The Springs online: www.thespringslutheran.org
Filed Under: BHM, Home Missions, Nevada
WELS members join fight against flooding
Members of Shepherd of the Valley in West Fargo, N.D., and Ascension, Moorhead, Minn., have joined other community volunteers and National Guard members to fill more than 3 million sandbags since Mar. 22, using them to build and fortify dikes in Fargo, Moorhead, and the surrounding neighborhoods.
"It's been really neat to see how people are getting together and helping each other," says Rev. David Bitter from Shepherd of the Valley. "I sandbagged at some members' houses but also just wherever I was sent. It doesn't matter who they are; you just want to help them."
The Red River crested at a record 40.82 ft. on Mar. 28, causing widespread flooding that drew national headlines. Both churches were spared; however, some members were evacuated from their homes and are now dealing with water damage.
According to Bitter, flooding is common in this area, but this was the worst the region has seen.
WELS Committee on Relief has granted $10,000—$5,000 to each congregation—to help with relief work in those areas.
As clean-up work continues, weather forecasters are predicting that the river will crest again in the next few weeks due to melting snow and spring rains.
"I have had many phone calls over the past week from people all around the country saying that we have been included in their prayers. We're thankful for that and thankful that the Lord has answered those prayers," says Bitter. "We continue to trust that he will take care of us."
Filed Under: Committee on Relief, flood, Minnesota, North Dakota, WELS relief
New look coming
Informational packets are being mailed out this week to the 400 delegates who will be attending the synod convention July 27-31 in Saginaw, Mich. The packets are the first materials from the synod to bear the new WELS logo and tagline "Christ's Love, Our Calling."
The logo and tagline are elements of a new synodwide identity that will receive widespread visibility for the first time at convention. In the new logo, longtime WELS members will recognize the shape of the traditional WELS cross—updated with concentric circles to demonstrate our mission of spreading the gospel.
The tagline "Christ's Love, Our Calling" was chosen not just to set the theme for the convention, but to describe our motivation and mission as a church body well into the future. "If this theme helps our members to focus on what's important—what God has done for us and the task that he's given us to do for him—then it's going to be a wonderful reminder, a wonderful tool," says WELS President Mark Schroeder.
Use of the new logo and theme will be largely limited to convention-related materials until July. Widespread implementation across other synod resources will follow the convention. Congregations will be able to access electronic files of the logo and guidelines for its use in late summer.
Filed Under: logo, Synod Convention, theme
Year of Jubilee: one blessing among challenges
Even as the synod wrestles with financial challenges brought on by the downturn in the global economy, the Ministry of Christian Giving is highlighting reasons for thanksgiving.
Among them is that gifts toward the Year of Jubilee offering have now surpassed the $3 million mark. In all, about $3.1 million has been given by individuals and congregations toward the offering, authorized by the 2007 convention to reduce or eliminate the synod's $22.4 million debt. Combined with regularly scheduled debt payments, the offering will help reduce principal by at least $8.5 million by the end of the current fiscal year.
Offerings are being collected through the 2009 convention in July. Worship resources are still available online for congregations wishing to participate; individuals can also give gifts online.
WELS has also received the first quarterly check for 2009 of an estimated $1.1 million annual donation from an anonymous WELS family—income generated by their gift of non-voting private stock to the WELS Foundation, Inc. The foundation is a separate incorporated entity that manages funds for donors who wish to support some portion of the work of synod, its congregations, or affiliates listed in the WELS Yearbook.
The family expanded their original donation made in early 2008 through WELS Foundation by nearly 60 percent at the end of 2008—the annual income generated by the gift increased proportionately.
"The words of the apostle Paul express very clearly who is to get all the glory for the gifts of Jubilee and this very special gift, that will keep on working, from an anonymous donor," says Rev. Dave Liggett, administrator of Christian Giving. He cites Philippians 2:13: "It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
Filed Under: Christian Giving, donation, Finance, gift, jubilee, Year of Jubilee
New tools for confirmation ministry
The Confirmation Ministry Task Force, working with the Commission on Youth Discipleship, recently released Confirmation Ministry Self-Study: A Process to Help Congregations Reflect, Evaluate, and Improve. This congregational tool has two components: a DVD encouraging evaluation of confirmation practices and showcasing new approaches to confirmation used around WELS, and a CD containing the directions, worksheets, and templates needed to conduct the self-study.
The task force, which was created in 2001 to address the problem of declining post-confirmation teen participation in WELS congregations, conducted a survey and a follow-up study that focused on WELS congregations' confirmation practices. The results helped the task force to create these materials that congregations can use to examine their confirmation practices.
Rev. Rik Krahn, chairman of the Confirmation Ministry Task Force, notes, "Nearly all of our members will be touched in some way by confirmation. That means it has tremendous value and importance, and it means we should always strive to do it as well as we can. If we just ask the question, 'Are we doing the best we can?' then we will be better for it, even if we make no changes."
Filed Under: confirmation, CYD, Youth Discipleship
Registration extended for 2009 youth rally
Online registration for congregations intending to send groups to WELS' 2009 International Youth Rally has been extended through April 17 at 4 p.m., CDT. Teens and other youth leaders must follow up with individual registrations once their group has signed up. They have until May 1 at 4 p.m., CDT, to do so.
More than 1,000 participants have already registered to attend the rally at Iowa State University in Ames. There is room for 2,600 participants.
This year's rally, under the theme "Follow the Path, Lead the Way," will include opportunities for worship, education, fellowship, service projects, and recreation. Teens who want to showcase a special talent at the rally—dancing, singing, juggling, etc. —can participate in the "WELS Got Talent" competition. Teen groups can also create a commercial that promotes the rally's theme or Bible passage for the rally commercial contest. All talent and commercial contest entries must be received by April 30.
For more information, visit the rally Web site: www.welsyouthrally.net
Filed Under: CYD, Iowa, Youth Discipleship, Youth Rally
WELS in the news
The April 1 issue of the Smyrna A.M. featured an article on the 10th anniversary of Abiding Faith, Smyrna, Tenn. Started in 1998, Abiding Faith has grown from a 15-member ministry that met at local businesses and community facilities to a church with about 160 members that meet in a 5,000-square-foot sanctuary.
Spotlight on Streams: WELS Connection
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If you didn’t catch the March edition of WELS Connection, you have another chance. Each edition is posted on Streams the month after it is shown in congregations. March's edition features examples of two congregations—St. Mark's, Watertown, Wis., and Risen Savior, Milwaukee, Wis.—that have recommitted themselves to Christian education.
Filed Under: Christian education, Streams, WELS Connection
