Conference of Presidents winter meeting

The Conference of Presidents (COP) met last week for its annual winter meeting. Thanks to a special grant this annual winter meeting usually takes place in different areas of the synod, away from Milwaukee. This enables the members of the COP to become more familiar with congregations throughout our synod, to worship and preach in those congregations, and to meet with pastors in the area. This year, in recognition of the formal establishment of fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Puerto Rico, the meeting was held in San Juan. COP members worshiped at congregations in San Juan and Guyama and also met with pastoral and lay representatives of our sister church body.

The COP discussed the issue of vicar assignments that will be made in May. Because of the small size of the vicar class this year, some congregations that have received vicars in previous years will not have that opportunity in the coming year. The COP will work closely with Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and the Board for Home Missions to determine which congregations will receive vicars.

Other items discussed by the COP included:

• Plans for the calling of a new director of Christian Giving, due to the planned retirement of Rev. James Liggett later this year.

• Efforts to encourage applications for the vacant position of director of communications.

• Continued work on the development of guidelines for congregations considering a reduction of ministry staff. These guidelines were called for by the synod convention in response to discussion about the termination of divine calls. The guidelines will be designed to uphold the respect for the divinity of the call and for those who serve in called positions.

• The appointment of a committee to update and expand, if necessary, a previous COP statement on marriage, divorce, desertion, and remarriage.

• A report from the Translation Evaluation Committee on the recent translation symposium, as well as an update from the Translation Feasibility Committee, which is exploring the possibility of producing a new translation and/or a new study Bible. The issue of Bible translations will be considered by all the district conventions this summer.

• A lengthy workshop discussion on philosophy of ministry and how we can best walk together in evaluating and providing evangelical guidance when it comes to differing practices among us.

• Plans to carry out the synodwide every member visit as called for by the “In Christ Alone” long-range plan adopted by the synod convention last summer.

Serving in Christ,

Mark Schroeder