# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1981_S198 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 196 ADMINISTRATION B. Capital Projects. The board also has the responsibility of giving formal approval to capital projects, which are usually recommended by the Board for Higher Education or the Board for Missions. During the past biennium the following projects received approvals of various kinds: married-student housing at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; two apartments in Venezuela for the Board for Missions; the Martha Boss Memorial Center in Hong Kong; Portland library and dining-hall facilities; perimeter purchases for the Portland campus; additional property for the Milwaukee campus; Seward library; Irvine residence hall; Austin library and physical-education facili- ties; science building addition at Seward; Hong Kong Inter- national School expansion; Bronxville chapel and performing arts center; Fort Wayne library expansion. C. Policy Statements. A third major responsibility of the board is the development of policy statements for its own governance and also for the other units of the Synod. Such policy statements are adopted at almost every meeting and are also shared with the other boards and commissions of the Synod. D. Liaison. The board continued to establish liaison with a few groups where this was needed or requested. E. Presentations. The President, the First Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Administrative Officer reported to every meeting of the board. The board also heard major presentations or held joint meetings, including meetings with the following: Mayor James Conway of St. Louis and Mr. Carl Fox of his staff in behalf of keeping the synodical headquarters in the downtown area; the Headquarters Com- mittee; the staff of the Forward in Remembrance program. F. Concordia Welfare Plan. The board amended the plan to conform with recent legislation and the actions of the 1979 synodical convention. In the process it approved the new name: Concordia Health Plan. G. Forwardin Remembrance. The board officially approved this name for the $40-million effort voted on by the previous convention. It also approved the appointment of Dr. Wil Hyatt as director of the effort. H. Church-State Relations. The board received the report of the special committee appointed to study some major issues in this area. The committee’s recommendations, together with the paper adopted by aconsultation of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A., were referred to an ad hoc committee of the board on inter-Lutheran work. I. Convention Minutes. The board approved the minutes of Sessions 10, 11, and 12 of the 1979 convention. J. LCUSA. Reports on activities of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A. were given regularly to the board. K. Task Force II. Reports were also regularly presented on the work of Task Force II. The board at the request of the Task Force participated in reactions. It appointed a special ad hoc committee for that purpose. L. Lawsuits. Some settlements have been made regarding the case of a parochial school teacher in Detroit; the Grace, River Forest, issue will undoubtedly be resolved in the courts before the convention; the question of unemployment compen- sation tax with respect to our parochial school teachers has resultedin heavy legal fees, which Districts have been asked to share, but results have been gratifying and the issue is now before the Supreme Court; a suit involving Concordia, Mil- waukee, is still under way. M. Staff Development Program. The board is continuing this program on various levels, including the secretarial. N. Office of Governmental Affairs. The Council of Presi- dents requested the board to enter into full participation in this Lutheran Council office in Washington in line with the Dallas convention resolution. However, the board felt that its action of purchasing output services sufficiently met the requirements of the Dallas resolution. But in February 1981 the board resolved to terminate this arrangement (see paragraph DD). O. Filing of Form 990. After study the board advised the Synod’s colleges not to file this IRS form. But eventually the board advised the colleges to file this form, under protest, and decided to use one college as a test case. P. Convention Site. After the board had expressed its concerns to the mayor of St. Louis regarding safety provisions at the synodical conventions, the board received assurances of improved procedures. Q. Personnel Matters. The board provided for new position descriptions, performance review forms, and a point system for determining the relative importance of various positions in the synodical structure. The Personnel Committee consists of Treasurer Norman Sell, Administrative Officer John Schuelke, and Secretary Herbert Mueller representing President J.A.O. Preus. Salaries are determined by a process involving recom- mendations of the Personnel Committee to Committee 2 of the Board of Directors and in turn to the board itself. R. Springfield. A portion of the Springfield campus was sold during the past biennium. S. Constitutional Amendments. The board received the report that the two constitutional amendments passed by the 1979 synodical convention had been approved by the required two-thirds of the congregations participating in the balloting. T. Inter-Lutheran Activities. The board appointed an ad hoc committee to explore various alternatives for inter-Lu- theran cooperation. U. Lake Chabot. It authorized the sale of the Lake Chabot property, which had been purchased some years ago for eventual use as acampus. A purchase offer is being considered but as yet no sale has been consummated. The former owner (Municipal Utility District) is protesting the sale. V. Management, Letter, Annual Audit. Necessary steps were taken to carry out the recommendations of the internal auditing firm, Ernst and Whinney. W. Argentine Theological Education. On recommendation of the Board for Higher Education, the board transferred responsibility for theological education in Argentina from the Board for Higher Education to the Board for Missions. The convention is being asked to ratify this action. X. Contacts with Government. The board adopted the general policy for all departments that relations and contacts with legislative and executive branches of the government shall be established through the office of the President of the Synod and shall be maintained through his direct or delegated supervison. Y. Foundation Changes. Several proposals calling for changes in the structure of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Foundation were discussed over a long period of time and have now been effected. As a result appointments to the Board of Trustees were delayed, with incumbents serving until their successors were qualified. Among the changes introduced is the general synodical restriction on serving more than 12 consecutive years on a board or commission. Z. Executive Committees. The board decided to caution all boards and commissions in the use of executive committees for the purpose of making decisions in behalf of the board or commission. AA. The Lutheran Annual. The Board resolved that the Secretary of the Synod should serve as a coeditor of The Lutheran Annual, with special responsibility for editorial content (roster, listing, directories, etc.). BB. Listed Service Organizations. This is a new category created by the 1979 convention. During the past biennium the Board of Directors was able to give approval to all social service institutions endorsed by the Synod’s Board of Social Ministry and World Relief for inclusion in the Annual under this title. CC. Hong Kong. It was decided to transfer property interests in the Mongkok Lutheran School for the Deaf and Sharon Lutheran School to our partner church, the Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod. DD. Antiabortion. The board resolved to request the Office of Governmental Affairs of LCUSA to advocate in behalf of antiabortion legislation. Later this request was withdrawn. EE. Saskatoon. Since the establishment of a western Canadian seminary has been delayed, it was resolved to concur in the decision of the Board for Higher Education to provide travel funds to permit western Canadian seminary students to attend St. Catharine’s in Ontario.