# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2001_S235 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) HUMAN CARE 235 America are a sign of the gracious presence of God and a neces- sary fruit that grows out of the faith given by God in Christ; and WHEREAS, Such joint human care ministries give witness to that faith; and WHEREAS, The LCMS and ELCA acknowledge that feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick are work donc to and for the Son of Man whom we confess as Lord and Savior (Matt. 25:3146); and WHEREAS, “Kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship” (Proverbs 14:31); and Wuereas, Through their joint human care ministries, the LCMS and ELCA confess that who we are and what we give come from God and are to be used for others (2 Cor. 9:1—15); and WHEREAS, Since the early church the work of caring for the needy has been acknowledged as a work shared by all who confess that name of Christ; and WHEREAS, The intentional, institutional absence of LCMS clergy at services of dedication, installation, and celebration may contribute to the idea that joint human care ministries are the work only of the ELCA rather than joint ministries shared by the two in- stitutions; and WHEREAS, The LCMS and ELCA recognize the need to ask God’s blessing on their joint human care ministries; and WHEREAS. The LCMS and ELCA recognize that their joint human care ministries give glory and praise to God; therefore be it Resolved, That the 2001 convention of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod encourage the participation of LCMS clergy in ser- vices of installation, dedication, and celebration associated with joint LCMS/ELCA human care ministries. Grace Naples, FL 6-17 To Assist Trinity Congregation of Dresden, Germany WHEREAS, The roots of the LCMS can be traced back to Dres- den, Germany, in the early 1800s; and Wuereas, The church building of Trinity Lutheran Church of Dresden, Germany, a congregation in fellowship with the LCMS, was destroyed in the 1945 bombing of Dresden, where an estimated 100,000 were killed; and Whereas. Trinity Church courageously confessed the faith for 40 years under Communism: and Wuereas, There are now few-Christians in the Lutheran heart- land; and WHEREAS, Trinity-Dresden is asking congregations of the LCMS for help in building a new church; therefore be it Resolved, That the 2001 convention commend this project to the congregations of the LCMS. Note: The December 25, 2000, Christian News published the pamphlet and letter that Trinity Church sent to congregations of the LCMS. Trinity, New Haven, MO; Concordia, Fair Haven, MN; Redeemer, John Day, OR 6-18 To Establish Synodwide Compensation Guidelines WHEREAS. Two Synodwide salary studies have been conducted, one of parish pastors and one of professional church workers, that demonstrated that neither group is paid at a level competitive with the career market in which they work or at a level that is represen- tative of the value they bring; and WHEREAS, The Study on Church Worker Shortage commis- sioned by the Board for Higher Education included clergy income as a problem to be overcome in order to improve the recruitment and retention of clergy; and WHEREAS, There would be tremendous value if the Synod were proactive in addressing the compensation of our professional church workers, so that as a Synod these valued instruments would be lifted high and an example would be set for others regarding the importance of these laborers in the vineyard; and WHEREAS, The President of the Synod has indicated the impor- tance of attracting and retaining professional church workers for the future of our Synod through his action of appointing an action group to address the recruitment and retention of parish pastors; therefore be it Resolved, That the Council of Presidents be tasked with the re- sponsibility of establishing national compensation guidelines that will provide no less than fair compensation for our professional church workers; and be it further Resolved, That these guidelines be presented to the church at large no later than at the 2004 synodical convention; and be it fur- ther Resolved, That a study to determine the make-up of total com- pensation be conducted and the results be provided to the District Presidents to enable them to accomplish the task within this reso- lution; and be it further Resolved, That such compensation guidelines be determined after comparing national and local compensation in other denomi- nations and the public school systems, with the goal of setting an example for others to follow regarding the value of professional church workers; and be it further Resolved, That the placement officers of higher education insti- tutions and the District Presidents be discouraged from allowing placements which do not meet the minimum compensation guide- lines; and be it finally Resolved, That all congregations be encouraged, through active participation by Districts, to abide by these compensation guide- lines when calls are extended in order to lift high the value of our professional church workers. LCMS Board of Directors 2001 Convention Workbook