# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2004_S98 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 98 SYNODICAL REPORTS by this heavenly wine—that Christ is our brother, yes, has become our flesh and blood with us—plainly shows that he is a lost and condemned man. [May] the Holy Ghost change our heart and help us! (Sermons of Luther, vol. 1, p. 119) Millions to Those in Need: In LCMS World Relief/Human Care, we have the great privilege of seeing and supporting all the “good things” going on in the church and seeing all the hearts “set ablaze” in love for Christ and for Christ in our neighbor. Because of the generosity of donors (individuals and congregations) we have been able to send millions of dollars of assistance to projects all over the world; projects that build local capacity, meet local needs, strengthen local Lutheran churches, and increase the ability of Lutheran Christians to reach out in love to their neighbors. Yet the international work barely scratches the surface of all the good happening in the name of Christ and in the strong confession of the Lutheran faith. . Proclamation and Care Belong Together! We are convinced that acts of mercy have the most impact upon body and soul when they happen in close proximity to Word and Sacrament. Proclama- tion and love belong together like a hand and glove. A church con- cerned about being faithful to Scripture and the Confessions can’t help but be a church active in loving the neighbor, body and soul. And for such a church, social ministry may never devolve to mere social gospel. “The church cannot be better governed and main- tained than by having all of us live under one head, Christ . . . dili- gently joined together in unity of doctrine, faith, sacraments, prayer, and works of love” (SA II IV 9). For a fuller presentation on the biblical, confessional, and theological foundations for our church body’s work of mercy, please visit our Web page at http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=3421, where you will find our “Theological Foundations” document, which you can use for individual or group study. Opportunities Blossoming: The report below highlights many positives amidst the challenges of the broader church body and fi- nancial realities we face. This past triennium saw the launch of LCMS World Relief partnerships with Districts. We are able to provide matching funds for Districts to achieve the international mission priorities they have. A new Housing Support Corpora- tion has been formed. This entity will become a key tool for the advancement of the Lutheran faith in the inner cities, where af- fordable housing is such a sad problem and where LCMS churches still stand against the withering onslaught of cultural chaos and dereliction. We are aggressively seeking government grants and creating a banking loan pool for large-scale housing projects. Both seminaries are now training deaconesses on the graduate level. The doors are wide open for the service of women in the church and in churchly institutions, and now more than ever, with the help of LCMS World RelieffHuman Care, women are being trained for such tasks of mercy and service. Finally, we are currently taking a very hard look at issues of “brand,” “identity,” and the way we raise dollars, so we can serve the church most effectively and effi- ciently for the dollars spent. The ELCA/LCMS Intersection—Conviction with Clarity and Kindness: The Board for Human Care is responsible for nearly 120 social-ministry agencies, most jointly recognized by both the LCMS and the ELCA. The LCMS, through LCMS World Relief, provides funding for Lutheran World Relief, Baltimore; Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services; Lutheran Services in America; and Lutheran Disaster Response. These agencies together serve millions and bring countless blessings to those in need. This intersection is, to be sure, a challenging one, and it means that as the ELCA continues to wrestle with the issue of homosexuality, it is vital for the LCMS to be clear, kind, and compassionate with re- spect to our biblical convictions. This we intend to be, on behalf of the Synod. 2004 Convention Workbook It is our studied conviction that the inter-Lutheran work can only have integrity if the LCMS is independently strong and brings strong capacity and conviction to the “cooperation in externals” table. That means we must have capacity and dollars for this work. It is simply not possible to raise the needed funds in this area from individual donors. The dilemma we face is that we have a man- dated $1,000,000 task, but little funding to carry out the function. The result is that we cannot serve these agencies in the manner they deserve and require in the areas of leadership development, fiscal viability, Lutheran identity, and cultivating relationships with Dis- tricts and congregations. We are seeking innovative solutions to this challenge. Blessed and Proud to Serve! It’s not an easy time to do the work of the church, but I have the great privilege of seeing the work of the LCMS all over the world. I’ ve seen with my own eyes many of the thousands upon thousands assisted in the name of Jesus. I’ve seen AIDS orphans and street children lovingly brought to Baptism and given food and shelter. I’ve met women sheltered and victims of disease cared for by Lutheran Christians the world over—and we at LCMS World Relief/Human Care are humbled and humbly proud to have the privilege of doing this work on be- half of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Rey. Matthew C. Harrison Executive Director For the Board for Human Care Next Triennium Major Goals: 1. Engage and inform the church body in dialogue about issues of human need and well being, providing theologically sound, relevant, and challenging leadership and resources. 2. Encourage the church (congregational, District, national) to assume its fullest appropriate stature and participation in the ublic square as a corporate entity, while informing and enabling LCMS individuals to act in the public square. 3. Be a catalyst for compassionate action at all levels in our church body. 4. Engage the church body’s youth in compassionate action, and challenge young people to pursue diakonic vocations. 5. Develop leadership for and provide assistance to ministrations of mercy to meet human needs. 6. Intentionally partner with LCMS mission and ministry efforts through Districts and Social Ministry Organizations (SMOs), leveraging proclamation with diakonic mercy, thus encouraging diakonic mercy to be accompanied by proclamation of the Gospel. 7. Be the point of contact and provide guidance for “cooperation in externals” efforts of the Synod with other Lutherans and other Christians. 8. Be an advocate for the spiritual, mental, and physical well- being of church workers, both active and retired. 9. Act with complete integrity, theological and ethical, in all contacts with donors, partners, and all other constituencies. Past Triennium Major Accomplishments: Grant Administration LCMS World Relief and Human Care encourages diakonic mercy accompanied by proclamation of the Gospel through grants that meet emergency needs and promote self-sufficiency, both in the United States and also worldwide. Partnership and challenge grants were added to engage Districts and congregations in di- akonic mercy. Here are some grant administration accomplish- ments of the past triennium: * Three grants totaling $147,000 approved by national LWML con- ventions for health-related projects benefiting women and chil- dren in Sudan, Kyrgyzstan, and Latvia. * Through grant distribution in the United States, $2.9 million awarded in domestic grants to congregations and agencies, in- cluding Lutheran social ministry organizations, to initiate new or to enhance existing human-care ministries.