# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2007_S94 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 94 SYNOD REPORTS Past Triennium Major Accomplishments: ¢ Improved internal capacity to monitor and grant RSO status, in- cluding creating a database with detailed information about each RSO. ¢ Conducted 28 RSO reviews. ¢ Granted RSO status to four new organizations: Los Angeles Ne- hemiah Project, Lutheran Ministries Media, Voice of Care, and Friends of Mercy. ¢ Director Barb Below served as the chairperson of the LCMS RSO Process Committee, established by the LCMS Board of Directors to develop and maintain a process for accurate reporting and to promote uniformity of granting and renewing LCMS RSO status. Next Triennium Major Goals: * Continue to assist the LCMS RSO Process Committee to identify and implement clear criteria to organizations seeking or main- taining LCMS RSO status. ¢ Share published information throughout the Synod and with all inter-Lutheran partner organizations about criteria, expectations, and processes to apply for and to renew RSO status. ¢ Support the development of an LCMS Web site tool to search for RSO service providers by name, location, or service type. This new tool will allow the public to immediately access detailed RSO information by community, enhancing the church’s ability to reach out and help people in need. ¢ Support efforts to build and sustain identifiably Lutheran RSOs that respect the doctrine and practice of the LCMS, which goes hand in hand with vision of Social Ministry Organizations for all LCMS RSOs to boldly profess the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Grant Administration The grant program offered by LCMS Word Relief and Human Care is interwoven through all the ministry’s individual programs. Grants are awarded to congregations, districts, Recognized Service Organizations, other agencies, mission fields, and national churches to develop or expand projects that reach out in communities and address unmet human needs while sharing the Gospel message and proclaiming Jesus Christ as the world’s Savior. Past Triennium Major Accomplishments: ¢ Awarded 183 international grants totaling more than $5 million for projects in partnership with LCMS World Mission and na- tional church partners in 39 countries. These grants helped a va- riety of projects, including agricultural training; livestock distribution and training; literacy; after-school care; orphan care; life-skills training; resettlement assistance; vocational skills train- ing; medical care; HIV/AIDS care, counseling, and water needs. ¢ International grants included first-time grants to the country of Madagascar for HIV/AIDS education training. ¢ Awarded 207 domestic grants totaling $3.26 million to benefit projects in 32 districts throughout the United States. These grants assisted food pantries; after-school programs; immigrant assis- tance programs; Community development; health programs; coun- seling; elder care programs; and transilional care, among others. « Awarded 80 international disaster grants in 29 countries totaling more than $3 million. The majority of these disaster grants helped projects in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand for relief and recovery work after the December 2004 tsunami. Additional grants assisted survivors of hurricanes (Haiti, Guatemala, Cay- man Islands, Jamaica, and Vietnam); earthquakes (Jamaica, China, Pakistan, and Indonesia); and other less-publicized emer- gencies. « Awarded a total of 193 domestic disaster grants totaling $13.92 million for work in 23 districts. The majority of these grants as- sisted with recovery from unprecedented hurricane damage (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas). Disaster grants also helped those impacted by tornadoes (Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming); floods (Mary- 2007 Convention Workbook land, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Texas); an earthquake in Hawaii, and other local disasters. LCMS Health Ministries LCMS Health Ministries promotes the vision of stewardship of the gift of life and the journey toward the individual Christian’s wholeness in the context of the community of believers and en- courages the whole church to embrace this vision and reach out in mercy with “One Message: Christ.” Past Triennium Accomplishments: ¢ Provided support and resources for the growing Congregational Health Ministries/Parish Nursing Ministry, encouraging congre- gations to care for each other and reach out to the larger commu- nity with “One Message: Christ ... His Love Is Here for You.” This ministry includes more than 900 participants listed in the current directory; 34 district representatives; and a national coor- dinator. ¢ At the request of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, sent a medical team to assess medical facilities owned by that partner church. Subsequently, the first volunteer Mercy Medical Team was deployed in October 2006 to provide care to 800 patients in poorest Kenya. This is a model to be used for future volunteer medical opportunities. ¢ In response to a resolution of Synod, assembled the Disability Ministry Task Force to assist the LCMS in reaching out to people with disabilities with “One Message: Christ.” The task force de- veloped resources, including a congregational assessment tool, promotional DVD and Web site. ¢ Continued to support health and wellness initiatives for church workers in congregations and districts and for LCMS Interna- tional Center employees. Next Triennium Goals: ¢ Intentionally advocate for the rights and inclusion of the disabled, the chronic mentally ill, and the underserved in LCMS congrega- tions and their communities. ¢ Develop medical volunteer opportunities to reach out in mercy through districts, partner churches, and missionaries to people in need, including serving those whose lives have been touched by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. * Continue to support health ministry, especially parish nursing, at the congregational, district, national, and international levels and through expanded outreach to communities. ¢ Develop resources to assist congregations in the supportive and healthy care of church workers. Life Ministries Life Ministries provides outreach, education, and resources for the pro-life message on behalf of the LCMS. Life Ministries em- phasizes “One Message: Christ” by promoting care for the world’s most marginalized and vulnerable, supplying leadership for the ~ Synod’s called workers and laity, the public, and the international church through overseas partners. Past Triennium Accomplishments: * Continued founding role and support for two pregnancy care cen- ters in Russia and the educational sponsorship of Siberia’s first Russian deaconess who serves as program director for the Novosibirsk women’s center. ¢ Partnered with national pro-life organizations and RSOs (includ- ing Lutherans For Life) to provide pro-life leadership in the pub- lic square. (These partnerships led to programs that emphasize adoption and positive life choices.) * Developed grace-filled and theologically sound resources for ed- ucation about life issues. (New resources include A Small Cate- chism on Human Life and online newsletter, Notes for Life.)