# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1973_S300 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 300 PARISH SERVICES AND YOUTH our Synod's Board of Social Ministry. Lutheran Selective Service Information was established and attached to the Lutheran Council in the USA. LSSI was able to offer the following services to congre- gations of the LCMS: — general information about selective service and the alternatives it provides —names of reliable local draft counseling programs — draft-information seminars for pastors, guidance coun- selors, and others — identification of qualified speakers on draft war.’peace issues —help on application for conscientious-objector status, including resources from Lutheran tradition In recent months LSSI focused on other draft-related issues such as the returning veteran (six million Vietnam era veterans) — many of whom manifest severe emotional problems; assistance to those who refused to serve in the military and who are in prison, facing prosecution, in exile, or who are in the undesirable discharge categories. The task is not complete. There is still a need. and always will be, to assist the church in continued studies on peace, war, and conscience. There is a need to help in sensitizing church members in regard to Scriptural concepts pertaining to peace, obedience, truth, and vocation in relation to the military. Volunteer Youth Ministry Volunteer Youth Ministry exists in our church to provide specific opportunities for young people to creatively respond to human need as well as to grow themselves. So often the church cannot accomplish all it wants to because of lack of manpower or financial resources. Volunteer Youth Ministry provides the people resource for a minimal subsistence cost. Volunteers provide an option for the church to meet growing ministry needs. The Board of Youth Ministry is attempting to listen to the needs of the church and match those needs with people. Becoming a volunteer can free a young person to share God's promises and discover ways to live as a signal of hope. Volunteers also discover the responsibilities, com- plexities, and difficulties of serving others. In the process, then, the person discovers something about who he is as he seeks to be a caring disciple. Opportunities in Volunteer Youth Ministry exist overseas. primarily in Japan where volunteers are in ministry with the Japan Lutheran Church. During the biennium 13 volun- teers have been placed in Japan, the Philippines, and Leba- non, The domestic scene offers a wide range of opportunities for ministry: directors of youth halfway houses, organizers of youth drop-in centers, participants in community out- reach in Spanish communities of Chicaga, floor leaders in juvenile detention centers, participants in ministry to the American Indian, and others. Youth Staffers, a new program, involves young people, 18 to 23, assigned to Districts in the Synod for a period of one year. Staffers will assume leadership roles and be- come facilitators and consultants to congregations in the area of youth ministry. This program provides opportunities for young people to be involved in needed service and to grow as persons in mission. The Production of Resource Materials That Meet Real and Stated Needs Printed resources should help things happen between people — the flow of ideas. dialog between persons, inspira- tion for worship, and opportunities for ministry. Resources provide help for the interpersonal “liturgy” of cries and the Kyrie, celebration and the Gloria that move back and forth among the people of God. On the other hand, printed re- sources should not stop the “liturgy” that can happen be- tween people and become a canned program that is used like a lifeless ritual. The Board of Youth Ministry has provided resources with new liturgies for worship: ideas for a care ministry; and resource books in drama, music, and Bible study. The Board of Youth Ministry has also made available to the parishes of Synod a listing of resources in Caresources ‘71, 72, and ‘73, as well as practical supplement packets that provide directions for youth ministry and care ministry models. Beginning in 1573 Resources for Youth Ministry is being published with several additional purposes in mind: (1) to make contact with persons involved in youth ministry in the parishes of the Synod: (2) to create opportunities for dialog and sharing in the variety of viewpoints expressed in featured articles, and in a Support System column that makes possible the sharing of ideas: (3) to make available usable tearout worship, drama, Bible study, and music re- sources. One-way communication is repressive. Two-way com- munication “is opening up.” Dialog is like loving and listen- ing to your neighbor. Resources is becoming a forum for the sharing of perspectives on youth ministry, a place where youth and youth leaders can support one another in an exciting and challenging ministry, and a medium for making available immediately usable resources. The new look in Resources for Youth Ministry is being shaped by the real and stated needs of youth leaders and counselors. Some Additional Items The All Lutheran Youth Gathering The 250.000 youth in The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod will have the opportunity to join together with other Lutheran youth this summer in Houston for Discovery ‘73. The All Lutheran Youth Gathering is a major Key 73 event and as such will provide Opportunities to celebrate our one- ness in Christ and to witness to our hope and faith in Christ and our church. Under the theme “With Eyes Wide Open,” the gathering will center around Bible encounters based on Rom. 12:1-2. The encounters will be beamed over a local TV station into all hotel rooms where youth will be staying. A multitrack program will appeal to the varied interest of young people. Interest areas include youth and evange- lism, creative expression, environment ecology, justice, Third World, women's liberation, war and peace, as well as a sec- tion for all adult counselors — leadership and evangelism. As a major Key 73 event Discovery ‘73 will be calling youth to repentance. reflection, and prayer: searching God's Word to encounter Christ: discovering ways to serve Him: and providing time for commitment. to Christ and His service, The Board of Youth Ministry Staff During the biennium the Board reappointed to a second four vear term Dr. Ben Eggers as executive secretary: the Rev. Martin Stever, assistant executive secretary — parish services; and Mr. Dean Dammann. assistant executive secre- tary — District services. Volunteer Youth Ministry exists in our church to provide specific opportunities for young people to share themselves — new people in Christ — within diverse situations. To head up this service Rev. Lee Hovel. a recent graduate of Con- cordia Seminary, St. Louis. was called to the staff during the summer of 1972. He is serving as project director — volun- teer services. The Lord called home through a freak accident in the summer of 1972 a young. creative staff member in the person of Kathy Gillan. To replace Kathy, Gretchen Wagner of Oregon. a graduate of Valparaiso University, was employed as an editorial assistant in the Department of Parish Services. Walther League It has been five vears since the Walther League embarked on new directions as a yvouth-led, issue-oriented movement of youth. The 1968 Purdue convention adopted world hun- ger and all aspects of the hunger chain as its major program focus. 1972—73 has been a vear of evaluation for the League. After a three-prong evaluation of itself, including the test- ing of the basic concepts by which the Walther League was founded in 1893, the Council and the Trustees of the League are well on the way to restating the basic assumptions of the Walther League. They are sharpening the League's under- standing of its own purposes and making some organiza- tional adjustments to facilitate the carrying out of these purposes. The staff and the Board of Youth Ministry have helped in the evaluation and also have been involved in re-