# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1979_S183 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) toner clement heey tA ia AR RNA tae abi WAL kr LATE REPORTS AND OVERTURES 183 Lutheran and Conservative/Evangelical schools in the Midwest will consider initially “new birth and Bap- tism.” Explorations regarding a Lutheran-Pentecostal dia- log have revealed little interest on the part of represen- tatives of classical Pentecostal church bodies, and such a dialog does not seem possible in the near future. A Lutheran-Jewish colloquium on mission and evangelism was sponsored by the division and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai Brith in May 1978 in Philadelphia. The event, along the lines of four Lutheran-Jewish colloquia held during 1969-74, indi- cated a significant change for the better in atmosphere and relationships. Many of the same participants gathered again this May in Philadelphia to talk about the concept of “covenant” from both Biblical and contemporary perspectives. Slated for the fall of 1979 is what is hoped will be a model for a local Lutheran- Jewish conversation. It will deal with the theme “The Sources of Religious Authority.” Division of Service to Military Personnel The Division of Service to Military Personnel pro- vides a means for the church bodies participating in the Lutheran Council to offer a viable ministry of Word and sacrament to Lutheran men and women in the armed forces, paramilitary persons, and their dependents. This support ministry includes assisting the church bodies in filling the authorized spaces for Lutheran chaplains, providing the chaplains with in-service training and counseling, arranging for the help of civilian clergy in communities adjacent to military installations, supervising several field ministries, and furnishing congregations with materials to help them keep in touch with their members in the military. The division’s staffing arrangement is unique among units of the council. Three assistant executive directors handle responsibilities related to both the division’s common work and particular concerns of their church bodies. For example, the Missouri Synod representative on the staff, Milton S. Ernstmeyer, dou- bles as executive secretary of the Synod’s Armed Forces Commission. Currently he also holds the honorary position of president of the Military Chaplains Associ- ation, which is made up of active duty and reserve chaplains of all denominations. Support for Chaplains At the start of 1979 the number of Lutheran chap- lains on extended active duty in the Army, Navy, and Air Force numbered 286, including 100 Missouri Synod clergy. The number serving civilian parishes but on reserve with military units was 384, of whom 124 were LCMS clergy. The number with the Civil Air Patrol was 60, 20 of whom were Synod clergy. Participants in the military seminarian programs numbered 26, of whom 3 were Missouri seminarians. In addition to an ongoing visitation and counseling schedule involving the division’s staff, the chaplains, and their immediate military commanders, support was provided through an annual series of seminar-retreats aimed at the professional development of the chaplains. The 1978 series took a look at the Lutheran ways of doing evangelism and sought to equip the chaplains to help the lay personnel to be witnesses. One of the leaders was Executive Secretary Erwin J. Kolb of the LCMS’s Board for Evangelism. Topic for the 1979 series was “Lutheran Theology Confronts Scientific Realities of Today,” and the Synod participant was Paul L. Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, and also Lutheran campus chaplain there. A grant from the Aid Association for Lutherans made possible in May 1978 a once-in-a-lifetime chance for 39 Lutheran military chaplains to travel to the German Democratic Republic and walk where their denominational roots were planted. They were led by Oswald C. J. Hoffmann, Lutheran Hour speaker and history buff. He reported that the faith is alive there “because Jesus Christ is alive, and nobody is going to be able to change that.” Field Ministries As of the beginning of 1979, the division’s network of civilian clergy who serve as military contact pastors numbered 261, of whom 132 were with Missouri Synod congregations. These pastors were available to help Lutherans stationed in the area, to get their churches to sponsor military-related ministries, and if Lutheran military chaplains were nearby, to coordinate their efforts. Through its Community Lutheran Armed Services Program (CLASP), the division has made grants to congregations near military installations to help them serve Lutherans on duty there. This program is now down to four grants, and all congregations near bases are being encouraged to support their own military- related work. Overseas the devaluation of the dollar, a reduced U.S. military presence in some places, and political turmoil have caused grave difficulties for the division’s field ministries. These now consist of four independent Lutheran congregations on Guam and Okinawa and in Frankfurt, Germany, and Seoul, Korea, and one service center at Olongapo, The Philippines. The independent congregations have a combined baptized membership of 653. The church on Guam is served by an LCMS pastor, John G. Fischer. Organized in June 1975 by the growing number of U.S. Lutherans in Iran, St. Thaddaeus Lutheran Church, Teheran, held its final service on Christmas Day 1978. During its brief flowering the congregation became a loving fellowship of Christians who made the church the center of their lives. Also at the end of last year International Lutheran Church in Seoul absorbed the separate service center. The pastor of the Frankfurt church, Theol S. Hoiland, has the dual responsibility of arranging pastoral service for Lutheran military per- sonnel throughout Europe and the Near East. This gives him the largest Lutheran parish in the world.