LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 288

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288 PARISH SERVICES

youth gathering could attend because of space limitations;
therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod strongly support the 1983 youth
gathering being planned by encouraging young people to
attend.

Youth Voice in the Church:

WHEREAs, Young people are the church of today as well as
the church of tomorrow; and

WHEREAS, God has blessed young people with gifts in the
same way that He has blessed adults; and

WHEREAS, The church is God's people, youth and adults, in
ministry together; therefore be it

Resolved, That congregations, Districts, and the Synod be
strongly encouraged to involve young people in decision-
making processes in order that their voice can be heard and
that their gifts can be used for the glory and honor of Christ
Jesus; and be it further

Resolved, That the Board of Youth Ministry continue to
develop models and structures to enable parishes, Districts,
and the Synod to involve youth in meaningful ministries along
with adults.

Rich Bimler, Executive Secretary
Jack Baumgarn, Chairman

7-03

Report of Commission for Services
to the Mentally Retarded

Forward in Remembrance

The Comission for Services to the Mentally Retarded by any
other name will strive to move forward in service to persons
with mental retardation and their families. In remembrance of
things past the commission is motivated to move forward,
knowing where it has been in service to the church today while
keeping in touch with changes in its ministry since its begin-
nings in 1962.

When one contemplates its coincidental beginnings with
President Kennedy’s Panel on Mental Retardation in 1962, our
members can be impressed with the leadership shown by the
Synod in the vanguard of ministry and awareness of the plight
of retarded people wherever they resided, the low status of
education for school-age children, and the isolation of families.
Surely the church needed to speak out and to work to alleviate
the lack of services experienced by this invisible population.

The excellent booklet produced by commission members,
their handling of voluminous correspondence in those early
years, initiation of the publication quarterly, the Star, the
inception of the institute training sessions in various parts of
the country—these thoughtful beginnings served the church
well.

And not to be forgotten is the early planning and creation of
Sunday school Bible Lessons for Special Classes, produced
through the foresight of the Board for Parish Education follow-
ing the St. Paul convention in 1956. All of which brings us up to
the present and this 1981 convention.

Two significant events occurred since the last convention.
The first was an exploratory meeting requested by the commis-
sion and convened by the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A.
(LCUSA) Social Ministry Committee of the Division of Mission
and Ministry. For a long time the commission had felt that
there might be an opportunity, an opportune occasion, for
witnessing together intersynodically on this subject of mental
retardation. At that meeting it was determined that possibili-
ties existed for this cooperation and especially for coordination
because one of the factors that emerged was the need for better
and more complete communication—for us to know among
ourselves and among our own church bodies just what was
being done and what we could use for families with retardation.
The councilin 1980 approved such a body—the Commission on
Ministry to Handicapped Persons.

The second event of the year was the decision by various
church boards, particularly the Board of Social Ministry and
World Relief and the commission, along with the Synod-
affiliated residential centers, that it might be timely to calla

Synodwide conference on mental retardation. The initial meet-
ing, which called together various representatives from the
Synod’s agencies, parish pastors, and lay people, as well as
agency and residential-facility people, was really a planning
meeting prior to the actual conference. It was found that a
conference would be beneficial and that it should be inter-
synodical so that all Lutherans would be speaking together
about this critical area of ministry. The Lutheran Social
Services System (L/S3) in Minneapolis, Minn., with the help of
several others in the planning group was able to obtain a grant
from the members of the Aid Association for Lutherans for
such a gathering. It was held in May 1980 in Madison, Wis.
About 150 representatives were invited, principally from the
three large synods, but actually there were representatives
from six Lutheran synods present.

The major finding to come out of that meeting was the call
for more church involvement and awareness regarding the
entire subject of mental retardation. Another decision included
the new commission, which was brought about by LCUSA
approval. A third finding was the need for additional teaching
materials and coordination and cooperation from our various
elementary, secondary, and higher education agencies.

During this interim between conventions, it was learned
that the curriculum for religious instruction that had been
provided by the National Council of Churches was drawn off
the market and would no longer be available. Once again our
Synod finds itself as the only provider of a curriculum for
children with mental retardation and another for those who
are preparing forconfirmation-Communion. Reference is made
to Series III and to Series II, respectively, of Bible Lessons for
Special Classes, available from Concordia Publishing House.
An ongoing responsibility, therefore, of the Committee of
Religious Education of the Mentally Retarded, which is
appointed by the commission, is to design new curriculum
material and to seek the funding for the production of that
material. It appears that it’s time for our church itself, through
the commission's budget, to provide funding for this purpose.
Such funding then would be adjunct financing of curriculum
provided the church by the Board of Parish Education.

The Parish Advocacy Program, which had been an ongoing
project of the commission during the past three years or more,
has now ended in the Kansas and Michigan Districts. The
parish advocates appointed and trained and are now active in
their parishes and are attempting to bring the families with
retardation back into the fold of the parish to be participants in
parish activities as they should be. The key to the design for the
project is that these families tend to stay away from church
and thus become part of the ‘‘backdoor losses” about which our
church is so concerned. Requests to extend the project to two
additional Districts (Central Illinois and Nebraska) has been
funded. Three additional Districts have shown an interest in
this type of ministry. A new “How To” booklet is now available
to those who are interested.

The commission continues to be represented at the Lutheran
Women’s Missionary League or the Lutheran Laymen’s
League conventions. During this period also, each year, infor-
mation and material is provided to graduating seminarians
through the “Synod Resources Days’ conducted on each
seminary campus.

Visits by the executive secretary to the various residential
facilities/campuses have continued. These visitations are
important for the commission, enabling it, through its publica-
tion the Star and by its correspondence, to reassure the
synodical membership that programs and activities are God
pleasing for the residents living there and that continuing
cooperation will goon. Reference is made to Bethesda Lutheran
Home, Good Shepherd Lutheran Home of the West, Good
Samaritan Lutheran Home in Cypress, Tex., and Cedar Lake
Lodge in La Grange, Ky. Another aspect of the services
provided by these homes is that they are branching out into
group-home living arrangements for the more able residents of
those homes. Such decentralization is good for these people as
they grow in independence within the community and in
service to the community. They might become members of the
Lutheran Church near their group home and/or community
facility.

The Star, with its open mailing list, which includes all of our
pastors, continues to be published and to serve the church by