Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1969 · 48th Convention › Page 32
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 32

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

32 MISSIONS

pital. A survey of some of the unwed mothers
served through the Homer G. Phillips maternity
project showed the need for a day-care center (so
that the young mothers can work or go back to
school), possibly in one of the community churches
that have unused space.

Two of the members of the suburban eyes-and-
ears task force — a husband and wife —had thought
out a plan to acquaint and involve others in meet-
ing the community needs and problems dis-
covered. They had already taken their pastors
and pastors’ wives out for supper to share with
them some of the things they had found. They felt
their modus operandi should be: “sell” their shep-
herds, sell their congregation, other Lutheran
congregations in the area, civic organizations
(Chamber of Commerce, newspapers, etc.), and
then the municipalities. This couple had identified
other Lutherans in the area who were in key
leadership positions (the president of the Chamber
of Commerce, the police chief, the editor of a com-
munity paper) and were approaching them.

3) Some wonderful things also happened to the Lu-
theran Christians involved in this corporate involve-
ment-reflection process:

a) Members of the task force, united in a common
purpose, seemed to develop a closeness and fellowship
that the typical congregation or congregational organiza-
tion doesn’t have.

b) Some beginning “bridges” were built to span the
often fragmented and broken existence of people in city
and church. The evidence is in these comments by task
force members:

“First let me thank you for the wonderful experi-
ence of serving on this task force. I felt like I was
closeted and have gone into a larger room.”

“I loved this opportunity to serve my Lord and the
church in a new way. I welcomed the opportunity
to do church work with my husband.”

From a black teen-ager who had earlier talked
about the “generation gap”: “I enjoyed this ex-
perience because it gave me a chance to work
with ‘older people,’ to branch out, and not just
talk to kids in my own age bracket.”

“P’ve gone to church and worked in this commu-
nity all my life, but so many things go unnoticed
until you have a special purpose in mind.”

Many examples, particularly in the East St. Louis
group, could be given of gaps being bridged be-
tween blacks and whites.

Gaps were bridged between separate congrega-
tions through the interaction of Christians from
different congregations and different parts of the
city getting to know one another and working
together.

c) There were “spin-offs” from the eyes-and-ears
task forces: the experiences the members had were

carried over and related to other areas in their life.

4) Our initial experience suggests that the members
of the eyes-and-ears forces will be moving the church
to action.

a) In most church programs imposed from above, the
majority of effort is spent trying to motivate the laymen.
The people involved in eyes-and-ears groups will be
motivating and “bugging” us! Here are some of their
comments:

“This has been a beautiful experience for me. .. .
But I hope our work isn’t ending. We don’t want
to sit in meetings. We want to do something.”

‘“T hope this continues. We just got started.”

“This experience is frustrating. We see needs and
want something to happen. To take a scab off a
sore and make it raw only makes it worse. We got
to heal it.”

‘You can count on us, Joyce and me, to get some-
thing done.”

b) The eyes-and-ears task forces will also be helping
alert and reshape existing church and community struc-
tures for more effective service — another basic premise
of MMM.

The suburban task force wants to involve Lu-
theran Family and Children’s Services in discus-
sions of a family counseling center in their area.

Two groups will call on staff members of the
Lutheran Mission Association, who presently work
principally in an institutional setting, to share their
expertise in the area of alcoholism and the elderly
also in community settings.

The north St. Louis task force has investigated
coordination of volunteer services to the commu-
nity elderly with the Visiting Nurse Association.

Hands, as well as eyes and ears, are beginning to be
used in ministry to people through Metro Mission
Movement.

8. Church and Community Ministries:
Each in His Own Tongue

Through the stirrings of the Spirit, individuals, con-
gregations, interparish movements, and Districts have
“come alive” in speaking and doing the Gospel among
groups largely untouched in the past. The Church and
Community section of the Board for Missions, chiefly
through consultation and in some cases through funding,
has helped facilitate District enablement and initiation
of a wide variety of experimental, exploratory, and pilot
projects.

a. Surface Overview. Some of these recent and cur-

rent projects are:

1) In urban areas —

* the Chicago Project, a communications bridge and
arena of healing in the field of human relations be-
tween members, pastors, and congregations and the
social, political, and economic structures and move-
ments in the area;