LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 107

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SYNOD REPORTS

107

Next Triennium Major Goals

• Plan, develop, implement, and direct existing and new diaconal
programs in response to a variety of human care issues.
• Continue to engage and inform districts and congregations by promoting, identifying, and advocating diaconal needs with special
relevance to deaconess ministry.
• Establish contacts to promote deaconesses as commissioned
workers in institutional and parish settings, including promoting
deaconess internships.
• Develop Web site to provide resources for church professionals on
diaconal service.
• Continue to build relationships with overseas churches to assist
with deaconess training programs and diaconal projects.
Districts and Congregations

Deaconess Ministry
LCMS World Relief and Human Care encourages and supports
deaconess ministry—women who are called and commissioned by the
church to provide diaconal care. Deaconesses serve through works of
mercy, spiritual care, and teaching the faith while focusing on Word
and Sacrament. Echoing “ONE People: Forgiven,” deaconesses serve
as a channel for the love and compassion within our church body and
with LCMS partner churches.
Past Triennium Major Accomplishments:

• The district mercy coordinator (position created in 2005 by the
BHCM) now serves through “diaconal project development” to
oversee deaconess ministry and serve as a catalyst in identifying
and meeting diaconal needs worldwide. Diaconal project development engaged and informed the Synod’s districts, congregations,
and partner church bodies on LCMS works of mercy, increasing
awareness of diaconal needs and deaconess ministry of LCMS
WR-HC programs.
• Initiated international outreach, including in South Africa (professional advice on the educational needs pertaining to the role of
women in the church, especially with curriculum design for introducing a deaconess program); Malaysia (designed a deaconess
curriculum by writing a 30-course syllabus; assisted and directed
implementation of the deaconess program for the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Malaysia; taught classes for deaconess students); India (redesigned the deaconess curriculum by writing
course syllabus and evaluating deaconess training program based
on confessional Lutheran theology); Latvia and Lithuania (support
and assisting with developing diaconal projects).
• Worked with the Synod’s three deaconess-training programs
(Concordia University Chicago and two seminaries). Efforts
included assisting a deaconess student from Australia and placing
deaconess interns, including one intern with LCMS WR-HC.
• Developed diaconal resources for domestic and overseas use.
• Informed districts, congregations, and other audiences of the
church’s theology of mercy through speaking engagements, presentations, and displays.
• Served as managing editor of Mercy Works magazine and developed Web resources for professionals on diaconal service.
• Assisted the colloquy program chair pertaining to deaconess
colloquy.

This department responds to and stimulates requests from LCMS
districts and/or their congregations for assistance in assessing internal
(congregation members and church staff) and external (neighborhood and community) human care needs (the most critical, unmet,
or underserved) and assistance in developing initiatives to address
those needs. Assistance may also include fund development to support program initiatives.
Past Triennium Major Accomplishments

• Invested an increasing amount of time (especially in the current
economy) assessing the internal needs of congregational staff in
a financial crisis and responding accordingly, working with the
church workers’ district presidents to process financial assistance
from the Soldiers of the Cross Ministry Fund and assuring that pastoral care for church workers is in place.
• In the last triennium, Soldiers of the Cross funds raised totaled
$643,275; Soldiers of the Cross funds distributed to assist church
workers with emergency needs totaled $624,723. (It should be
noted that districts have been encouraged to participate in these
grants and have responded wonderfully, often providing half of
the final grant issued.)
• Provided case management and pastoral care to Veterans of the
Cross recipients, which now include 50 retired church workers in
need. (About $500,000 is needed annually to provide these retired
church workers with this much needed supplement to their often
meager retirement checks.)
• In the last triennium, LCMS World Relief and Human Care raised
$863,844 of the total $1,444,501 expended to Veterans of the Cross.
Corporate Synod contributed $580,657 but has now turned over the
responsibility of raising the total needed for this important program
to LCMS WR-HC.
• Provided assistance for 35 congregations in assessing internal
(member) and external (community) human care needs through
the “Planting Gospel Seeds While Serving Human Needs” program.
Another 15 congregations receive ongoing, follow-up mentoring
and coaching.
• Served on an inter-disciplinary team with the director of Disaster
Response in responding to more than 100 requests for assistance
after disasters, providing congregationally based, pastoral care
resources to members and the community as part of long-term
recovery.
• As a Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services board member,
provided technical assistance and financial resources to congregations seeking help in family reunification matters for undocumented
workers.

2010 Convention Workbook

2010 Convention.indb 107

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