LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 108

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108

SYNOD REPORTS

• With Social Ministry Organizations Manager Dorothy Krans,
developed an Older Adult Ministry process to assess congregational and community needs, including opportunities for involving
seniors in Christian service.
• Provided community assessments and organizing principles services to the National Lutheran Housing Support Corp.
• Consulted with districts and congregations seeking to develop outreach to Latinos.
• Provided deaconess training in Panama and Argentina on the theology and practice of mercy in congregational settings.
• Developed a domestic abuse prevention workshop with Task Force
on Domestic Abuse members.
International
LCMS World Relief and Human Care’s international activities
continued to implement the new paradigm that emphasizes the ministry’s core values of mercy, fidelity, integrity, and capacity. LCMS
WR-HC recruited and deployed international staff to build the ministry’s capacity—as well as the capacity of LCMS partners—to reach
out in mercy to those in need around the world. Through these partnerships, LCMS WR-HC ensures theological fidelity and financial
integrity in a process now termed “Lutheran Accompaniment.”
Past Triennium Major Accomplishments

• Internationally deployed staff directly oversees all international
projects. This new capacity has enabled LCMS WR-HC to identify and engage dedicated Lutheran partners around the world with
unprecedented accountability. Agreements are signed, projects are
visited, and reports are obtained. Viable partners are distinguished
from unviable ones as healthy relationships grow based on accountability, Lutheran fidelity, and mutual respect.
• As a result of increased capacity, LCMS WR-HC retains and manages more of the resources entrusted to this ministry so that strategic
partners such as LCMS World Mission and official LCMS partner
churches receive more projects funded by LCMS WR-HC than ever
before.
• Increased capacity also resulted in concrete benefits for LCMS
WR-HC donors. Most important, LCMS WR-HC has elevated the
priority and importance of projects clearly associated with Lutheran
Word and Sacrament ministry whenever possible. In addition,
LCMS WR-HC has achieved a significant increase in efficiency
by partnering directly with local Lutheran partners.
• Gained access to previously “closed” countries because of LCMS
WR-HC’s new paradigm and identity as a distinct, international
relief organization with its own operational capacity.
Next Triennium Major Goals

• Continue to strengthen partnerships with international partners in
response to need and the wishes of dedicated donors.
• Continue to build international operational capacity to the benefit
of the LCMS, other Lutheran churches, and, most importantly, the
needy people of the world.
Disaster Response
As the disaster response arm of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod, LCMS World Relief and Human Care works through a
broad network of diverse partners to alleviate human suffering and
enable people to build or regain self-sufficiency following natural
and man-made disasters or emergencies. These key partners include
Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR),

Recognized Service Organizations (RSO), and other faith-based agencies, as well as governmental agencies such as the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) and nongovernmental agencies such
as the Red Cross and National Voluntary Organizations Active in
Disaster. The mission of the church through LCMS WR-HC is to
reach out in mercy and compassion to those in need, motivated by
and in the clear name of Christ and His Gospel, and according to
the Lutheran confession of faith. The local church has an opportunity to reach out and minister to those in need—whether Lutherans
or non-Lutherans—while state and national relief efforts are being
mobilized. The church’s response to a disaster is a commitment and
witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ to assist those affected by the
disaster. LCMS WR-HC provides funding and direction to districts
and congregations as they reach out to their communities with solid
spiritual care and timely disaster relief.
Past Triennium Major Accomplishments

• Working with LCMS districts, formed a network of trained district
disaster response coordinators and teams.
• Held two District Disaster Response Coordinators conferences in
St. Louis to provide training for the coordinators and to develop
strong working relationships, which increases LCMS capacity.
• Continued to expand LCMS disaster response capacity by developing close partnerships with agencies and entities such as
governmental and nongovernmental organizations (such as FEMA
and the Red Cross) and other faith-based disaster related entities
(such as LDR, LWR, the Salvation Army), and our RSOs throughout the United States (such as Lutheran Social Services of the South,
Peace Officer Ministries, Lutheran Services of Florida, Orphan
Grain Train, Lutheran Child and Family Services of Missouri).
• Developed two separate training courses for congregations entitled “Congregational Preparedness” and “Lutheran Early Response
Team Training,” which are currently being taught by the District
Disaster Response Coordinators and District Disaster Response
Teams network.
• Developed “Disaster Kit” program. (This includes a partnership
with the LWML, where Disaster Response distributed 3,000 kits
at the LWML convention, which were then completed and given
to shut-in and elderly congregation members, among others.)
• In partnership with Orphan Grain Train, developed a “Flood
Bucket” program, which is being expanded to the LCMS WR-HC
online store.
Specialized Pastoral Ministry
LCMS World Relief and Human Care recruits rostered ministers
of religion for ministry in institutional chaplaincy, pastoral counseling, and clinical education and facilitates the process of ecclesiastical
endorsement for these ministries. Our more than 500 chaplains and
pastoral counselors serve as “domestic missionaries,” touching
the lives of many at their most stressful and vulnerable moments.
Chaplains and pastoral counselors serve in hospitals, nursing home
and retirement centers, parishes, counseling agencies, businesses,
law enforcement agencies, fire and rescue agencies, hospice centers,
jails and prisons, and workplaces. Having received specialized clinical training, chaplains and pastoral counselors listen with the ears of
Christ as they hear the cares and burdens of those to whom they minister. They reflect His mercy and compassion as they offer support
and care, bringing words of forgiveness, life, and hope through Jesus
Christ. Those who teach chaplaincy and pastoral counseling ministry
prepare our rostered ministers of religion and our seminary and dea-

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2010 Convention.indb 108

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