LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 40

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40

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

ELCM (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia) Women’s Care
and Counseling Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, provides compassionate care and counseling services for women who find themselves
with an unplanned pregnancy. ELCM Women’s Center assists women
in considering alternatives to abortion and baby-dumping, which is an
all-too-popular practice in Malaysia. The Kyrgyzstan Medical Trailer
in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, provides high-standard free pediatric, dental, and gynecological care and gives verbal Christian witness to the
patients that they serve. The goal for the future triennium is that Life
Ministry will only strengthen its supportive relationships with these
centers and explore options for additional service in other regions of
the world not yet served by Life Ministry.
In addition to this, Life Ministry plans on promoting its life
resources internationally by translating its most popular materials
for use in other countries and regions of the world. Finally, in this
next triennium, Life Ministry also hopes to provide an abstinence program which can be translated and adapted to areas which request it.
Health Ministry: Health Ministry complements the outreach of
the church by promoting Christ-centered health and wellness of body,
mind, and spirit. Through its domestic and international programs,
Health Ministry has an expansive reach which delivers health and
wellness education and support to individuals and churches in need.
Parish nursing is a division of Health Ministry which has reach
both domestically and internationally. The parish nurse is a registered nurse who is committed to health ministry, working alongside
the pastor within the context of a congregation or local community
to deliver wellness programs in support of the pastoral ministry. The
parish nursing program currently offers continuing education for their
registered nurses via a monthly video-based educational session, with
topics revolving around theology, medicine, and patient care. The
goal for the parish nurse program is to coordinate efforts with the
Concordia University System so that students may consider parish
nursing following their collegiate training. In addition, the parish
nurse program is looking for ways to expand their reach internationally, with the long-term goal of providing each region with one or two
trained LCMS parish nurses.
Mercy Medical Teams is another extension of Health Ministry
wherein the church and her people are served globally. Mercy Medical
Teams is a short-term volunteer program which offers medical professionals, lay people, and pastors opportunities to serve abroad in a
variety of clinical and health-related settings. These teams are trained
by the LCMS and work in conjunction with LCMS partner churches
and international clinics to deliver primary care to countries such as
Kenya, Haiti, Madagascar, Guatemala, and Indonesia. Since the program’s founding in 2006, over 40,000 patients have been served, and
over $1,000,000 in medication has been delivered. It is the vision that
within the next year Mercy Medical Teams will be in partnership with
three additional countries.
Health Ministry also recognizes that greater focus must be had
for the health and wellness of professional church workers and their
families (ref. 2013 Res. 3-11A, “To Support Church Workers”).
Health Ministry began efforts in 2015 to coordinate with Specialized
Pastoral Ministry, the Synod’s recognized service organizations, and
Concordia Plan Services to create a concise resource which will lay
out professional counseling options, mental health resources, and
physical health programs for use by LCMS called workers, serving
both domestically and internationally.
Reports by St. Louis Operations
Ministry to the Armed Forces—Chaplain Craig G. Muehler CAPT, CHC,
USN, (Ret.), Director

The greatest blessing is that God has sent us faithful pastors to
serve as military chaplains during these most challenging times,
2016 Convention Workbook

both culturally and on religious freedom. During a time when many
denominations are having a difficult challenge getting qualified pastors to serve in the military as chaplains, the LCMS has been blessed!
We have several who have answered the call to serve the men and
women of our armed forces by bringing them Word and Sacrament
ministry and showing the compassion and mercy of Jesus Christ to
those whom they are “called to serve.” Yet we still need more! Your
Ministry to the Armed Forces (MAF) chaplains voluntarily go into
harm’s way, serving in physically dangerous and austere conditions,
but also into harm’s way of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in
season and out of season to their flock being challenged by the cultural shift. Yet, they are free to be faithful. These chaplains truly are
shepherds who live, train, eat, and suffer with their flock. What a
blessing God has given to His church for faithful pastors who serve
as faithful chaplains in bringing the love of God in Jesus in everything
they do! We ask all to continue to pray for our chaplains and their families as well as all those who serve our nation in uniform selflessly and
voluntarily and their families (ref. 2013 Res. 1-12, “To Recognize and
Give Thanks for Military and Institutional Chaplains”).
We will need to continue to receive good pastors to serve in the
military to replace those who are retiring. We need to be present
with chaplains who will preach the Gospel in its truth and purity to
those men and women who are sacrificing so much to defend our
way of life. Currently, we have 66 active-duty LCMS military chaplains. Another 71 chaplains serve Reserve and National Guard units.
We also support 22 Civil Air Patrol chaplains and two Directors of
Religious Education (DRE). Your MAF continues to support them
with prayers, pastoral care, Lutheran continuing education, and supplies for Lutheran worship and catechesis. We also coordinate with
the Department of Defense to ensure your chaplains remain endorsed
properly and in good standing with the LCMS and the Department of
Defense as qualified chaplains.
Our goal is to have 72 active-duty chaplains and 80 Reserve and/
or National Guard chaplains by 2018. We continue to recruit and
encourage our young pre-seminary university students, seminarians,
and parish pastors to consider serving our Lord and His Church as
military chaplains. The average age group is from 18–25 years old
that our military chaplains serve on a daily basis. It is a challenging
calling; however, it is very rewarding as they are present with these
brave young men and women who serve our country so faithfully.
One of the challenges for our chaplains is the cultural shift on
Sixth Commandment issues. Be assured that your chaplains continue
to preach the Word of God faithfully where they are called to serve.
They treat everyone with dignity and respect without compromising
the clear Word of God on marriage and sexual orientation. Chaplains
are still protected by law and policy of the Department of Defense to
preach and teach in accordance with the tenets of their faith. While
certainly living in a challenging environment, they are still free to be
faithful and uphold the teaching of the Word of God and the LCMS.
There is no doubt that MAF will keep an eye on this and ensure
our chaplains receive the support they need as there is a constant
movement from organizations and individuals seeking to mandate
compromise and violation of conscience and religious liberty.
Another new challenge will be assisting our LCMS personnel
to navigate through the changed policy of women in combat arms
positions that used to be closed to women. The movement to include
women in the Selective Service registration process is also a concern
for many of our members. MAF will continue to work with our chaplains and Department of Defense as more guidance is given from both
the Department of Defense and our LCMS in reference to the issue
conscripting women to serve in combat positions and/or the Selective
Service process.