LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 33

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION

33

reaction, and prayer, there will be an open discussion in
which any voting or advisory delegate can speak from a
floor microphone for up to three minutes. The open discussion will conclude no later than 9:00 P.M.”
He explained that the intention of this open discussion is
to provide the delegates with a more relaxed atmosphere in
order to engage in discussion. The Chair moderated the discussion by calling on speakers at the floor mikes, recognizing
them in the order in which they arrived at the microphones.

and seconded to change the Orders of the Day to allow the
election process to continue to 9:45. The motion carried
(Y:1,056; N:37). A delegate questioned the absence of one
of the nominees for the Board for Black Ministry Services
in the elections report and was assured that the missing
name is on the new ballot. At the end of the designated
time period the elections were closed.
The Chair declared elected those persons indicated by
the report of the Elections Committee.

Evening Prayer

Words from the President-Elect

Rev. Paul Grime, Convention Chaplain, led the assembly in the Service of Light.

The Chair introduced President-elect Gerald Kieschnick.
He expressed appreciation for all the kindness that he and
his wife have received, publicly acknowledged the gift given
him by the Council of Presidents, and led the assembly in
prayer. He offered words of commendation for Dr. Barry,
assuring that he will be sensitive to the grief that is being
experienced by many as a result of Dr. Barry’s death. He
also recognized the service of Dr. Robert Kuhn, called into
service unexpectedly and at a difficult time, thanking him
on behalf of the church for his service and wishing him
pleasant retirement years to come.
He assured the delegates of his intentions and those of
Vice-President-elect Daniel Preus and the other Vice-Presidents-elect to work together and spoke of his prayer for
God’s blessing upon their mutual efforts. He also spoke of
concerns he noted throughout the Synod during the months
prior to the convention, including concern for the pure
proclamation and articulation of the theology of our Synod,
an intense desire for a President who will be the President
of the whole church, and a style of leadership that will
rekindle in the hearts of pastors and people a mutual respect and trust. He identified challenges faced by the
Synod, including the fulfillment of the Great Commission
with renewed vigor and passion and energy; the recruitment, training, and support of church workers; the facilitating of the priesthood of all believers to make use of one of
the Synod’s greatest unclaimed treasures—its lay people;
the nurturing of a relationship between the Synod, Districts, and congregations; and a refocusing of the grace of
God to make ours an evangelical, Gospel-focused church.
He called attention to Art. III of the Constitution of the
Synod and the solidarity its paragraphs speak of, objectives
that beg the renewed, wholehearted support of the entire
Synod.
President-elect Kieschnick went on to acknowledge that
the Synod has a right to know what its President believes
and therefore reviewed his personal beliefs. He promised in
particular that the Eighth Commandment and Matthew 18
will order our life together and pledged the use of the power
of his office to bring contrary activity to an end. He stated
that he desires to be a man of God and will need and covet
support and encouragement, counsel, and, above all,
prayers.
He read from his responses to the questions asked of all
the candidates by Reporter, summaries of his hopes,
dreams, and visions. He then used the words of a song to
speak his closing thoughts, adding that God does not always call those who are qualified but He qualifies those
whom He calls, that the will of God will never lead where

Session 7
Wednesday A.M., July 18, 2001
Devotion
Dr. Robert King called the assembly to order and introduced the devotion leader, Rev. Jon Vieker, Assistant Director of the Synod’s Commission on Worship, who led the
convention in the Order of Matins.
Convention Essay
Dr. King introduced the fourth essayist to address the
convention, Dr. Patrick T. Ferry, President of Concordia
University Wisconsin. At its last convention, the Synod proclaimed 2001 as the “Year of the Child.” In keeping with
that emphasis, the title of Dr. Ferry’s essay was “Telling
the Good News about Jesus in the Year of the Child.” An
outline of his essay is provided on page 277 of the Wednesday issue of Today’s Business.
Greeting from the International Lutheran Women’s
Missionary League
Dr. Kuhn assumed the Chair of the convention and introduced Virginia Von Seggern, President of the LWML,
one of the two auxiliary organizations of the Synod. She
spoke on behalf of the 250,000 Missouri Synod women who
choose to be involved in mission, who have provided to the
Synod more than $14 million in mission and other grants
since the beginning of the league. She spoke of how her organization funds its projects through its mite boxes, emphasizing that a check is never too big to fit into a mite box.
She spoke of the recent and very positive ILWML convention and encouraged pastors that the best thing they can
do for the LWML is to provide their support. She acknowledged that changes are taking place in her organization because ours is now a different world, but she emphasized
that one thing remains the same: the women of the ILWML
are still children of God and still on a mission. She called
attention to a large mite box that she has provided in the
booth area for the convention to use and presented a gift to
President Kuhn for his kindness and support.
Committee 9: Registration, Credentials, and Elections
The Chair introduced Rev. William Hoesman, President
of the Michigan District and chairman of Floor Committee
9. He reported that 602 pastors and 594 were now registered, totaling 1,196 voting delegates. A motion was made

200l Convention Proceedings