LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 66

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66

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

cern for our church. We all owe them a genuine word of
thanks and appreciation.
Mrs. Mary Renfer serves as my executive assistant.
Mrs. Laura Bucy serves as secretary to Rev. McCain. Ms.
Judy Brombolich serves as secretary to Rev. Schurb and
as our office receptionist. Mrs. Brenda Schroeder serves
as secretary to Dr. Kuhn. I am extremely grateful for the
hard work and service these women have performed for
the President’s Office and for our Synod. We thank God
for them!
Our Congregations, Pastors, and Other Church Workers

I continue to appreciate the frequent opportunities I
have to be out with the full-time church workers and people of our congregations and to receive their direct input
and feedback. Added to these personal contacts out in the
church, there are also the large amount of letters, faxes,
and e-mails that come into our office every week. Such opportunities are important, for they permit me to hear directly from the people of our church body, to learn of their
joys, their concerns, their hurts, their troubles, their hopes
and dreams, and so forth. And the issues they share with
me are as diverse and different as the people in our Synod.
It’s great to have these opportunities!
I thank you, the members of our Synod and the members of the Synod’s congregations, for your love, your joy,
and your zeal for the Gospel! I thank you for your commitment to your Savior. I thank you for your commitment
to being and remaining a genuine Lutheran church in
both what we say and what we do. I thank you for your
partnership in the Gospel.
I especially continue to appreciate the numerous kind
and encouraging remarks I receive from you, the people of

200l Convention Proceedings

our church body, simply offering assurances of their
prayers, expressions of thanks, and their well-wishes for
me as I move ahead in the duties I have as Synod President. I cannot tell you how meaningful this is to me, and I
am deeply appreciative for it.
I cannot express my deep regard and appreciation for
you better than the apostle Paul did when he wrote his
beloved brothers and sisters in Christ in the town of
Philippi so many years ago, so let me simply share his
words, which express so well what I feel when I think of
the people of our Synod, when I think of you:
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my
prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of
your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
being confident of this, that He who began a good work in
you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ
Jesus (Phil. 1:3–6).
Thank you for the trust and confidence you have placed
in me as your President. Thank you for providing me with
the opportunity to serve our Lord and His people in this
most unique way. I cannot begin adequately to describe
the genuine honor it has been to serve as your President.
May God be with us and bless us as we together move into
a new millennium telling the Good News about Jesus!
As you know, one of my favorite verses of Holy Scripture is found in Jude, verses 24–25, and with these words
I would like to conclude this, the first part of my report to
the Synod.
To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and
with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory,
majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, before all ages, now and for evermore! Amen.
A. L. Barry, President