LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 99

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SYNODICAL REPORTS 99

R7-05-32
Southern District

“Telling the Old Story in a New Century” was the theme of the
2000 Southern District convention and continues as the theme in
this current triennium. Having begun as a District in 1882, we are
now telling that Old Story of Jesus and His love in the “third cen-
tury” of our existence.

Our adopted purpose statement develops that convention theme:

The purpose of the Southern District (officers, staff, and lead-
ership) is to challenge, encourage, and support all congregations
and workers in the partnership of “Telling the Old Story in a New
Century.”

The old story is being told by members and workers at 170 “‘sto-
rytelling sites” on Sunday mornings and during the week. Some of
those congregations are blessed with more “tellers and hearers”
than ever before, as God adds to their numbers through successful
Spirit-blessed witnessing and through the influx of numerical
growth in their communities. Sadly, others have a diminishing
number of “tellers and hearers,” as memberships wane in the face
of an aging and/or transitioning membership that has not yet been
blessed with the necessary outreach skills, motivation, and effort
or the Spirit’s blessing upon such skills, motivation, and effort.

The Southern District has made a commitment to intensify the
telling of the Old Story through our congregations, 18 elementary
schools, 18 free-standing preschools, and one Lutheran high
school.

Crucial to our storytelling is God’s continued blessings upon
our 40 historic African American congregations and our one His-
panic congregation. The oldest LCMS African American congre-
gation, Mt. Zion, New Orleans, formed in 1878 by the former Syn-
odical Conference mission program, is older than the Southern
District itself. The Southern District is blessed with the presence
of six African Americans on the Board of Directors, the highest
number in its history.

Serving as a source and site of equipping our pcople for lives
of witness and service is God’s special gift within our District
named Concordia College, Selma, AL.

The potential for mission and ministry in the states of Alabama,
Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle is great and chal-
lenging. It’s an exciting time to be “telling the Old Story.”

Following the 2000 District convention the newly elected Board
of Directors adopted five corporate goals targeting these five areas:

* recruitment and training of professional and lay leaders
* stewardship

* multicultural ministry

* outreach

* intergenerational ministry

Orval Mueller, President

R7-05-33
Southern Illinois District

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ,
so that whether I come and see you or am absent, | may hear of
you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side
by side for the faith of the Gospel” (Philippians 1:27 RSV).

This desire of the apostle Paul is our prayer for the congrega-
tions, pastors, teachers, and DCEs of our District and of the Synod.
That’s because the church is that “assembly of all believers among
whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments
are administered according to the Gospel” (Augsburg Confession
VII). The real “action” in the church mandated by God takes place
in the congregations as God's people worship, baptize, preach,

teach, confess, absolve, gather for the Lord’s Supper, and, most of
all, reach others with the saving message of Christ. Here is where
God is faithful to His promises. The Missouri Synod (and its local
expression in the Southern Illinois District) is a federation of con-
gregations united by the same confession of Christ. It exists to help
the congregations do together what they cannot do separately.

At the end of the triennium, the Southern Illinois District con-
sisted of 97 congregations (one congregation disbanded during the
triennium) served by 88 pastors (of a total of 101 active pastors).
These congregations include 44.173 baptized souls. Enrollment in
our 23 parochial schools (served by 163 full-time and 47 part-time
teachers and 23 administrators) is 3,938. We have 36 preschools,
20 of which are part of Christian day schools. The 16 “stand alone”
preschools enroll 610. We now have two Lutheran high schools—
Metro East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville with 237 stu-
dents, and Christ Our Savior Lutheran High School in Evansville
with 18 students. Total enrollment in all SID schools at the end of
2000 was 4,803 students.

The mission of the District is to support the work of these 97
congregations, enabling them more effectively to share the Gospel.
Between conventions the District operates through a Board of Di-
rectors chaired by the President. Three program boards serve the
parishes of Southern Illinois: a Board of Spiritual Care and Super-
vision (Circuit Counselors and District Praesidium), a Board of
Missions, and a Board of Congregational Support. One member
from each board also serves on the Board of Directors. In addition
to the boards listed, the District also has a Commission on School
Matters, a Commission for Communication, and a Finance Com-
mittee, as well as a number of other committees. The ministry areas
of evangelism, education, human care, stewardship, and youth are
handled through the Board of Congregational Support assisted by
various ad hoc task forces.

District work is conducted from an office building at 2408
Lebanon Avenue in Belleville, IL. Besides a full-time President,
the District Board of Directors calls a full-time executive assistant
for the areas of missions, education, youth, evangelism, and stew-
ardship. The secretary to the President also works full-time. Those
working part-time for the District include an assistant to the Presi-
dent, a mission assistant, an older-adult ministries coordinator, our
LCEF area Vice-President, a part-time secretary/bookkeeper, and a
part-time receptionist. Truly God has blessed our District with
faithful workers.

The Circuit Counselors and District Praesidium form the Board
of Spiritua] Care and Supervision. In addition to its Circuit Coun-
selor duties, this board is concerned with the spiritual welfare of
District workers and congregations. The board offers support ac-
tivities and workshops to the congregations (e.g., annual pastor/elder
training workshops and an annual spiritual retreat for church work-
ers). The board also supervises the Ministerial Health Committee in
the District and sponsors annual renewal retreats for pastors and
teachers and orientation for new church workers in the District. The
Spiritual] Care Board spends considerable time in the study of theo-
logical issues affecting our congregations and functions as a “‘sup-
port group” for the District President in his work.

The Mission Board not only is involved with mission congre-
gations but also in a strong prison ministry in the state prison insti-
tutions in our geographical area. We support the work of eight
chaplains (seven part-time, one full-time), one vicar, and several
lay volunteers in the prisons of Southern Illinois. Two new prisons
are under study. District campus ministries are also carried on at
Southern [linois University campuses at Carbondale and Ed-
wardsville. We are exploring a mission school in the East St. Louis
area and Hispanic ministry in the Caseyville area. Two of our con-
gregations are involved in ethnic ministry—one to the Korean pop-
ulation in Belleville and the other to the Chinese population in the
Carbondale area.

2001 Convention Workbook