LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 68

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68 SYNODICAL REPORTS

magazine. Placements in other newspapers, large and small, ran
into the hundreds.

e Electronic placements occurred, among other places, on National
Public Radio, CBS Radio, ABC Radio, USA Radio Network,
Salem Radio Network, United News & Information, Bloomberg
News, and certain local TV stations.

¢ Assisted the President’s Office in issuing statements and com-
mentaries on such topics as human cloning, stem-cell research,
partial-birth abortion, the sanctity of life, same-sex marriage, the
traditional family, the Federal Marriage Amendment, Episcopal
Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the Iraq War, and church-state issues.
Quotes from, or material attributable to, the statement on defend-
ing the traditional family appeared in some 43 newspapers (con-
firmed placements); quotes or attributions from the statement on
Bishop Robinson, 24.

Assisted the President’s Office and other senior LCMS officials
in the preparation of speeches, presentations, reports, and letters.
President Kieschnick’s 2002 commencement address at Concor-
dia University, Austin, Tex., “Taking the Cross to the Market-
place,” was selected by David C. Cook Publishers for inclusion in
the book Graduation Moments: A Compendium of the Year’s
Best Commencement Speeches.

Served (and continue to serve) on the newly formed LCMS Crisis
Communications Team. Made presentations on crisis prepared-
ness in the parish to fourth-year students at both LCMS seminar-
ies. Assisted several Districts in handling crises of various sorts.

Continued the cultivation of relationships with religion editors
and reporters by visiting them in their offices or going to confer-
ences they attend. Personal meetings in the past triennium in-
cluded visits with, among others, USA Today, Washington Post,
Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Miami Herald, and
the Associated Press.

Enforced the trademark protections on the Synod’s tripartite logo
cross. This is an ongoing concern in the church, with a number of
webmasters and so-called ringmasters (many of them LCMS pas-
tors) using the cross on their unofficial, and thus unauthorized,

Web sites. Failure to police these infringements puts our intellec-
tual-property protections at risk.

Future Goals and Challenges

Owing to events and circumstances, a good deal of the media’s
attention to the LCMS in the past triennium called for reactive,
even defensive, responses. A large number of those responses cen-
tered on matters involving the Yankee Stadium affair and its long,
complicated aftermath. Other distracting issues included clergy
sexual abuse (spawned by the Roman Catholic scandals), a contro-
versial 9-! 1 memorial service at Valparaiso University (LCMS
Public Affairs was quoted in dozens of newspapers on that sub-
ject), and the Synod’s reaction to the decisions of other church bod-
ies to liberalize their practices on issues involving homosexuality.
One hopes that, in the next triennium, LCMS Public Affairs will
be able to focus more of its energy on making positive, proactive
statements and placements on the “normal” work of the Synod and
its ministries. To that end, the goals of Public Affairs will include
the following:
¢ Effectively publicizing the major ministries and efforts of the
Synod in leading print and electronic media.

© Voicing the Synod’s positions on cultural issues affecting our be-
liefs and values.

e Working with others in seeking to achieve a greater public visi-
bility of the Synod’s name and what it stands for.

* Training District leaders in crisis management and communica-
tion.

e Seeking a more useful and productive partnership with commu-
nicators at the Synod’s District offices, seminaries, colleges and
universities, auxiliaries, and recognized service organizations.

2004 Convention Workbook

Executive Director

There have been some administrative changes that have oc-
curred over the last triennium.

Rev. Dean W. Nadasdy resigned from our board on July 14,
2003, to take a position as First Vice-President of the Minnesota
South District. Succeeding Rev. Nadasdy in this appointment is
Rev. Steven Siegel. Rev. Siegel was appointed to our board in late
November 2003 and attended his first BCS meeting in January
2004.

Since the 2001 convention, several changes have been made in
our departmental structure as well. LCMS Teleproductions was
closed as their revenue dropped, unrestricted budget dollars de-
creased, and it became unprofitable to maintain this service in-
house. Video and other multimedia projects for IC departments and
Synod congregations are now provided through an outside LCMS
vendor, Parabolic Productions. Parabolic is owned and operated by
Philip Hohle, and is located in St. Louis.

Decreases in unrestricted budget dollars allocated to our board
also caused us to eliminate some staff positions in the department.
The internship program was abandoned due to IC overhead costs.
Although our staff is more taxed due to these cutbacks, they are
working very diligently to maintain the same level of service to our
LCMS publics. However, this cannot realistically continue into the
future. We do expect future curtailments of some services. Where
possible we are making use of volunteers to perform some jobs and
take advantage of opportunities that we would otherwise not be in
the position to do.

Probably one of our best opportunities to further the mission
and work of the Synod is through Public Relations, which is an ex-
tremely cost effective way to open doors for the church to get its
message to its publics. This effort is ongoing and has enjoyed some
limited success. We are hampered in this area, however, by a per-
ceived lack of interest and corresponding limited funding.

Finally, we note that the Board of Directors assumed control of
the operation of KFUO-AM and FM radio due to its concern over
the station’s ongoing financial challenges.

In this section of our report we will briefly detail some of the
events that could not be categorized into the previous sections:

Accomplishments

Dr. Ardon Albrecht, former executive producer of This Is the
Life, was instrumental in creating a new LCMS television min-
istry entitled Point of Truth. This one-half hour show features
worship services of LCMS congregations and airs five times per
week on DIRECTV’s The Church Channel, available to some 14
million television households. Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Santa
Monica, Calif., serves as the umbrella organization for the pro-
gram by providing its tax-exempt status, banking abilities, and
volunteers.

e In cooperation with David Berner, Director of General Services
Electronic Media and Church Information Center, assisted with
the redesign of the look and feel of the Synod’s official Web site,
www.lIcms.org.

¢ In cooperation with former LCMS Chief Administrative Officer
Brad Hewitt, conducted a communications audit for the Interna-
tional Center.

e Created a crisis communications plan for the International Center
and conducted crisis communications training in select Districts.

e Continued relationships and presence in Washington, D.C.,
through personal contacts and visits with select White House, Of-
fice of Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Vet-
eran Affairs officials.

¢ Continued LCMS presence with outside religious and Lutheran
entities through membership on the board of the National Inter-
faith Cable Coalition and others.