LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 81

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SYNODICAL REPORTS 81

mony with prior assurances that Lutheran services are to be con-
ducted by Lutheran chaplains.

On behalf of the Praesidium, on Jan. 15, 2004, President Gerald
Kieschnick of the LCMS addressed a letter to the ELCA Commit-
tee on Federal Chaplaincies to inquire whether it was still the un-
derstanding of the ELCA that, despite provisions for a sharing of
ministers in their ecumenical agreements with the Reformed, ser-
vices in the military which are advertised as “Lutheran” should, in
fact, be conducted only by a Lutheran chaplain. On behalf of the
ELCA Committee on Federal Chaplaincies, Mark S. Hanson, Pre-
siding Bishop of the ELCA, wrote to President Kieschnick a letter,
dated Feb. 5, 2004, reaffirming the above understandings, adding
that these understandings also pertain to ELCA’s ecumenical agree-
ments with the Episcopal Church and the Moravian Church: “What
was said about the ELCA-Reformed agreement in 1997 is also ap-
plicable to the other full communion agreements.”

Present cooperative pastoral arrangements between the LCMS
and the ELCA for the military chaplaincy require that Lutheran ser-
vices are to be conducted only by Lutheran chaplains. LCMS chap-
lains are expected to promote and to uphold this arrangement and
not to act in any fashion contrary to it. It is well to remind ourselves
that the LCMS has vigorously upheld the military chaplaincy so
that its service members may be strengthened, encouraged, and en-
sured of the grace of eternal life which comes only through Christ
Jesus. In practice, it is relatively infrequent that Lutheran service
members have the benefit of a Lutheran chaplain. Where and when
this deficit can be overcome, it is to the benefit of our service mem-
bers that Lutheran chaplains be available to them. This is one im-
portant pastoral reason for the present working arrangements to be
continued. However, it is important that our clergy and congrega-
tions promote a strong Lutheran upbringing and nurture our
younger members, so that when they are in the military and iso-
lated from the spiritual care of a Lutheran chaplain, they can make
faithful and prudent decisions as they attempt to find spiritual so-
lace and to express their Christian faith.

The Praesidium reminds the clergy and congregations of the
LCMS that the Church is in this life never perfect, but is always to
be reformed through the correct preaching of the Word in its full-
ness (ecclesia semper reformanda est). On the one hand, this calls
for a wise patience with those of our own communion who struggle
for the clarity of truth and, on the other hand, it calls for a wise pa-
tience with those of other communions who also struggle for the
clarity of truth. It seems, therefore, that a simple severance of our
pastoral arrangements with the ELCA concerning the military
chaplaincy is not to be recommended at the present time. There-
fore, the Praesidium recommends that current LCMS-ELCA coop-
erative arrangements for the military chaplaincy be continued at
this time.

However, the LCMS has real and significant reason to be con-
cerned about the ability of the ELCA to proclaim the Christian faith
with Lutheran clarity, given the ecumenical agreements into which
it has entered and given its current deliberations, which may result
in its recognition of same-sex marriages and the ordination of prac-
ticing homosexuals. We believe we should wait in patience as the
ELCA comes to the clarity of its own mind. At the same time, we
must remain cognizant of the necessary consequences for our co-
operative work should the mind of the ELCA prove to be contrary
to the mind of the Holy Spirit. God created male and female and
instituted the estate of marriage for the faithful and loving service
of male and female to one another and for the procreation of chil-
dren. This estate of marriage between a man and a woman has been
the universal experience of humankind from its beginnings, has
been upheld by all religions and societies as an expression of uni-
versal, natural law and is given inspired witness by the Holy Spirit
in the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures, most especially in words
from the mouth of the Lord Himself (Matthew 19:4-6).

Therefore, in light of our concerns regarding both the ELCA’s
ecumenical agreements and also the ELCA’s consideration of is-
sues of human sexuality and ordination as articulated above, the
Praesidium also recommends that the Praesidium of the LCMS
continue to assess pastoral working arrangements with the ELCA
during the next triennium and report to the next synodical conven-
tion (2007) whether at that time these arrangements merit continu-
ance or whether developments within the ELCA justify other ac-
tion.

Praesidium
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

R4-01

The Lutheran Church—Missouri

Synod Foundation
“Linking Christians with Giving Opportunities”

The mega outcome for the Foundation’s efforts is that Chris-
tians are demonstrating their love for Christ and His church, exer-
cising their stewardship responsibilities by managing life and all of
life’s resources to fulfill God’s purposes, and by being linked with
and supporting the mission and ministry of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod and organizations associated with it.
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Foundation

began in 1959 to serve individuals, organizations, and agencies of
the church in growing as Christian stewards. Through resources
and services, the Foundation helps link people throughout the coun-
try with giving opportunities in support of the mission and min-
istries of the LCMS. The Foundation’s primary offices are located
in St. Louis, Missouri, with counselors located throughout the
United States working with stewards to turn their vision for min-
istry support into reality through a life plan that includes appropri-
ate gifting instruments. During the most recent triennium, the Foun-
dation assisted donors in making 6,227 deferred gifts, totaling
$248,667,470 to the many ministries of our Synod including:
World Mission, Human Care, World Relief, Concordia University
System/For The Sake Of The Church, KFUO, and the Joint Semi-
nary Fund. During this same triennium, the Foundation distributed
cash gifts of over $150,822,000 to more than 520 ministries of the
LCMS including congregations, schools, seminaries, and many
other Synodwide ministries and related service organizations.

Mr. Mark Stuenkel led the Foundation for more than three
years, departing in July 2003. Beginning in July 2003, Mr. Wayne
Price, Vice-President of Finance, was named the Interim President,
pending the successful search for a new president. The Foundation
Board of Trustees is conducting the process to select a new presi-
dent who will be in place prior to the July 2004 synodical conven-
tion. The staff of the Foundation totals 95 personnel, with 16 of
those personnel deployed throughout the country serving in roles
as development officers and gift planning officers. These dedicated
deployed personnel are working directly with donors to link them
with the many giving opportunities in support of LCMS mission
and ministries. The St. Louis staff includes gift planning and de-
velopment professionals as well, but also includes many people
dedicated to the support of the Foundation in their roles as trust of-
ficers, investment and computer professionals, attorneys, accoun-
tants, and gift receipting and administration specialists. The com-
bined skills of the entire Foundation staff are dedicated to the many
wonderful stewards of the LCMS, who, through the sharing of their
God-given resources, are helping to spread the Gospel throughout
the world. The current organization of the Foundation encompasses
the following units:

* Donor / Customer Support

* Concordia University System / For The Sake Of The Church Sup-
port

¢ Finance

2004 Convention Workbook