LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 94

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94 SYNOD REPORTS

Past Triennium Major Accomplishments:

¢ Improved internal capacity to monitor and grant RSO status, in-
cluding creating a database with detailed information about each
RSO.

¢ Conducted 28 RSO reviews.

¢ Granted RSO status to four new organizations: Los Angeles Ne-
hemiah Project, Lutheran Ministries Media, Voice of Care, and
Friends of Mercy.

¢ Director Barb Below served as the chairperson of the LCMS RSO
Process Committee, established by the LCMS Board of Directors
to develop and maintain a process for accurate reporting and to
promote uniformity of granting and renewing LCMS RSO status.

Next Triennium Major Goals:

* Continue to assist the LCMS RSO Process Committee to identify
and implement clear criteria to organizations seeking or main-
taining LCMS RSO status.

¢ Share published information throughout the Synod and with all
inter-Lutheran partner organizations about criteria, expectations,
and processes to apply for and to renew RSO status.

¢ Support the development of an LCMS Web site tool to search for
RSO service providers by name, location, or service type. This
new tool will allow the public to immediately access detailed
RSO information by community, enhancing the church’s ability
to reach out and help people in need.

¢ Support efforts to build and sustain identifiably Lutheran RSOs
that respect the doctrine and practice of the LCMS, which goes
hand in hand with vision of Social Ministry Organizations for all
LCMS RSOs to boldly profess the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Grant Administration

The grant program offered by LCMS Word Relief and Human
Care is interwoven through all the ministry’s individual programs.
Grants are awarded to congregations, districts, Recognized Service
Organizations, other agencies, mission fields, and national churches
to develop or expand projects that reach out in communities and
address unmet human needs while sharing the Gospel message and
proclaiming Jesus Christ as the world’s Savior.

Past Triennium Major Accomplishments:

¢ Awarded 183 international grants totaling more than $5 million
for projects in partnership with LCMS World Mission and na-
tional church partners in 39 countries. These grants helped a va-
riety of projects, including agricultural training; livestock
distribution and training; literacy; after-school care; orphan care;
life-skills training; resettlement assistance; vocational skills train-
ing; medical care; HIV/AIDS care, counseling, and water needs.

¢ International grants included first-time grants to the country of
Madagascar for HIV/AIDS education training.

¢ Awarded 207 domestic grants totaling $3.26 million to benefit
projects in 32 districts throughout the United States. These grants
assisted food pantries; after-school programs; immigrant assis-
tance programs; Community development; health programs; coun-
seling; elder care programs; and transilional care, among others.

« Awarded 80 international disaster grants in 29 countries totaling
more than $3 million. The majority of these disaster grants helped
projects in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand for relief and
recovery work after the December 2004 tsunami. Additional
grants assisted survivors of hurricanes (Haiti, Guatemala, Cay-
man Islands, Jamaica, and Vietnam); earthquakes (Jamaica,
China, Pakistan, and Indonesia); and other less-publicized emer-
gencies.

« Awarded a total of 193 domestic disaster grants totaling $13.92
million for work in 23 districts. The majority of these grants as-
sisted with recovery from unprecedented hurricane damage
(Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas). Disaster
grants also helped those impacted by tornadoes (Illinois, Kansas,
Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming); floods (Mary-

2007 Convention Workbook

land, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Texas); an earthquake in
Hawaii, and other local disasters.

LCMS Health Ministries

LCMS Health Ministries promotes the vision of stewardship of
the gift of life and the journey toward the individual Christian’s
wholeness in the context of the community of believers and en-
courages the whole church to embrace this vision and reach out in
mercy with “One Message: Christ.”

Past Triennium Accomplishments:

¢ Provided support and resources for the growing Congregational
Health Ministries/Parish Nursing Ministry, encouraging congre-
gations to care for each other and reach out to the larger commu-
nity with “One Message: Christ ... His Love Is Here for You.”
This ministry includes more than 900 participants listed in the
current directory; 34 district representatives; and a national coor-
dinator.

¢ At the request of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, sent
a medical team to assess medical facilities owned by that partner
church. Subsequently, the first volunteer Mercy Medical Team
was deployed in October 2006 to provide care to 800 patients in
poorest Kenya. This is a model to be used for future volunteer
medical opportunities.

¢ In response to a resolution of Synod, assembled the Disability
Ministry Task Force to assist the LCMS in reaching out to people
with disabilities with “One Message: Christ.” The task force de-
veloped resources, including a congregational assessment tool,
promotional DVD and Web site.

¢ Continued to support health and wellness initiatives for church
workers in congregations and districts and for LCMS Interna-
tional Center employees.

Next Triennium Goals:

¢ Intentionally advocate for the rights and inclusion of the disabled,
the chronic mentally ill, and the underserved in LCMS congrega-
tions and their communities.

¢ Develop medical volunteer opportunities to reach out in mercy
through districts, partner churches, and missionaries to people in
need, including serving those whose lives have been touched by
the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

* Continue to support health ministry, especially parish nursing, at
the congregational, district, national, and international levels and
through expanded outreach to communities.

¢ Develop resources to assist congregations in the supportive and
healthy care of church workers.

Life Ministries

Life Ministries provides outreach, education, and resources for
the pro-life message on behalf of the LCMS. Life Ministries em-
phasizes “One Message: Christ” by promoting care for the world’s
most marginalized and vulnerable, supplying leadership for the

~ Synod’s called workers and laity, the public, and the international

church through overseas partners.

Past Triennium Accomplishments:

* Continued founding role and support for two pregnancy care cen-
ters in Russia and the educational sponsorship of Siberia’s first
Russian deaconess who serves as program director for the
Novosibirsk women’s center.

¢ Partnered with national pro-life organizations and RSOs (includ-
ing Lutherans For Life) to provide pro-life leadership in the pub-
lic square. (These partnerships led to programs that emphasize
adoption and positive life choices.)

* Developed grace-filled and theologically sound resources for ed-
ucation about life issues. (New resources include A Small Cate-
chism on Human Life and online newsletter, Notes for Life.)