LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 18

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18

SYNOD REPORTS

those who regularly practice excellence in worship to share their
insights.
Also in January 2013, Worship sponsored a hymnwriters conference. Of the 71 applicants, 30 participants were chosen in a blind
evaluation to attend for the strengthening of their hymnwriting skills
and exploring ways to offer the fruit of their labors to the Church.
Director Weedon also provided consultation for a number of parishes experiencing worship difficulties, including onsite seminars. He
spoke at several conferences (including two pastoral conferences). He
has worked with other facets of ONM in coordinating the provision
of orders of worship for such things as National Lutheran Schools
Week, the National Youth Gathering, and the Unwrapped Campus
Ministry conference in January 2013 (for which he also served as
chaplain and a sectional leader). He provided catechetical training in
the Synod’s OIM missionary orientation, and provided worship materials and served as chaplain for the CTCR’s International Conference
on Confessional Leadership in Peachtree City, Georgia (October/
November 2012).
Worship is currently planning for the synodwide Institute on
Liturgy, Preaching, and Church Music to be held at Concordia
Nebraska, July 28–31, 2014.

Disaster Response staff were also on scene offering assistance and
pastoral care following the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut.
Internationally, LCMS Disaster Response has engaged in numerous disaster relief and recovery efforts worldwide, with the five major
emphases providing aid and assistance in the Philippines, Japan, Haiti,
Chile, and New Zealand. Other regions around the world also received
financial or technical assistance (Thailand, Cambodia, Kenya, DR
Congo, Liberia, India, Guatemala, Cuba, Panama, and Mexico).
In support of these efforts, LCMS Disaster Response provides
appropriate training in disaster preparedness and volunteering to congregations, districts, regional areas, and partner churches. Backed by
the donors of the LCMS, over $20 million in aid and assistance were
provided to those in need during this triennium.
Domestic Grants

Domestic grants are awarded to congregations, districts, Synod
agencies, and recognized service organizations 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. During the last triennium, ONM:
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Deaconess Ministry

ONM Mercy Operations encourages and supports deaconess ministry—women who are called and commissioned by the church to
provide diaconal care. Deaconesses serve through works of mercy,
spiritual care, and teaching the faith while focusing on Word and
Sacrament. Echoing “Baptized into Christ,” deaconesses serve as a
channel for love and compassion within the Synod and its partner
churches.
The Director, Deaconess Ministry engages and informs the
Synod’s districts, congregations, and partner church bodies of the
Synod’s work of mercy, thus increasing the awareness of diaconal
needs and deaconess ministry of LCMS Mercy programs. In addition,
the position serves as a catalyst in identifying, directing, and supporting educational and diaconal needs both domestic and worldwide.
The ministry promotes deaconesses and deaconess ministry through
different forms of media and speaking engagements. Over the past
decade and a half, Mercy Operations has awarded $300,000 in grants
to enhance deaconess programs supporting scholarships and internships. Additional scholarships have been provided for deaconesses
and students to take part in theological conferences.
The Synod is particularly blessed with a strong and growing corps
of women who have been theologically trained and who, like the
women of old, continue to work hard, labor in the Lord’s harvest
fields, and serve alongside the office of pastor, helping and supporting the office by using their gifts to bless and serve others.
Disaster Response

LCMS Disaster Response is focused on sharing moments of mercy
that change lives for an eternity through ministry done in close proximity to Word and Sacrament. Congregation-based disaster response
and relief involves working in a collaborative, cooperative, and coordinated manner with LCMS districts, congregations, worldwide
partner churches, and other faith-based groups as well as governmental and nongovernmental agencies to meet the relief and recovery
needs of local communities affected by disasters and tragedy.
Over the past triennium, LCMS Disaster Response actively
engaged nationally with responses to the massive flooding and/or
tornados in South Dakota, North Dakota, Alabama, Mississippi,
Arkansas, Indiana, and Missouri, as well as an extensive ongoing response to the widespread destruction caused by Superstorm
Sandy along the entire Eastern Seaboard of the United States. LCMS
2013 Convention Workbook

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Awarded 107 domestic grants totaling $788,067 to benefit projects in
22 districts throughout the U.S. These grants assisted food pantries,
after-school programs, immigrant assistance programs, community
development, health and wellness programs, counseling, chaplaincy,
elder care programs, and transitional care, among others.
Awarded a total of 105 domestic disaster grants totaling over $2.7 million for work in 19 districts. The majority of these grants aided US
congregations involved with Haiti earthquake relief projects, assisted
in recovery work related to the floods in Minot, North Dakota, and
provided emergency assistance and initial recovery support to districts
and congregations affected by Superstorm Sandy. Disaster grants also
helped those affected by tornadoes (Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa,
Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio), Hurricanes Irene and Isaac (Southern
states and Eastern Seaboard states), wildfires in Texas, and other local
disasters.
Awarded Soldiers of the Cross grants totaling $375,000 to 27 districts, 11 congregations, and the two seminaries, providing short-term
assistance to church workers experiencing a financial crisis due to
unexpected situations.
Awarded Veterans of the Cross grants through our partnership with
Concordia Plan Services of over $1,350,000 to support retired church
workers and their spouses in financial need.
Provided core budget support to inter-Lutheran partners Lutheran
Services in America ($545,875) and Lutheran Immigration and
Refugee Service ($525,625). In addition, four grants were awarded to
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service totaling $80,390 to assist
Haiti refugees following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and to develop
resources for LCMS congregations interested in providing assistance
in the areas of detention visitation, human trafficking, and other immigration issues. The LCMS also provided $10,000 as a sponsor of the
Lutheran Services in America 2011 Annual Conference.

Specialized Pastoral Ministry

Specialized Pastoral Ministry (SPM) recruits rostered ministers of
religion for ministry in institutional chaplaincy, emergency services
chaplaincy, pastoral counseling, and clinical education, and facilitates the process of ecclesiastical endorsement for these ministries.
Over 500 chaplains, pastoral counselors, and clinical educators serve
as “domestic missionaries,” working in religious pluralistic settings.
They touch the lives of many people at their most stressful and painful
moments in life. With hearts of compassion and words of the Gospel,
chaplains and pastoral counselors serve in hospitals, nursing homes,
retirement communities, parishes, counseling agencies, disaster sites,
law enforcement agencies, fire and rescue agencies, hospice centers,
and jails and prisons. Having received specialized clinical training
beyond the master’s degree level, chaplains and pastoral counselors