LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 315

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9, SOCIAL MINISTRY

Report of Board of Social Ministry
and World Relief
PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE —IN JESUS’ NAME

People live in a world where tensions, problems, disease,
poverty, and heartaches exist. A world which God did not
intend to be such. People’s sinfulness injected itself, bring-
ing sorrow, trouble, and death. While people caused pain,
people have the capacity to reduce and eliminate pain. This
is God’s way of bringing healing and help. He uses people
to heal and help people. People are the channels and tools
through which God ministers to other people. Annie John-
son Flint said:

Christ has no hands but our hands
to do His work today,

He has no feet but our feet
to lead men in His way.

He has no tongue but our tongue
to tell them that He died,

He has no help but our help
to lead them to His side.

This is the role that Social Ministry and World Relief
has sought to fulfill during the past biennium. With an ap-
pointed Board of eight members, a full-time staff of four
professional workers, assisted by five clerical workers, and
a number of part-time and voluntary persons, this depart-
ment of our church has listened to the pains of people,
planned programs to meet the needs of people, and at-
tempted to sensitize our church to act in a healing and
helping way in the name of Jesus. In all our activities we
see ourselves as people — redeemed by Jesus Christ — help-
ing people who also have been redeemed, but many of whom
are victims of life's injustices, cares, and burdens — and
doing it all in the name of Jesus.

I. “In Jesus’ Name”
Our Motivation

There are many in our world who are endeavoring to
resolve people’s problems for many reasons. Some attempt
to help others because they say “it is the right thing to do.”
Acting out of a humanitarian spirit they attempt to assist
many of the downtrodden. Some become involved in helping
because they see it as “good business.” They reason if evils
can be dispelled, production will be increased, profits will
be greater, taxes might be less, and prosperity will be
broadly found. Some help because it makes them feel better.
They find satisfaction in doing for somebody who is less
fortunate than themselves.

Recognizing that civic righteousness exists in our world
and moves some to help people in need, we in the church
have a different motivation. Our help is given in Jesus’
name because it is the response of our faith to the love
given by Jesus. “Love one another, even as I have loved
you” is the Christian motivation for our service to people.
It is the inspiration of love that leads to our multifaceted
Social Ministry activities. Isaiah described how our love
must show itself when he said, “I want you to stop op-
pressing those who work for you and treat them fairly and
give them what they earn. I want you to share your food
with the hungry and bring right into your own homes, those
who are helpless, poor, and destitute. Clothe those who are
cold and don’t hide from relatives who need your help... .
Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble!” (Is. 58:6-7, 10.
Living Bible)

The Quality of our Helping

Service rendered in the “name of Jesus’ must seek to
approach the excellence of help provided by our Lord. His
standard of helping included compassion, feeling for people,
understanding, and acceptance. No one could accuse Him
of mediocrity or an inferior-type assistance. His standard
was perfection. While the best of our human endeavors are
tainted by sin, our Social Ministry programs seek to achieve
the standards of excellence and superior quality that should
be distinctive of all Christian work. The health and welfare
agencies of our church strive to go beyond the requirements

of state and national standard-setting groups. They seek
not merely to meet the criteria for good and effective help
to people, but they endeavor to go beyond the demands
because they serve in Jesus’ name. This must be true of
all of our Social Ministry and World Relief endeavors at
all levels.

This quality includes a totality of love and service geared
toward helping to make people whole in Jesus’ name. There
can be no separating Word and deed because we recognize
the wholeness of persons. Helping in Jesus’ name can not
be restricted to bringing aid to their bodily needs or as-
surance of God’s grace for their spiritual needs only. While
Christians give attention specifically to the hurting part of
people, the help is given within the framework of the total
person and his need. Efforts are made to assist the troubled
person to achieve his highest potential as a reconciled child
of God, so that he may be able to live with himself and
with his fellowmen.

Il. The Helping People
A. National People

Our Synod _ has established a national board of Social
Ministry and World Relief, consisting of four pastors and
five laymen, of whom three members come from minority
groups and two are women. The Board, having the respon-
sibility for administrative, programmatic, and evaluative
concerns in regard to Social Ministry and World Relief, met
quarterly during the biennium. The Board supervised and
heard reports from staff persons whose responsibilities are
spelled out in their position descriptions.

Overall responsibility rests with the Executive Secretary,
the Rev. Leslie F. Weber. D.D. He is assisted by Mr. Alfred
Y. Armstead, MSW-ASCW, Secretary for Agencies and In-
stitutions, the Rev. Eugene C. Gunther, Secretary for District
and Parish Social Ministry, and the Rev, Melvin C. Witt,
Secretary for World Relief. The Rev. Martin C. Poch, D.D.,
filled the World Relief post from 1970 to September 1972.
A clerical staff of five persons performs the necessary SeC~
retarial duties. The Rev. Albert Pero, a graduate student of
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, served as Consultant in our
Combat Racism efforts, and the Rev. Paul Malte of Walnut
Creek, Calif., served as Promotional Assistant for our World
Relief program. Seminarian Timothy Weber of Portland,
Oreg., assisted with public relations on a work-study as-
signment.

Several persons have assisted our staff and Board by
serving as members of the following Advisory Committees:

World Relief Committee: Robert J. Riedel, Chairman,
Robert H. Mugge, Ray Dankenbring, Secretary, Julian G
Hoffmann.

Chaplaincy Services Committee: James M. Ehlers, Chair-
man, Harry Timm, Secretary, Edward C. May, John Costello,
Vern Albrecht, Kenneth J. Siess.

Committee on Housing Concerns: Mrs. Robert T. Gooch,
Chairman, Franz Vidor, Secretary, Walter Christopher, How-
ard Woods, William Mitchell, Ruben E. Spannaus.

Committee to Combat Racism: Dallas A. Martin, Karl
Lutze, Sterling Belcher, Mrs. Ardis Handsbury, Gene Thie-
mann, Howard Woods, Mrs. Viola Coleman, Julian G. Hoff-
mann.

Committee on District and Parish Concerns: Harold Meis-
ter, Chairman, Jerald Dommer, Secretary, Leo E. Wehr-
spann, Edgar C. Rakow, Mrs. Alfred Sump, Dallas A. Martin.

Committee on Alcohol and Drug Dependency: Elmer W.
Callies, Secretary, Edward F. Eggert, Charles Knippel, Mrs.
Phyllis’ Wallace, William Freeby, Richard C. Wolter, Max
Metcalf.

B. District People

All Districts but one have a board or committee whose
task is to provide a Social Ministry emphasis in their re-
spective District. These boards, which usually have the ser-
vices of a member of the District staff, were encouraged to
implement the directives of the Milwaukee convention. Pas-
tor Eugene C. Gunther, our Secretary for District and Parish
Social Ministry Services, has met with all District commit-