LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1979, Page 190

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190 LATE REPORTS AND OVERTURES

occasional research memoranda, and other ways; pro-
vides a common channel for the council and church
bodies to express their concerns about public issues to
Congressional committees and regulatory agencies and
to inform governmental officials of Lutheran positions;
serves as an ombudsman for Lutherans in solving
church-state problems; and works with other church
offices in Washington as well as nonreligious voluntary
organizations in addressing legislative issues.

The 1977 LCMS convention voted that after two
years of not supporting the OGA the Synod should
renew participation with two provisions: “that the
LCMS be allowed to exercise the option as to whether or
not it shall participate with the other Lutheran bodies in
any given response to, or communication with, the U.S.
government; and that in this and other ways it make
provision for the preservation of its position in both
doctrine and practice.” The convention resolution was
implemented in November 1978.

Early this year the staff was enlarged from one to
two assistant directors. Margaret Keller O’Bryon, a
former legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives, became the assistant director for program,
replacing Allan C. Carlson, who was named a fellow
with the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy
Research. Lita Brusick Johnson, formerly an OGA staff
assistant, became the assistant director for public
issues.

An OGA-sponsored event expected to have both
immediate and far-reaching impact on the ministries of
the Lutheran churches in their relationships with the
Federal government was a three-part consultation held
early this year in Alexandria, Va., with most of the costs
paid by the Aid Association for Lutherans. The consul-
tation was prompted by repeated recent attempts by the
government to define the limits of “church” and “church
mission,” such as a regulation promulgated by the
Internal Revenue Service early in 1977 that narrowly
defined the term “integrated auxiliary of a church” so
as to exclude most church-related social service agen-
cies, colleges, elementary schools, and hospitals. Presi-
dent Emeritus Albert G. Huegli of Valparaiso Univer-
sity served as chairman for the consultation, which was
to produce documents giving guidelines for church-state
relations today. Joining with the four Lutheran Council
member churches in these discussions were representa-
tives of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod,
Church of the Lutheran Brethren, and Church of the
Lutheran Confession.

Recent Lutheran testimony in Congress has dealt
with a proposed revenue procedure of the Internal
Revenue Service dealing with alleged racial discrim-
ination in church and private schools and a bill that
would regulate the solicitation of charitable contri-
butions by churches and other voluntary agencies
through the mail.

The office has inaugurated a series of breakfast
meetings for Congressional staff members as part of its
“pastoral” work. At the first breakfast U.S. Secretary of
Agriculture Bob Bergland stressed how his faith in God
helps him make decisions that cannot be understood in

“black and white” terms. Two Lutheran congressmen,
Paul Simon of Illinois and Ron Marlenee of Montana,
are cosponsors of the series.

The annual weekend seminar for Lutherans in gov-
ernment service dealt with the themes “Is the American
Family Declining?” in 1977 and “Crime and Punish-
ment: A Search for Justice” in 1978. Speakers felt the
family was changing, not declining, and they urged
churches to be open to those changes. If the criminal-
justice system is ever to undergo needed change,
speakers at that seminar emphasized, increased under-
standing is necessary. As one of them said, “Until we
understand why prisons exist and what they’re about,
we can’t begin to deal with causes and talk about
alternatives and reform.”

More than 500 church leaders, including 50
Lutherans, spent three days in Washington in March
1978 and again in March "79 for an in-depth briefing
and discussion with members of Congress and govern-
ment officials. These events were sponsored by two
groups with which the Office for Governmental Affairs
works closely: WISC, the Washington Interreligious
Staff Council, and IMPACT, an ecumenical advocacy
network. A relationship has been established with a
new Interfaith Coalition on Energy, whose activities
include getting church members to make a “covenant to
conserve energy.” Signers promise to lower thermostats
in winter, turn off unnecessary lights, limit pleasure
driving, and use public transportation or walk.

Since June 1978 at least one Lutheran college or
seminary student has been in the office serving an
internship. One of them, Rebekah Rintala of Burling-
ton, Vt., a senior at Wittenberg University in Spring-
field, Ohio, reported that “the best part of the whole
experience was the warmth and support of the LC/USA
staff, who by the example of their tender, loving care
showed me how I can put my Christian faith into action.
The Holy Spirit is alive and well in the Washington
LCUSA office!”’

Office of Research, Planning, and Development

The Office of Research, Planning, and Development
maintains a library and a major collection of archival
materials related to cooperative Lutheranism; gathers
and compiles statistics; conducts research needed by
the council and/or its participating churches; and
plans, evaluates, and prioritizes the council’s 28 pro-
grams through providing staff services to the Commit-
tee for Planning and Development.

The executive director of the office since its formation
in 1973, Donald H. Larsen, became executive director of
the Division of Mission and Ministry in July 1977.
Responsibility for overseeing the inter-Lutheran plan-
ning consultations held twice a year in 21 regions of the
USA was then transferred from the ORPD to the DMM.
LCUSA General Secretary George F. Harkins has been
acting executive director of the office, while Larsen has
continued to provide help to the CPD.

Research and Information Center

An oral history project begun in 1976 has now grown