Vice President’s Report to Synod Assembly
May 18, 2007

Thank you, it has been an honor to serve as Vice President of the Synod for the past year.  It has also been a challenging year:  When we began Bishop Lohrmann was still on Sabbatical, and then came the entirely unexpected death of Pam Jacobs of the synod staff.  Ray Gottschling left for his Sabbatical and other staffing changes occurred as well.  At times frustrating and humbling, it has nonetheless been a rewarding year.

Thank you for the opportunity to work with some of the finest people it has ever been my privilege to serve with -- and thanks to them for their vision, integrity and commitment to be about our Father’s business.  This is a long list of people, so I will only specifically mention a few:  Bishop Lohrmann, without a doubt one of the finest minds and most dedicated Bishops in the ELCA; Assistant to the Bishop Gottschling who led the Synod at the beginning of my term and who also competently led the restructuring committee; the other three very dedicated Assistants to the Bishop and the hard working Synod Staff, members of Synod Council, committee chairpersons, and committee members.  My deepest gratitude to each and all of them.

What Synod Council does is inextricably combined with what the Bishop does, so as to not repeat everything in his report; I would like to lift just a few items:

I have attended many meetings in the past year:  In addition to the five regularly scheduled Synod Council meetings, I attended a Vice Presidents’ meeting at Churchwide offices, several Region 6 meetings including a Churchwide consultation, and a number of committee meetings.  It has been an eye-opening experience to see the level of commitment, wisdom and insight that goes into much of what we do as a church – and it is very exciting to see at least a part of the “big picture.”

Of course, we don’t always get it right, which is why we are thankful for grace, forgiveness and the fact that we are indeed, like it or not, “Marked with the Cross of Christ Forever.” 

However, I believe that we have done a reasonable job this year in meeting the constitutional mandate that Synod Council is to, “. . . be the board of directors of this synod . . . .” and, among other responsibilities, meeting the requirement that Synod Council is to, “Exercise financial responsibilities . . . Recommend program goals and budgets . . . [and] Carry out the resolutions of the Synod Assembly.”

A few specific accomplishments:  We have made the effort to increase Synod support and met with some success with the “Fourteen for Christ” effort raising nearly $60,000.  While in the opinion of Synod Council that was not enough to continue funding a fourth Assistant to the Bishop, we are grateful for this response which will be used to return funding to other expressions of our church that have been cut in recent years.  We also commend all of you who supported this goal and especially the members of the “Funding the Mission” taskforce for this accomplishment and their continuing initiatives.

Another way we feel that we can increase support for the Synod is to bring the Synod to the local congregation.  Thus an emphasis that was new this year was to have at least two of the five regularly scheduled meetings of the Synod Council at a location other than the Synod offices.  This year we met at Salem in Toledo on January 13 and at New Creation in Ottawa on April 21.  At each of these meetings congregational members were invited to join us for opening devotions and to attend the business meeting as well.

Giving up a Saturday at least five times a year to do “the business of the church” is a commitment.  And while those of us on Synod Council would not have placed our names on the ballot if we were unwilling to serve, another initiative this year has been to celebrate the Eucharist during our opening devotions at Synod Council meetings.  It has been well received by council members and seems to serve the dual purpose of giving context to the business we are to be about, and to provide spiritual nourishment for the tasks we are to undertake, as well as in our daily lives.  We plan to continue this practice in the coming years.

One of the most significant reports we received and voted to forward to Synod Assembly is the Ethnic Mission Strategy.  A well-crafted collaborative document, I hope you will find it as both literate and realistic, as synod council did.  Again, we wish to commend the Ethnic Mission Strategy Task Force for their outstanding effort.

Of the most immediate tasks undertaken this year, the taskforce for Restructuring for the Sake of Mission had about it a sense of urgency that could have led to only superficial recommendations.  However, as a credit to the members of the task force as led by Ray Gottschling, the depth of research and analysis that went into their recommendations is a real credit to this group.  As a result, they devised a relevant and meaningful synodical framework replete with many specifics that is enabling the Bishop and synod staff to create a workable, and in some cases, even exciting new structure that will continue to evolve over time.

Maintaining and strengthening the bonds between the synod and our universities, seminaries, camps and other expressions is another goal we set early in the year.  In order to begin this process, we have committed to have representatives speak at Synod Council meetings on a regular basis.  In February, Robert White spoke on behalf of Wittenberg as well as our other Lutheran universities, reporting on their vision for the future and expressing their desire for our mutual supports to continue and be enhanced.

Finally, Synod Council, through the Board for Church in Society and Hunger Task Force, took steps to implement the 2006 Synod Assembly resolution with regard to Bread for the World.

I promised only a few accomplishments would be mentioned, but be aware that your Synod Council routinely acts on many items between each meeting of this assembly.

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The assembly always marks an end as well as a beginning:  I would like to recognize several of our members who have terms ending this year:

Of course, Marilyn Mohr (pictured right), beloved Secretary of Synod Council, has decided that the time has come when she does not want to be quite so tied down.  Our sincere thanks for all her wisdom and knowledge -- you will be missed Marilyn, but we celebrate your new married life!

Reverend Mary Lou Baumgartner has served two terms on Synod Council, and with her “perfect pitch” both musically and compassionately, our singing will certainly suffer, and our hearts – well, Mary Lou’s compassion will be carried on in all of us who have grown to know and respect her example of what the “Great Commission” is really all about.          

Reverend Mark Brodbeck has also served two terms on Synod Council.  A sharp wit combined with a quick grasp of complex issues has made Mark an entertaining and invaluable member of Synod Council.  And for those of you who know about the traditional Celina – St. Marys rivalry (I’m from Celina and Mark is originally from St. Marys), we even roomed together at Churchwide in Orlando for a week and got along just fine.

Richard Straub has likewise served two terms on Synod Council.  Richard probably has attended most, if not every Synod Council meeting during the years he has served and can be counted on to always participate with energy, dedication and conviction.  Richard is very involved at every level of the church including his commitment to Lutheran Men in Mission.  Richard is truly a man on a mission – a mission to serve the Lord.

Amy Sawyer has served as LYO representative and Reverend James Lehman and  Marjorie Wagner, who have both faithfully served for one term, are seeking reelection.

Again, we thank all the members of Synod Council for their wisdom and guidance in serving the Synod and in being about our Father’s business.

We look forward to greeting new members in September and continuing to carry on the work of this assembly, and the whole church of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thank you.

Submitted by Craig Klopfleisch