From an eyewitness:
Schroeder also jokingly noted that our statistical reports remain fairly constant over the years, except for the newborn baptisms. "Men, I have a proposal on how to improve those numbers..." Rousing laughter.
The Glory Has Departed
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
SP Schroeder Suggests a Way To Increase Infant Baptisms
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8 comments:
Great, drive up the cost of WELS VEBA by having more babies. Please wait until I'm out of WELS VEBA under COBRA. Then have all the babies you want. Someone's going to have to go to MLC. You've driven off all the other students.
A larger population in a group health plan will help control costs. With the aging Boomers in VEBA, costs could skyrocket. Most health claims come from women of child-bearing age and from men past the age of 60. Take into account the lifestyle choices of WELS clergy. Their livers are harder than their hearts. I predict a lot of claims from the elderly pastors. Besides, babies are a blessing from God, "the best wool of the sheep, the blessed fruit of marriage," as Luther said..
Most WELSians are born into the WELS...relatively few are converts...and most converts are usually brought in via marriage.
The declining birth rates among the traditional WELS population SHOULD be of great concern to the WELS....
At the church I attend we have had a number of adult confirmations..I think we have had about 3 or 4 in the past 5 years. However, ALL of those people are now no longer attending WELS churches.
I think a number of non-theological issues within the WELS accounts for at least some of this. I have not attended every WELS church, but many tend to be fairly cold (no warm greeting to a stranger FROM a WELS church, let alone a NON-WELsian)...
Yes, there is also the issue of WELS being, by FAR, a mainly white group of members. The fastest growing segment of the population is non-white (Hispanic), which, especially for many older members, is somewhat threatening.
Certain theological issues (which I do NOT disagree with, but I understand how an outsider would be turned off by them) such as close communion and no-women-voting also have an effect.
In other words, a decline in birth rate is especially troubling for a synod like the WELS
Grumps
This is what you get when the church is conditioned by the culture. Children truly are a blessing, even those with special needs. Today's culture looks at them as a hardship, and a roadblock to a woman's career. When families were larger, we never got all of this evangelism nonsense. Christian parents who raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord was the best evangelism program around. Forty years ago, it was not unusual to see the class of confirmands be at least 20 students. Unchurched families were very rare.
The left and communists were the ones pushing for female equality with men, and capitalists were glad to oblige by hiring women and paying them at levels where they didn't want to take off time to have kids. It kept their health plans low since women had fewer kids when they were working. Do the math: one male worker with a wife and four or five kids, vs. both a husband and wife working with two kids max.
Sorry, gentlemen, I do come battered head in hands. I'd been beating by head over the re-election of Doug Englebrecht.
Yes, I realize what a blessing children are. After all, I did teach fro 24 years. Oh,well,open mouth insert blog.
Scott
Ski is doing his best with sex education to improve production in the membership.
Whispering the Confessions in 'other' circumstances. Now I'd like to think that I'm grounded in the Lutheran Confessions. Is there a such thing as taking the confessions just a little too far? I have a copy of Luther's Works, and I don't recall.....
In Christ,
from WELs church lady
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