Ben Wink has left a new comment on your post "Why Does WELS Crave Worship ConferencesAt ELCA Col...":
Staffing is not an issue. Why not have a conference like this act as early field experience hour credits for students? Four days and you've earned hours. If you can find volunteers for other synodical events, you can find plenty of music focused students or others who would be able to help out at MLC so the idea of a lack of manpower doesn't hold water.
If you have three years to plan, you have three years to get the word out and plan for staffing. So some foresight can solve staffing problems and since they would be working for EFE hours, they would be working for free or for a small amount because they are actually working for the credit. Better yet, make it a mandatory part of the program!
If you have the cafeteria open enough, you can accommodate everybody and schedule accordingly. Just have it done like it is during the school year because the cafeteria manages to serve everyone in the course of a night without having standing room only. (Except for steak night of course.)
If it is nice enough outside have picnic tables set up and people can be seated. Have seating extend into the gymnasium if that isn't enough. Why not go into town and hit up the local restaurants that would appreciate the summer business on a random Wednesday in July.
Adapt, adopt, improve and don't just throw your arms up and say, "Oh, there's just no way that would work let's go somewhere else." That way of thinking is just as asinine as having your synod's conference within spitting distance of your own synod's campus. That way of thinking also led to an $8 million chapel, but I digress.
Frankly having it at Gustavus you could treat it as a Travel Canvass Witness because those people haven't heard the Word in a loooong time.
Also I guess why have the conference in Minnesota at all? Why not have it at WLC in Milwaukee? They have facilities as well. And at least the WLC campus is kinda sorta somewhat affiliated with WELS. Their dorms are even air conditioned.
Finally the letter I received yesterday from WELS President Schroeder said that the reasons that the conference was not held at MLC were that the chapel was too small and that there was no air conditioning.
Can't get more official than that I suppose.
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GJ - I see the Ichabod effect at work again. The SP has to defend this anti-confessional and wasteful event in writing. These ELCA-based events have been going on for a long time.
When I mentioned this while in the CLC, about 18 years ago, that Prof Tiefel was having a pan-denominational worship event at Carthage College (ELCA), Tiefel's cousin in the CLC went Medieval on me. First he accused me of making it all up. I pointed out to the CLC guillotine committee that I had the poster on my desk as I wrote it up. That was a temporary setback for them, but they soldiered on.
When I asked Otten to publish some information about it, he spiked the story. I kept after him until it was finally included as a minor note in the back of the paper (as I recall). I was attacked by the CLC for publishing in Christian News, because that was "fellowship." But they could, because they wrote letters while I wrote articles. Yes, someone can flatline and still serve as a pastor. There is hope for many.
Eventually, Otten refused to publish anything by me or anything positive about my writing. I was honored to have several apostate sects wanting me silenced at once, and the very independent pastor in New Haven was only too happy to oblige them.
Looking back over 18 years, WELS has had plenty of time to work out details for a less obnoxious worship venue, one that does not have to be boring or stilted, as SP Schroeder was eager to say.
Every event that gives ELCA credibility is a disgrace to all Christians.
A sect shameless enough to post a gay college video (WELS - Party in the MLC) is also shameless enough to make excuses for showing solidarity with ELCA while denouncing ELCA.
