Conference of WELS District Presidents - The First Draft of the Report

The Conference of Presidents (COP) met in January for its regular winter meeting. Some of the highlights of the meeting include:

• The COP received the report that the synod’s capital debt was completely retired 18 months ahead of schedule. The COP asked that a special thanksgiving prayer be written and sent to pastors for use in worship services in February. Or else.
• WELS Communications Services shared plans for congregations to sponsor showings of the new Luther movie in local theaters. Several congregations will participate in a pilot program, with information about how to participate in this effort in this newsletter. Not that we teach or even study Luther, but it is a marketing opportunity.
• The COP discussed the process for appeals of disciplinary action for called workers and lay members. The COP wants to be sure that the process is working as intended and will hold further discussions on the matter in April. Church and Changers get free passes, of course.
• The COP was informed of the progress made in discussions regarding the Grenada mission’s application for membership in the South Atlantic District. The mission had been an independent mission in fellowship with WELS.
• The COP affirmed its support for the calling of one director to serve the Commission on Youth and Family and the Commission on Adult Discipleship. The position is currently included in the draft ministry financial plan being considered by the Synodical Council.
• The COP appointed Professor Craig Hirschman to the Commission on Whoopee Worship.
• The COP expressed its support for the joint statement on fellowship prepared by a committee of representatives from WELS, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (Little Sect on the Prairie), and the Church of the Lutheran Confession (SIC). The statement will be presented for adoption to the synod convention by the Commission on Inter-Church Relations. The ELS has already approved the statement, and the CLC is discussing it.
• The COP plans to create video presentations encouraging Congregation Mission Offerings. Congregations in each district will be shown a video introduced by their own district president.
• The COP expressed appreciation for the work done by WELS parasynodical Jeske organizations. The COP will be exploring ways to foster even closer communication, cooperation, and obedience to them.
• The COP approved the concept of adding a year of internship to the Martin Luther College Urban Ministry program, plus a PhD program in diaper changing at the Early Education Center.
• The Compensation Review Committee shared the results of its effort to review the synod’s compensation plan. The COP encouraged the Compensation Review Committee to submit its recommendations to the Synodical Council and to the convention this summer.
• The COP is working with Communication Services to improve the way that delegates to the synod convention are prepared for the work they will do at the convention. GA is being considered as the best approach.
• The COP reviewed the pastoral vacancies in the synod, noting that there are currently 86 vacancies in congregations, 4 vacancies in foreign missions, and 3 vacancies in professorships, and 12 vacancies in the Office of District President.
• The COP continues to discuss doctrinal matters relating to fellowship, congregational governance, doctrinal supervision, and communion practices. We are praying for more Fuller graduates, more open communion, and more women ministers.

As is the case at every meeting, the COP held wide-ranging discussions on the call process, questions regarding special legal situations, and ways to foster inconsistency, duplicity, and sanctimony in matters of doctrine and malpractice.

Serving in Christ,
President Mark Schroeder

And - the real president of WELS - Mark Jeske,
earning $140,000 a year on the Thrivent Board.

Lutheran Pastor Enjoys These Books

From a Lutheran Pastor:

Love your Greek lessons, especially the approach.  If you're willing to take in a Lutheran pastor who has a lot of exposure to language but has never made the Greek Bible his own, I would like to take your class.  How would I join the live Thursday class?  Or I will keep following the recorded lessons. [GJ - See below. We practice Open Greek Lessons.]

I have enjoyed lurking on your sites for years and purchased several of your books.  My favorite is still Thy Strong Word.  Currently, I have my copy lent to a congregational member who is loving it too.  

My son's favorite is Catholic, Protestant, Lutheran.  

Stay faithful & God bless you.

***

GJ - Anyone can follow the live Ustream broadcast on Thursdays. 7 PM Thursdays.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

The relevant posts and saved videos are found on the Facebook page -

Bethany Lutheran Greek New Testament Lessons.

We make books available at little to no cost for those who appreciate them.

Amazon books by Pastor Gregory L. Jackson, PhD

Every time someone clicks on that link, an angel gets his wings.

 If you love angels, click on the link above - or this one.

More Stumps and Leaves - They Make Sense If You Read More about Them

 By Roger Culos - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23164794. Sweetgum tree spikey seeds.

My neighbor across the street was trimming his Sweet Gum tree. I will try to get a photo later when I pose my stump collection. Some praise this tree, and cities once encouraged their innocent residents to plant it for shade.

No other tree is so messy, producing countless spiky seeds that cover the yard and the streets, especially here where so many grow.

 The print copies of Creation Gardening are starting to arrive,
and they are even more beautiful than imagined.
Thank you - Norma Boeckler, Janie Sullivan, and
Virginia Roberts.

I began talking to the crew while Sassy worked the group for food. She eventually got two plates of meat. We talked about two of my trees that needed more pruning but were not safe for amateurs to trim. Too tall.

I asked for a family discount.

"I am his brother-in-law."

I said, "We are neighbors, like family." I patted my neighbor on the back.

They gave me a figure.

"I don't have that kind of money. I'm not a painter, like him." They laughed.

We settled on a bargain family discount, and they offered to come in a week. That changed to the next day, at 10 am. They arrived at 8 am.

They quickly reduced the maple tree to a more slender shape than ever before. In the back, they cut off a tall section of a tree that shaded the entire fence along the Wright side of the yard. The crew of three quickly stacked all the trashy parts along the curb for pick-up and cut up the trunk pieces into stumps, some quite handsome and tall.

A distant neighbor decided to bag all his leaves in two categories. Some were large bags of oak leaves. Others were filled with pine needle (no cones). They gave me two carloads with several bags still left behind. Our helper thinks we have put thousands of pounds of organic material on the yard. Counting the stumps, that is reasonable.

Our helper came over and lined up the smaller trunk pieces for more rustic fencing around the gardens.

You may be wondering, "How did those gigantic maple trunk pieces come crashing down without hurting the Crepe Myrtle plants that were just dug in?" I told them about the row of new plants on the West side of the rose garden. Although one enormous section came crashing down there, the entire row was not only spared, but looking like nothing happened. Some roses may be messed up, but they looked good too. And I could hardly expect a pruning party to do no harm below, given my own record of falling over and into the roses.

Our helper and I also raked more broken up and half-decayed maple leaves onto the big Crepe Myrtle that I dote on.

The point of leaving so many tree pieces on the ground is basic to Creation Gardening. Feeding the soil is really adding organics for the wee little creatures that break down leaves, grass, and wood into foods that other creatures use and plant roots absorb.

As Jeff Lowenfels has shown in his brilliant books. the relationships between root fungus, bacteria, protozoa, earthworms, moles, all soil creatures, and plant roots is complex and multi-layered.

Saying the plants need nitrogen is almost as useful as saying, "Turn the computer switch to on." Once the gardener realizes that microscopic fungi protect and feed plants, sending them water and nitrogen and organic compounds, the vale of leaves and dead tree parts will rise in value.

But wait - there's more. A tree stump is a resting place for squirrels and birds, which enjoy a lookout. The interface between the stump and soil is a dark, damp rotting zone, promoting and protecting various delicious creatures. Birds and toads know this, so they like stumps for food. Once the food party begins, more creatures arrive. They may be the beetles that hunt at night for pests.

Over time, as Jeff Lowenfels has shown, the organic compounds are locked up and swapped among all the creatures in the soil. A dead earthworm is a tragedy, according to the ancient Egyptians, but it is also food for ants, who carry it away in a solemn procession, or fertilizer for a lucky plant.

Knee-deep in leaves in the early spring means being knee-deep in flowers later.

Teaming with Microbes is where smart gardeners start to understand the  symphony of complexities and dependencies
in the garden.