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DISTRICT NEWS

The First Meeting of the Joint Council 

The first meeting of the Augsburg Lutheran District (ALD) Joint Council was convened at Holy Nativity Lutheran Church, in New Hope, Minnesota on October 25, 2001. The Joint Council voted to adopt the design recommended by the Communications Committee as the official logo of the Augsburg Lutheran District, approve the Post-Convention Report and Convention Minutes, and approve the Treasurer's Report. As of October 25, 2001, the ALD had $2,812.61 cash on hand . 

The Joint Council voted to allow individuals to be affiliated with the Augsburg Lutheran District in a manner similar to the way pastors and church workers publicly subscribe in writing. They also voted to buy the software necessary to enable churches, chapters, pastors, church workers, and affiliated individuals to subscribe "online" and be listed as subscribers on our website. The Membership Committee will post the forms in html and Word format on the website so they may printed, signed, and mailed to the Secretary of the Augsburg Lutheran District, Pr. Jim Culver. 

The Joint Council voted to create a Task Force on Employee Benefits to secure insurance benefits for pastors and church workers. It also voted to submit the Executive Committee's resolutions at the upcoming LCMC convention. All of these resolutions were passed. The ALD motion to study adopting the ALD article on the nature of the church as a bylaw to the LCMC constitution at the April 2002 LCMC convention also passed. 

The Joint Council adopted guidelines for responding to ELCA persecution, and authorized Mark Jamison to make plans to hold a training retreat this spring to equip people to serve as lay ministers in the event a pastor is not available to lead worship, preach, and administer the Lord's Supper.

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LCMC Officially Constituted on October 26, 2001 

We are proud to announce that on October 26, 2001, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) officially adopted its constitution, and was officially constituted as a new association of congregations at Westwood Lutheran Church, St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Praise God! 

LCMC was incorporated as a Minnesota non-profit corporation on September 15, 2000, by Roger Eigenfeld, Al Quie, John Chatelain, and Lenae Rasmussen. The WordAlone Network (WAN) Board of Directors served as the LCMC Board of Trustees while the new "church body alternative" was being formed. LCMC entered a new era on October 26, 2001, as it began to operate independently in service to its member churches. A seven person board of trustees was elected by regions: 

• Region 1-Washington & Idaho: Robin Lake. 

• Region 2-North Dakota & Montana: Kevin Cramer 

• Region 3-Minnesota: Dennis Sandgren 

• Region 4-Wisconsin plus: Barry Anderson 

• Region 5-Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania: Bill Sullivan 

• Region 6-Iowa and Nebraska: Deb Lingen 

• Region 7-California, Arizona, Kansas, Alabama, and North Carolina: David Drum 

Ministry Standards for the LCMC "List of Pastors" were adopted (our equivalent to a Lutheran clergy roster). The resolution to implement the LCMC Church Pension Plan and reciprocity agreement with the ELCA Board of Pensions as of January 1, 2002, was adopted. The Augsburg Lutheran District (ALD) organizational principles were adopted as a continuing resolution of the LCMC constitution, and a resolution was adopted to recognize the Augsburg Lutheran District as an official district of LCMC and provide a link from the LCMC website to the ALD website. The convention unanimously passed a resolution to memorialize the WAN to pray for and support its regional organizers when they are attacked for their confessional activities. 

This fall several LCMC congregations voted to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). This marked the beginning of LCMC functioning as an alternative church body for those who can no longer remain in the ELCA out of conscience and confessional conviction. 

One of the most controversial issues facing many mainline Protestant churches today is the question of blessing "same-sex marriages" and ordaining "practicing homosexuals." In the past, sexual orientation was not a factor in certifying a candidate for a pastoral call within the ELCA. The ELCA's sexual boundaries for individuals called to the public office of Word and Sacrament ministry, put forth in is statement, Vision and Expectations, called for all ministers to refrain from sexual activities outside of marriage regardless of their sexual orientation. The ELCA CWA that met in August 2001 called for a four year study of a proposal to change the ministry standards and/or adopt a different set of ministry standards for gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual pastors, which would in turn involve changing the definition of marriage and the role of the Holy Scriptures as the sole authoritative source and norm of our proclamation, faith, and life. To clarify its confessional stance on this issue, LCMC adopted the premise of the ALD public statement on the sanctity of marriage as a pastoral admonition: "We affirm that God created us male and female, and that it is God's will and intention that human sexual expression and fulfillment take place only within the boundaries of marriage between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24-25; Matthew 19:4-6; and Mark 10:2-9)."

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Are You Willing to Help Fellow Christians Who Need Supply Pastors? 

Many congregations find themselves without a pastor, and with no candidates to interview. They need what is commonly called "supply pastors." In some areas, churches have recognized ministry gifts in lay people and trained them to provide pulpit supply, and in some cases, to administer the Lord's Supper. 

The Augsburg Lutheran District is planning a training retreat for laity that will focus on preparing those who are willing to serve in the capacity of lay minister, i.e., preaching and administering the Sacrament when a pastor is not available. The retreat will focus on distinguishing between law and gospel in God's Word, sermon preparation and delivery, Lutheran teaching on the Lord's Supper, and how to administer it. Pastors are also encouraged to initiate this sort of training in the churches they are called to serve.

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A Call to Assemble 

In the conviction that God has called us through the Lordship of his Son Jesus Christ 
and the guidance of his Holy Spirit to confess the gospel in its purity, we, members of the priesthood of all believers, give thanks to God for his continual faithfulness and, hereby call for Lutherans who are dedicated 
to 
the perpetuation of confessional Lutheranism in the North American context 
to gather at the Second Annual Convention of the

Augsburg Lutheran District 

at Resurrection Community Church 
Springfield, Oregon 
July 15-18, 2002 

The Augsburg Lutheran District, a lifeboat for confessing Lutherans, 
is a non-geographic district of the new association of churches, 
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.

ALD Calendar of Events for 2002

JANUARY 24-25, 2002 ALD Joint Council meeting at Peace Lutheran in Orange Beach, AL

 FEBRUARY-MARCH Recruit Seminarians 

APRIL 27, 2002 ALD Joint Council meeting at Holy Nativity Lutheran Church in New Hope, MN 

APRIL 28-39, 2002 WA/LCMC Convention at North Heights Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN 

MAY 2002 Training Retreats to equip lay ministers 

JULY 13-14, 2002 ALD Joint Council meeting at Resurrection Community Church in Springfield, OR 

JULY 15-18, 2002 ALD Convention at Resurrection Community Church in Springfield, OR

Assemble yourselves and come together, 
draw near, you survivors of the nations! 
They have no knowledge - 
those who carry about their wooden idols, 
and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
Isaiah 45:20

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