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OPENING SERVICE
“Christians pray.” So began Rev. Dr. Robert
Bugbee’s sermon in the opening Divine Service
of the Convention on Monday evening, hosted
by Rev. Murray Keith and St. Paul’s Lutheran
Church, across the river from the convention
hotel. The sermon, on the convention theme of “Lord, teach us to pray!”
and reflecting the Synod’s theme of “Come To Him Who Answers Prayer”
reminded the 165 in attendance, comprised of convention attendees and
gathered Lutherans from Saskatoon and area that God invites and desires
our prayers and promises to hear and answer them.
Area LCC pastors took part in the
service, which concluded with the
solemn charge to the convention
delegates. Other highlights of the
evening included the choir, the
congregational singing, the time of
fellowship after service, and
sharing the Sacrament of the Altar
as a convention.
GATHERED
Newsletter
#1
Wednesday
April 15
The 10th (49th) Regular
LCC Central District Convention
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
April 13-16 2015
SESSION ONE
Pastor James Vosper (Holy Cross, Saskatoon) began Tuesday morning with
a devotion based on the
Introduction and first two
petitions of the Lord’s Prayer.
Business began in earnest
Tuesday morning, with
standing rules and agenda
adopted. Synodical President
Dr. Bugbee welcomed the
new rostered church workers
into the District as they
signed the constitution.
Greetings were brought from
the Central District LWMLC by President Arlene Kish and the Central
District LLL-C by Pastoral Advisor Rev. Daryl Solie.
REGISTRATION REPORT
Committee #1 reported that the Central District currently consists of 70
parishes totalling 88 congregations.
55 parishes have representation by 48 lay and 47 pastoral delegates, for a
total of 95 voting delegates. There are also 11 members of the Board of
Directors as advisory delegates, 2 pastoral advisory delegates, 7 emeritus, 6
official guests, 2 other rostered church
workers, and a number of other staff and
Editor: Rev. Alex Klages
volunteers.
Photos: Rev. Jason Schultz
ELECTIONS
BANNER
President
92 ballots cast, 1 spoiled.
T. Prachar (incumbent) 48; D. Haberstock 43
1 ballot spoiled.
T. Prachar re-elected.
The banner for this year’s
convention was prepared by
Janice Otto of Winnipeg.
Vice Presidents
1st Ballot — 91 ballots cast.
Regina — J. Kreutzwieser 86
Saskatoon — J. Vosper 90
Thunder Bay — D. Haberstock 91
Winnipeg — R. Beinert 32; H. Borchardt 25, A. Klages 34.
H. Borchardt dropped from ballot.
Yorkton — G. Anderson 24; A. Gust 67.
Elected: J Kreutzwieser, J. Vosper, D. Haberstock, A Gust.
2nd Ballot — 90 ballots cast.
Winnipeg — R. Beinert 40; A. Klages 50.
Elected: A. Klages.
Board of Directors - Lay Members
1st Ballot — 84 ballots cast.
Regina — R. Nixon 81
Saskatoon — E. Harper 39; D. Walter 44
Thunder Bay — M. Maunula 82
Winnipeg — J. Robins 36; E. Turner 47
Yorkton — G. Rathgeber 80
Elected: R. Nixon, D. Walter, M. Maunula, E. Turner, G.
Rathgeber.
2nd Ballot — 87 ballots cast, 7 spoiled.
Director at Large: E. Harper 48, J. Robins 32.
Elected: E. Harper.
FREE TO A GOOD HOME
From Peace, Kamsack, SK:
2 individual cup communion
trays and cover and base
1 paten and cover
Contact Pastor Barry Wood for more information.
LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY
The essayist for our convention this year is Dr. Jim
Gimbel, president of Concordia Lutheran Seminary in
Edmonton, Alberta. He led off his three-part essay
entitled “Lord, Teach Us To
Pray” with an exploration of
prayer in the Old Testament.
Beginning with Adam and the
Lord’s observation that “it is
not good for the man to be
alone”, Dr. Gimbel traced out
the need for communication
between people and God and the role of prayer as part of
that communication throughout the Old Testament.
CLWR
Executive Director Robert Granke brought greetings
from CLWR and gave details of CLWR’s various projects
in Africa, Asia, and Central America.
RESOLUTIONS
LCC Report
2015-5-01: To Amend the Central District Bylaws Regarding
CUCA Board of Directors Membership. CARRIED.
2015-5-02: To Merge the Katepwa & Qu’Appelle Circuits.
CARRIED.
2015-5-03: To Request the CCMS to Propose Changes to the LCC
Structure. Referred back to Committee.
The largest part of the afternoon session was the LCC
report. During this time slot, President Bugbee, Mission
Executive Dr. Leonardo Neitzel, Treasurer Dwayne
Cleave, and Director of Communications Mathew Block
took turns exploring
various dimensions
of the work of the
Synod. Dr. Bugbee
observed that our
Synod finds herself
at a crossroads in
terms of the cultural
milieu of the church
CHAPLAIN
The convention chaplain is Rev. Rudy Pastucha; if you
have any prayer requests or spiritual needs, please
contact him!
and the crises we face, such as the ABC District CEF/DIL
struggle and such. Yet, there are also many good things
happening; Christ is still the Risen One who can also
bring His church back from seeming death. He cited
Cambodia and Russia and Ukraine as examples of God’s
Word bringing new life and hope to what seemed to be
spiritually dead parts of the world.
Dr. Neitzel spoke on the five mission lessons which our
Synod has learned:
1) Listening for God’s Calling
2) Being Prepared to Act
3) Looking for Opportunities
4) Preaching the Word
5) Trusting the Lord to Provide
He gave examples throughout of how God has worked
through His Word and Sacraments to teach our Synod
these lessons both at home and internationally.
Mr. Cleave’s presentations focussed on the overall
monetary and giving trends in Synod and also on the
strengths, weaknesses, and struggles facing the WBP. He
reminded us to trust in the Lord to provide.
Mr. Block challenged the gathered delegates to examine
their use of technology, and especially the Internet, as
an analogue to the invention of the printing press
shortly before Luther’s day. This technology can be a
big help in the church’s work of sharing the good news
of Jesus Christ. Especially with the 500th anniversary of
the Reformation on the near horizon, he believes there
will be a resurgence of interest in Lutheran teaching and
history; an interest LCC is well-positioned to take
advantage of.
Dr. Bugbee closed off the LCC presentation by reminding
the delegates to cling to Christ and be fervent in prayer,
trusting that God is not silent and will help His church.
MISSION MOMENT # 1
The first of the scheduled Mission Moments focussed on
Street Reach in Thunder Bay. Pastor Neil Otke
summarized the purpose, mission, and outreach of the
Street Reach organization while a slideshow of photos
from Street Reach’s work was displayed.
LUTHERAN FOUNDATION CANADA
The Lutheran Church— Canada Financial Ministries,
better known as the Lutheran Foundation-Canada, was
represented by its
Central District Gift
Coordinator, Mr. David
Friesen. He spoke
about the importance
of planned giving and
the reason why as
Christians and as LCC it
is important to plan and to work proactively for the
future of our congregations and our Synod.
DISTRICT PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Prachar’s report, based on the theme, “teach
me to pray” reflected on how he had learned the value of
prayer throughout his life and his ministry, especially
through the ups and downs of his first 15 years of being
District President. He announced that this will be his
final term as president. He also gave some statistics of
the seminaries and the current status of candidates and
vicars.
REMINDERS
All scheduled meals are held in the Battleford Ballroom
on the Mezzanine Level.... The District Convention
Office is also on the Mezzanine Level (M), across from
the elevators. If you have not yet picked up an expense
voucher, please do so. They can be mailed back to the CD
Office in Winnipeg following convention if you have any
late expenses (eg. lunch Thursday).... The Adam
Ballroom on the Conference Level (C) is the site for all
sessions, with the display hall to the right as you exit the
elevators on level C. “M is for Meals, C is for
Convention”.... Please take the time to visit the various
displays and the Sperling Christian Supply store
between sessions and during breaks!
SCENES FROM MONDAY AND TUESDAY