Work on the Palanga project progresses slowly now. Earlier this year, Lithuania also experienced a mild winter. However, in an e-mail from the end of January, Pastor Petkunas said that winter had finally arrived with plenty of cold weather and snow. Under these harsh conditions work has slowed but continues. It is expected that the roof will be completed soon. Please continue to keep Pastor Petkunas, his family and the Palanga project in your prayers. A few weeks ago I mailed a DVD on the Palanga Project to each congregation. If you haven’t had a chance to see it, ask your pastor.
Lutherans In Wittenburg
Did you know that there is no Lutheran Church in Wittenberg, the home of the Lutheran Reformation? That will change, however, this month. Rev. Torgerson, a pastor in SELK, a Lutheran Church in Germany with whom we are in fellowship, will be starting a mission in Wittenberg. The mission is a joint effort between LCMS World Relief and LCMS World Missions. The Central Illinois District contributed 25,000 euros to purchase a building. Here is another worthwhile mission we can support.
Fiscal Planning Conference
On February 8-9, Treasurer Lois Mulbrook, Rev. Vic Young, Rev. Dean Rothchild and I attended a Synodical Fiscal Planning Conference. In the coming months you will be hearing some specifics about the financial situation of District and Synod. Some very interesting things came to light in the conference. For example, over the past two decades membership in the LCMS has declined. During the same period offerings from God’s people for all purposes have gone up rather dramatically! However, some of the offerings have been given to specific projects, which means the money is restricted for that purpose. This has affected the amount of unrestricted dollars available to the congregations. In addition, many congregation are giving directly to specific mission projects, which in turn affects the amount that is sent on to the Districts. Here in IDE the amount received from congregations to fund District and Synod have remained about the same since 1980. According to a Web site I located through Google, from 1980 to 2006 the inflation rate was 148%! As a result, we have made several rather dramatic cuts in the District office and we have cut what we send on to Synod. The Synodical Fiscal Planning Conference was called because both Districts and Synod are reaching a crisis point.
A Seminary in Crisis
Concordia Publishing House has recently published a book entitled A Seminary in Crisis, by Dr. Paul A Zimmerman. I highly recommend this book to both pastors and lay people. It would be a great addition to a church library. Dr. Paul Zimmerman and Dr. Karl Barth are the only two surviving members of a task-force appointed by Synodical President J.A.O. Preus to investigate allegations of false doctrine at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in the 1970s. It is a remarkable part of LCMS history and holds some important lessons for us today. It is a great blessing that the LCMS survived that crisis as a confessional Lutheran Church and Concordia Seminary has recovered from that most difficult time.
