Dear Fellow Workers:
Greetings once again in the name of our Savior. We want to pass along information on some of the activities in our synod that have occurred since the beginning of this year.

Bright Spots
Missionary Terry Schultz reports that both of the Lima, Peru, Christian Day Schools gained a considerable measure of stability in 2006. Under the guidance of Peruvian promoters, Martin Lutero in Reynoso increased enrollment from 49 to 69 students while Jesus Redentor in Ano Nuevo increased from 64 to 113 students.

We just received word that Gloria Dei Lutheran in Cold Spring, Minnesota, voted unanimously during the month of January to move ahead with a preschool this coming fall. They have also resolved to remodel their current fellowship hall into two classrooms.

Grace Lutheran Church in Vero Beach, Florida, opened a preschool this past fall with an enrollment of 7. There is discussion in the congregation of moving toward the development of an elementary school.

Pastor Brad Kerkow of our home mission in North Mankato, Minnesota, indicates that there are now 243 members at Peace Lutheran, and average attendance is over 170.

Congregation Statistics
Please remember that all pastors should complete and return their congregational statistics form to the synod office by February 15. The form is available on the website under Synod -> Parish Resources -> Synod Contact.

Colloquy Planned
Rev. Thomas Zeller of Badger, Minnesota, has applied for colloquy into the ELS. Pastor Zeller serves as a bi-vocational pastor for two congregations: Our Savior's (Roseau, MN) and Immanuel (Radium, MN). We are planning to begin his colloquy on Monday, March 12. Any pertinent information should be forwarded to President Moldstad’s office by March 1.

The congregations served by Pastor Zeller are seeking alliance with the ELS. The Roseau church will be applying for membership at this year's convention, while the church at Radium prefers to remain an independent congregation in full doctrinal fellowship with our synod.


Installation at Frankenmuth
On Sunday, January 21, 2007, Pastor Joel Willitz was installed as the new pastor at St. John's Lutheran in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Pastor Paul Schneider preached the sermon based on 2 Corinthians 5 and President Moldstad performed the rite of installation. A number of ELS and WELS pastors were in attendance.

Congregation Closings
Two home mission congregations recently felt the need to disband: South Lake Lutheran Church in Clermont, Florida, closed at the end of November 2006 and Beautiful Savior in Springboro, OH, held its final service on the first Sunday in January.

Faith Lutheran Church in Alpena, Michigan, part of the Hillman parish has felt the need to close its doors at the beginning of this year due to lack of financing. Pastor Bruce Schwark continues to serve the congregation at Faith in Hillman.

Newest Exploratory Mission
The Board for Home Missions has selected Farmington, Minnesota, as the site for its 2007 exploratory mission. Vicar Dan Oberer, who serves at Heritage Lutheran in Apple Valley, Minnesota, is assisting the board in the exploratory work.

Report on Protest Congregations
On January 5, 2007, an announcement was made from the president's office that three congregations and their pastors (St. Paul Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA, Robert Lawson, Jr., pastor; Wayfarers' Chapel Lutheran Church, Fillmore, CA, Leslie Lanier, pastor; and Reformation Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, OR, Steven Brockdorf, pastor) no longer are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The reason for this announcement was the selective fellowship filing of protest made by these congregations and pastors. The termination of membership should be viewed as self-exclusion since our synod does not recognize communion and pulpit/altar fellowship with only a certain segment of the synod. It is with great sadness that this announcement had to be made. Let us pray that God blesses our synod with true unity as we strive together to confess his truth and promote his life-saving Gospel.

St. Timothy Lutheran Church and Pastor Karl Heck of Williamsburg, Iowa, informed the synod that on January 24, 2007, their congregation and pastor also have filed a similar “selective fellowship” state of confession against the synod because of disagreement with the Preus suspension and the Appeal’s Commission decision. In reporting this state of confession, the president stated: "Until the state of confession is removed, I need to make it clear that Pastor Karl Heck and his congregation are not at this time in altar/pulpit fellowship with the pastors and congregations of our Evangelical Lutheran Synod. I will be asking the circuit visitor, Rev. Wayne Halvorson, to give me a report in the near future on whether any progress may be made in having St. Timothy and its pastor remove their selective fellowship protest."
 
News from Plzen
School Anniversary:  Martin Luther School in Plzen will celebrate its 15th anniversary in March with a number of special activities. The children will sing for chapel on Teachers' Day, March 28, and will present a special program of Czech music following the Palm Sunday service on April 1.

Thoughts of Faith
President Moldstad has appointed an Exploration Committee to look into the possibility of recommending that the church-related organization, Thoughts of Faith, become an entity of our Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which would involve more direct involvement by our Board for Foreign Missions. The first meeting of this specially appointed committee is scheduled for March 15.

Convention Preparations
The Board for Evangelism is assisting in planning the sectional discussions for our June convention. We hope to have seven sectionals led by seven of our pastors, one of whom will be our essayist, Rev. Erwin Ekhoff. The theme for this year’s convention is "Declare His Praises" (1 Peter 2:9).
 
Fifteenth Anniversary
New Life Lutheran in Sebring, Florida, celebrated its fifteenth anniversary on Sunday, January 28. President Moldstad preached for the occasion and our new Giving Counselor, Rev. Dan Basel, also addressed the congregation. Pastor Richard Fyffe and his wife Martha have lived in Sebring for the past 11 years. Pastor Fyffe also used his culinary skills in preparing a delicious prime rib dinner for the anniversary occasion.

Congregation Events
Did your congregation celebrate an anniversary, dedication, or similar event since the 2006 convention? If so, please send information about the event to Elsa to be included in the 2007 President’s Report to convention.

 

Home Mission Seminar 2007
On January 30 - February 1 our ELS Board for Home Missions conducted its biennial home missions seminar in Orlando, Florida. A special speaker for the occasion was WELS pastor, Rev. Steven Blumer from Risen Savior Lutheran Church in Orlando, Florida. Pastor Blumer began the exploratory mission in January 1998. Today the church has over 200 members and is planning construction of a school this year.

LSA News
The Board for Publications recently gave approval for the inserting of a couple of envelopes in selected future editions of the Lutheran Sentinel. We pray that all in the synod understand the importance of promoting our current two-year offering for Lutheran Schools of America. There is an ever-increasing need for more Lutheran preschools and elementary schools in our land.

Library at New Life
Pastor Richard Fyffe is pictured here looking over the library that was donated some years ago to the Florida circuit by the family of the late Rev. John Wilde. The library at one time was located at the Vero Beach church but now is at Sebring, Florida.

Synod Finances
Our treasurer reports that for the year 2006 there was a shortfall of $97,238 on our budget of $788,906. This means that the Board of Trustees at its February meeting will need to enact certain cuts in our expenditures. Please keep the needs of our synod in your prayers.

CELC 2008
Plans are being made for the 15th anniversary of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference to hold its triennial meeting in Kiev, Ukraine. The theme for this conference has been chosen: Make Known God’s Manifold Wisdom (Ephesians 3:10).

Address Changes
Rev. Joel Willitz
6226 Jade Ln
Bridgeport MI 48722

Rev. Tosten Skaaland: skaaland(at)wittenbergnet.net

Prayer Requests
Please keep in your prayers Nick Laper. Nick and Kerry Laper work with the Gift of Life program in Ukraine under the direction of Thoughts of Faith. Nick was evacuated to a hospital in Vienna after spontaneous bleeding in his brain. We ask God to watch over Nick and Kerry and their family during this difficult time. The latest report is that Nick is expected to have a full recovery. All praise to God’s goodness!

President’s Activities
February 2-3 - Board for Parish Education and Youth (Apple Valley, MN)
February 3 - Historical Society
February 6 - Board for Stewardship
February 7 - Board for Foreign Missions
February 8-9 - Board for Lutheran Schools of America
February 11 - Board for Publications
February 12-13 - Board of Regents
February 13 - Board of Trustees
February 22 - Preach at BLC Trinity Chapel
March 2 - CELC Planning Committee
March 4 - Preach at St. Timothy, Lombard, IL
March 11 - Preach at River Heights, East Grand Forks, MN
March 12 - Zeller Colloquy
March 15 - Thoughts of Faith
March 19-20 - Doctrine Committee
March 26 - Planning & Coordinating Committee
March 27-April 5 - trip to our mission in South Korea

In Christ’s grace,

John A. Moldstad