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[LCMSNews] COP sets circuit counselor conference


From LCMS e-News <LCMSENEWS@lcms.org>
Date Sat, 05 Mar 2005 17:41:14 -0600

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March 5, 2005 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 17

COP sets circuit counselor
conference for next year

The Synod's Council of Presidents (COP) has set Sept. 12-14,
2006, for a National Circuit Counselors Conference. It would be the
first such conference since 1991.

President Gerald Kieschnick and the COP's Program Committee
recommended to the COP that the conference be in September 2006, shortly
after the next triennial round of district conventions. That would allow
new district presidents and new circuit counselors elected at those
conventions to attend, they said.

Kieschnick raised the possibility of a circuit counselors
conference with the COP at its September 2004 meeting. The council set
the date for the conference at its Feb. 19-22 meeting in St. Louis.

The intent of the conference is to bring together the Synod's
640 circuit counselors, 112 district vice presidents, and the COP -- the
Synod's president, five vice presidents, and 35 district presidents.

"We will focus our efforts on the responsibilities of a circuit
counselor in the context of prayer, devotions, and Bible study,"
Kieschnick said. "We'll also share ideas about what can be done, under
the Spirit's guidance, to strengthen our circuits and thus help foster a
greater degree of unity in doctrine and practice in the Synod."

Kieschnick told the COP that estimates set the cost of the
conference at nearly $800,000, including travel, lodging, meals, and
other expenses. He said his office would provide $515,000 -- $490,000
from a block grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, allocated by
the Synod's corporate executives, and $25,000 from the Synod budget. To
make up the balance needed, the COP agreed that each district would find
a way to pay $350 for each of its attendees.

According to the Synod's bylaws, the circuit counselor is the
"principal officer" of the circuit of congregations. The bylaws also
list a number of duties in his relationships with congregations,
pastors, other called workers, and the district president.

"Our Synod has been organized into circuits for a long time, and
they have fostered collegial relationships, the study of Scripture and
the Confessions, and discussion of cases of casuistry," Kieschnick
observed. "Circuit counselors are the right arms of the district
presidents and very important officers of the Synod. But we hear reports
that not all circuits are as actively engaged as we would like them to
be.

"By the time we meet, it will have been 15 years since the last
national conference," he said. "It's past time for another."

***************************************

If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release,
contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

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