wfn.org | Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod to Have Final Say in School Closure

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Board for Communication Services
1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

61st Regular Convention St. Louis, Mo. July 14-20, 2001

July 17, 2001 #23

Contact: Bruce Kueck (314) 342-5715

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod to have final say in school closure

ST. LOUIS -- The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS), meeting here for 
its 61st Regular Convention, reserved for itself the final say in whether 
any of the church body s 10 colleges and universities should close.

On Tuesday, July 17, the third day of the triennial convention, delegates 
defeated a resolution that would have given the final decision to other 
governing bodies of the denomination.

The LCMS Board of Higher Education/Concordia University System (BHE/CUS) 
asked the convention to remove the reference to a college or university 
from the last sentence of a Synod bylaw outlining the process for making a 
major change in the status of a college or university: The bylaw reads: "In 
the case of the closure of a college, university, or seminary, the approval 
of a two-thirds majority of the Synod in convention is also required." The 
1998 Synod convention added that sentence to the bylaw.

Before 1998, the BHE had the authority to close a college or university 
with the consent of the church s Board of Directors and its Council of 
Presidents. The Board of Directors is responsible for the Synod s budget 
and assets. The Synod s president, five vice presidents and 35 district 
presidents make up the Council of Presidents.

The proposal raised concerns among some delegates that one or more of the 
Synod s colleges or universities may be considering closure. However, Dr. 
Ralph L. Reinke, BHE board chairman, reassured the convention, saying, "We 
have no plans to close any institutions."

The 10 schools have a collective debt of about $100 million, mainly on the 
institution s buildings, said Reinke. The buildings have a value of about 
$400 million and a replacement value approaching $1 billion, he said. That 
is a reasonable amount of debt for the colleges and universities doing 
business, said Reinke.

One element of the resolution would have given the district in which an 
institution is located the right of first approval to purchase the 
property. The Rev. David H. Benke, president of the LCMS Atlantic District, 
spoke against the proposed amendment, noting he may be speaking against his 
own best interest.

As chairman of the Board of Regents for Concordia College, Bronxville, 
N.Y., Benke said the colleges would appreciate the time and study it takes 
to involve the convention in the closure process. "It s hard to look 
forward, while looking over your shoulder," he said.

The convention approved another BHE/CUS recommendation: to certify 
candidates for placement in LCMS schools who have not been trained by the 
Synod other than through the Concordia University Education Network 
(CUEnet). CUEnet uses video-streaming technology and other Web-based 
activities to deliver educational programs.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Photos of convention coverage are available at 
www.lcms.org/convention/

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