Dr. Gerhard Michael Jr. was re-elected by acclamation to his fourth term as president of the Synod’s Florida-Georgia District at the district’s 29th conven
tion, June 9-11 in Lake Mary, Fla.
Also elected were:
- Dr. Dennis Glick of Boca Raton, Fla., first vice president/Florida vice president.
- Rev. Gregory Walton, Marietta, Ga., second vice president/Georgia vice president.
Michael, 66, and other officers were installed during the convention.
Theme of the convention was “Ablaze in the Light of the Lord,” based on Eph. 5:8.
Delegates adopted a number of resolutions focusing on mission and mission support, voting to:
- encourage district congregations to commit to the Synod’s Ablaze! initiative by sharing the Gospel with 2 million people, starting at least 200 missions, and recruiting at least 22 congregations to become more “mission-driven” and “focused” by 2017.
- continue the district’s support of mission work in Thailand/Southeast Asia.
- reaffirm support and encourage expansion of the district’s Concordia House of Studies, which has enrolled more than 100 students in its first four years and just placed its first graduates into professional church-work positions.
- encourage congregations to implement stewardship programs that increase their contributions in the coming years toward a goal of 20 percent of offerings to the district office. The district, likewise, will continue to increase its contribution — now 20 percent of its unrestricted gifts — to the national Synod.
- encourage completion of “Forward Together,” extending the district’s $10 million capital campaign until the 2009 convention. Receipts so far have exceeded 50 percent of the campaign’s goal and have benefitted new missions in the district, the Concordia House of Studies, social ou
treach through Lutheran Services of Florida and Lutheran Services of Georgia, and Woodlands Lutheran Camp.
treach through Lutheran Services of Florida and Lutheran Services of Georgia, and Woodlands Lutheran Camp.Delegates also adopted two education-related resolutions, voting to:
- increase the number of LCMS-certified teachers serving district schools by encouraging congregations to require non-certified teachers who are LCMS members to finish the Teacher Colloquy Program and non-LCMS teachers to take Lutheran religion courses. Congregations also are asked to provide financial support and public recognition to their teachers.
- promote teacher colloquy by encouraging district schools to enable teachers to take course work leading to certification as commissioned ministers. The resolution also urges Concordia University System schools to provide more options for teacher colloquy, and asks the district’s Concordia House of Studies to provide a similar program that is “educationally sound and fiscally responsible.”
Posted June 20, 2006
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