Delegates to the LCMS English District convention, June 22-24 convention at Schaumburg, Ill,, elected Rev. David Stechholz of San Francisco to be
the new district president. His election came on the first ballot.
Stechholz, 58, had been pastor of West Portal Lutheran Church, San Francisco, since 1991. As president/bishop, he succeeds Dr. David H. Ritt, who served three terms, the limit allowed by the district.
Delegates elected the following to district vice presidencies:
- Rev. John Stieve, Green Valley, Ariz., first vice president.
- Rev. Larry Vogel, Pennsauken, N.J., second vice president.
- Rev. Roger C. Ellis, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, third vice president.
- Rev. Martin W. Bangert, Muskego, Wis., fourth vice president.
Stechholz and the vice presidents were installed during the convention.
Under the theme “Hearts Ablaze Sharing the Savior’s Love,” delegates considered six resolutions.
Among the four they adopted, one memorializes the 2007 Synod convention to change Synod Bylaw 3.12.3.6(c), concerning the nomination qualifications for synodical office, by adding “indicate their number of years in the Synod, present position, and offices previously held in a congregation, district, or the Synod.”
Delegates also voted to establish an English District Endowment Fund.
The other two adopted resolutions change the language in the district’s “Operations Manual.”
Delegates also brought to the convention offerings from their congregation for the (English) “District Hearts Ablaze” mission initiatives, with funds to lay the groundwork for two new congregations. Ritt announced during the convention that gifts for that effort totaled more than $200,000 –- more than doubling the initiatives’ goal.
Dr. David P. Tswaedi, bishop of the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa, a partner church with the Synod, told the convention audience about his church’s efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa, thanking the English District for its partnership in that ministry.
“The People of God in Christ’s Mission” was the topic addressed by Dr. Andrew H. Bartelt, the convention’s essayist. Bartelt is professor of exegetical theology and vice resident for academic affairs at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
Posted June 27, 2006
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