Delegates to the 69th convention of the Synod’s Kansas District, held June 8-10 in Topeka, Kan., re-elected President Rev. Keith E. Kohlmeier to his second
term. Kohlmeier, 53, was elected on the first ballot.
Also elected as officers were:
- Rev. Edward Trost of Overland Park, Kan., first vice president/Region 1.
- Rev. David Meier, Humboldt, Kan., second vice president/Region 3.
- Rev. Robert Grimm, Alma, Kan., third vice president/Region 2.
- Rev. Randall Jahnke, Dodge City, Kan., fourth vice president/Region 4.
Kohlmeier and the other officers were installed during the convention.
The convention theme, “Kansas Ablaze: Proclaiming the Message Today, Tomorrow, for Eternity,” was based on 1 John 1:1-4.
Among resolutions adopted by delegates was one affirming the Ablaze! goals set by the district’s board of directors: to share the Gospel with 500,000 people and to start 16 new missions.
Delegates renewed the district’s nine-year partnership with Lutherans in Guinea, West Africa, pledging to “continue to pray for the protection, support, and work of missionary families as well as the national church leaders.”
Delegates also voted to encourage district congregations to:
- recruit nurses to serve parish-nurse ministries.
- take part in “Safe Congregations” workshops that are designed to help them develop and implement guidelines to protect church workers and congregation members from exploitation and harm.
Highlighting the convention were four “Mission Moments” that celebrated Kansas District ministries:
- Mission work in Guinea, West Africa, which included conversations with LCMS Missionaries Rev. Tim and Beth Heiney and the commissioning of new Missionary Andrea Herman, who also will serve in Guinea.
- The Northeast Kansas Rural Ministry Partnership, in which four rural congregations share several called workers who serve ministries in the churches’ local communities.
- A hurricane-relief partnership with three LCMS congregations in Slidell, La. Some Kansas District members who have helped with disaster relief shared their experiences.
- The district’s Retreat Center for Called Workers, which will be built on Lake Herington. The sale of two donated properties enabled the district’s board of directors to purchase new, more accessible, property for the center.
Posted June 22, 2006
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