Rev. Dale L. Sattgast was re-elected to his second three-year term as pr
esident of the Synod’s South Dakota District during the district’s 58th convention April 29-May 2 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Sattgast, 59, was elected on the first ballot.
Also re-elected to second terms were:
Rev. Gene D. Bauman of Spearfish, S.D., first vice president.
Rev. Nabil S. Nour of Armour, S.D., second vice president.
Among resolutions adopted, delegates voted to:
affirm the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. The resolution declares that stem-cell research and so-called therapeutic cloning are contrary to God’s will and should not be performed. The resolution will be forwarded to the U.S. president, the South Dakota senators and congresswoman, and the South Dakota governor.
decline an overture to reduce the district’s remittance to the national LCMS budget.
request the LCMS Board of Directors to review corporate Synod compensation packages.
support and encourage St. John’s Lutheran Church in Yankton, S.D., whose building was damaged by an April 4 fire that has been classified as arson. The convention offering of $9,037.17 was given to Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wecota, S.D., to help rebuild its church that was destroyed by a March 26, 2008, fire.
recognize district congregations as “mission outposts.”
plant new congregations in the district. Each of the district’s 115 congregations is encouraged to identify locations for potential new missions, and to consider direct sponsorship of a new mission congregation.
affirm and encourage participation in the district’s Lay Leadership Institute, established in 2007, which equips laity to spread God’s Word and trains men to assist pastors.
memorialize the Synod concerning the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance. Representatives of the task force gave a presentation at the convention. The resolution asks the Synod not to adopt the task force’s recommendations until it provides the “precise language” for Constitution and Bylaw changes and resolutions, and further requests that the task force’s final report be posted on the LCMS Web site as soon as possible “so that it may be available for maximum study and scrutiny throughout the Synod prior to the [LCMS] convention.”
continue the district’s “blanket subscription” to The Lutheran Witness magazine, one of the Synod’s two official periodicals.
Dr. Raymond Hartwig, former president of the district and current LCMS secretary, presented a four-part essay on the convention theme, “Called into Partnership,” from Phil. 1:3-6.
LCMS President Gerald B. Kieschnick preached at the convention’s opening worship service, and presented a report on “One Mission, One Message, One People.”
Posted May 5, 2009
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esident of the Synod’s South Dakota District during the district’s 58th convention April 29-May 2 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Sattgast, 59, was elected on the first ballot.
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