LCMS Iowa West District President Rev. Dr. Paul G. Sieveking of Fort Dodge, Iowa, was elected to his fifth term by delegates to the district’s 38th convention, June 24-26 at Camp Okoboji in Milford, Iowa.
Also re-elected under the convention theme of “Joy in Modeling,” from Titus 2:1-10, were:
- the Rev. Dr. Steven D. Turner, senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Algona, Iowa, first vice-president.
- the Rev. Roger P. Carlisle, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church, Wall Lake, Iowa, second vice-president.
Sieveking and the vice-presidents were installed at the convention.
Delegates also adopted resolutions:
- encouraging district congregations to take part in and support Operation Barnabas, an LCMS program that seeks to build a network of care for the nation’s military members and their families.
- asking the 2013 LCMS convention to make the financial support of Synod seminaries, the Concordia University System and other programs of the Offices of National and International Mission a higher priority.
- encouraging district congregations and members to respond to those who have needs as a result of natural disasters, and asking congregations to support the Synod’s Lutheran Early Response Team training with prayer, financial support and volunteers.
- asking district congregations to support the health and wellness of their pastors, and encouraging pastors to take part in the wellness programs of the Concordia Health Plan.
- reaffirming the Synod’s positions and the biblical view on societal issues such as abortion and homosexual behavior.
- emphasizing the importance of the district’s partnerships with specialized ministries such as ethnic, deaf, campus and chaplaincy, and recognizing that future funding for those ministries will come from a continued partnership among the congregations, individual members of the congregations, the circuits and the district.
- commending the district’s members and congregations for their generous financial gifts to the district and Synod; asking the district to raise by 1 percent each year the amount of unrestricted gifts received from congregations that is remitted to the national Synod until it reaches the 50-percent level; and encouraging each of the district’s congregations and members to “practice first-fruit, proportionate giving to district and Synod as modeled by the district.”
Posted June 27, 2012
