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Texas District re-elects Hennings to top post

Texas District convention delegates elected the Rev. Ken Hennings to his fourth term as president during the district’s 60^th convention June 4-6 in San Marcos, Texas. Hennings was elected on the first ballot.

Texas District President Rev. Ken Hennings, right, presents the Bronze St. Martin of Tours Medal for 20 years of service as a military chaplain to the Rev. Dr. Mark Nuckols, chaplain, U.S. Army, Reserves (with his wife, Carla), during the district convention. Nuckols is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas, and Jesus Church of the Deaf in Austin. (Eloy González)

Also re-elected were:

Rev. Ralph Hobratschk, senior pastor of Hope Lutheran Church, Friendswood, Texas, first vice-president, Area D.
Rev. Eloy González, senior pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Irving, Texas, second vice-president, Area B.
Rev. Mark Barz, pastor of Crown of Life Lutheran Church, San Antonio, third vice-president, Area C.
Rev. Dale Snyder, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Wichita Falls, Texas, fourth vice-president, Area A.

Elected officers will be installed later in their home congregations.

Under the theme “The Mission Eyes of Jesus,” from John 4:5-42, delegates adopted resolutions to:

memorialize the LCMS to overrule Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) Opinion 14-2724. The resolution states that the Synod should remove any barriers for districts and congregations from giving “bold witness by word and deed to the love and work of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
memorialize the LCMS to make a number of bylaws changes to safeguard the rights of individual Synod members and congregations to extend the Gospel witness into all the world.
memorialize the LCMS to retain the current bylaws governing the size and responsibilities of the boards of regents of Concordia University System schools.
encourage congregations and “new starts” to dialogue and communicate — early on — with existing congregations in the area of the new start.
encourage circuits and congregations to partner with each other to establish new Word-and-Sacrament ministries.
encourage congregations to develop a disaster plan and for the district to appoint an area disaster coordinator for each area of the district.
request Concordia Plan Services to use the Texas District in analyzing and estimating the cost to provide unemployment benefits for professional church workers in the district.

Posted June 10, 2015

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Paula Schlueter Ross

Paula Schlueter Ross (1953–2019), former managing editor of Reporter, was a magna cum laude graduate of Webster University, with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. During her nearly 35-year career with the LCMS, she wrote for both Reporter and The Lutheran Witness and often took photos to accompany her stories. Ross won 17 national writing awards from the Associated Church Press, including seven first-place “Awards of Excellence.”