The Rev. Arie D. Bertsch was elected to his first three-year term as president of the LCMS North Dakota District at the district’s Jan. 21-24 convention in Dickinson, N.D.
Bertsch, who served two terms as first vice-president, stepped in as president when the Rev. Dr. James A. Baneck left the post to serve as executive director of LCMS Pastoral Ministry beginning Jan. 1, 2017.
Bertsch, pastor of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Minot, N.D., was elected on the first ballot.
Also elected were the Rev. Kirk Peters of Hazen, N.D., as first vice-president, and the Rev. Steve Schulz of Fargo, N.D., as second vice-president.
The officers were installed into their new positions during the convention.
The theme of the convention — the first of 35 LCMS district conventions to take place this year — was “Unity in Christ,” based on Ephesians 4:1–16.
Delegates adopted resolutions to:
- extend the term limit for district president from three three-year terms to five three-year terms.
- allow the district president and district board of directors to determine the location of the district president’s office.
- provide $10,000 per year to Christ’s Care for Children–Kenya, and $25,000 per year to help fund LCMS mission work in Santiago, Chile.
- foster unity and “walking together” within the district by producing a handbook on district policies, procedures and guidelines for pastors and congregations.
LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison preached at the convention’s opening worship service and gave a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session.
The Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr., president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., gave a main presentation on “De Ceremoniis Ecclesiasticis: On Church Usages or Ceremonies, Sometimes Called Mitteldinge or Adiophora.”
And district pastors led presentations on “Unity in Baptism,” “Unity in Communion,” “Unity in Confession” and “Unity in Mission.”
Posted Jan. 31, 2018
