At the 49th convention of the Oklahoma District, held April 20–21 in Edmond, Okla., the Rev. Barrie E. Henke of Edmond was elected, on the first ballot, to his fourth term as president.
Also elected were:
- Rev. David R. Nehrenz of Norman, Okla., first vice-president;
- Rev. Kory B. Boster of Sallisaw, Okla., second vice-president; and
- Rev. Gregory W. Brown of Woodward, Okla., third vice-president.
The elected officers were installed at the close of the convention.
The theme of the convention, also used as the basis for LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison’s sermon at the opening Divine Service, was Luke 24:48: “You are witnesses of these things.”
Resolutions adopted at the convention included:
- reactivating Ongoing Ambassadors For Christ (OAFC) in Oklahoma by charging the district evangelism executive to develop a leadership team during the first year of the triennium and, during the second and third years, begin holding OAFC weekend events and encouraging participation in national OAFC events.
- increasing public awareness of The Lutheran Church Missouri—Synod in Oklahoma by appointing a committee to produce a video and other resources that the congregations of the district may use to make their communities aware of the LCMS and the Good News it has to share.
- adopting a district handbook, bringing to fruition a charge by the 2006 convention to the district board of directors.
- amending the Articles of Incorporation to meet the requirements of the 2016 Synod Convention Resolution 9-02A, “To Assure Uniformity of Relationship and Asset Disposition Language in Governing Documents of Corporate Agencies of Synod.”
- reconfiguring visitation circuits in the district to maximize the number of pastor and lay delegates that can attend the 2019 Synod convention.
- amending the district bylaws to allow for means of voting for members of the district board of directors other than by an in-person meeting.
Resolutions also were passed asking the Synod in convention to grant a lay vote to every congregation (where currently those in multi-congregation settings share the vote); to change the way electoral circuits are formed by allowing district boards of directors to move congregations rather than combine visitation circuits to form electoral circuits; to provide financial reports to the Synod in a format easily understood by those unfamiliar with financial terminology; and to encourage LCMS congregations of Synod to support financially (including with unrestricted giving ) the Synod’s work.
Posted April 26, 2018
