Yesterday, our circuit (group of area congregations assigned to act together by the District) held its Circuit Forum to elect a pastoral and lay delegate to represent us at the upcoming LCMS Synodical Convention in July, 2010, which will be held in Houston, TX. This is an extremely important part of the political process in our synod. It is no overstatement to say that elections and resolutions which will take place at the Synodical Convention are already decided at this level of the process. Thus, I was hoping and praying that we would elect delegates who would serve the cause of confessional Lutheranism on our behalf, and I am absolutely thrilled by the choices we made.
We elected Rev. David Reed, who serves as pastor of Grace Lutheran in Auburn, MI, as our pastoral delegate. Pr. Reed received a majority on the first ballot, which shows the strong support and trust he deservedly has among us. He will represent us very well, and I could not be more pleased that we are sending him.
After the election for the pastoral delegate was completed, we held the election for lay delegate. Among the nominees was a member of our congregation, Larry Elliott. Larry is a very faithful young man, who has been a genuine blessing to our congregation. He currently serves as chairman of our board of elders and it is a true joy to work with him. I was really pulling for Larry to win the election, but I have to admit that I was not very optimistic about his chances, simply because our congregation is one of the smallest in the circuit and because Larry had no previous experience serving in the political process of District or Synod. But, after the first ballot, he was still in the running. Two of the five nominees were eliminated and we voted again. I whispered to Larry, "You got a shot, buddy." After the second ballot, lo and behold, Larry was still in. Another nominee was eliminated and there were two nominees going into the third and final ballot. I whispered to Larry again, "You really got a shot at this, buddy." And, wonder of wonders, Larry was elected! I was so excited for him, and very thankful that the brothers in our circuit gave him the nod. Larry will do a fabulous job serving us and, coupled with Pr. Reed, we are sending a very strong set of delegates, who will serve the cause of confessional Lutheranism very well, to Houston next summer.
In addition, Larry's election is historic for our congregation, as we have never in our history had either a pastoral or lay delegate from our congregation represent our circuit at our Synodical Convention. Needless to say, we are very excited not only for Larry, but also for our small, but faithful, congregation. All thanks and praise be to God alone!
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4 comments:
WOOT! Go Larry!
Yeah, from me too! Do we need to have a bake sale or a potluck to help get you to Houston?
Any clue how Alma and Auburn ended up in the same circuit? One would pass a whole lot of Lutheran communities going from one of those towns to the other.
I suppose there isn't a simple answer, but it does seem odd...
Iggy,
Actually, all of the LCMS congregations from here to Auburn are in the same Midland Circuit. I have no clue how Alma came to be included in this circuit, but I would guess that it had to do with the fact that we're kind of all alone in our area (the nearest sister congregations being Zion in Mt. Pleasant about 15 miles north and Immanuel in Wheeler about 15-20 miles east). It is a bit inconvenient in that most of our winkels require a 45 to 60-minute drive to the Midland area, but it's also a blessing, since we have a pretty solid circuit when compared to most in our District.
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