RESOLUTION 18-02
Reports R1.2, R13 (CW, pp. 27, 74–76); President’s Report, Part 2 (TB, pp. 21–31)
WHEREAS, Jesus invites his followers, including ministers of the Gospel, to “[c]ome to 1 me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me … and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:28–29); and
WHEREAS, Grace was given to the church and its members, including ordained and commissioned ministers, for “building up the body of Christ … to maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ …” (Eph. 4:7– 16); and
WHEREAS, Rest was built into creation along with attending to God’s creation, especially the people of his creation, and in the pilot, Church Worker Family Needs Assessment (CW-FNA) in the Pacific South West, Kansas and Ohio Districts, 47 percent of the church workers (950) who took the survey reported that they rarely or never invested appropriately in Sabbath rest or leisure; and
WHEREAS, District presidents in a spring, 2016 survey identified the primary worker wellness issues to be burnout, stress, and depression, followed by marriage and family, diet and health, and finances; and
WHEREAS, The wellness of single and married church workers and their marriages and families is crucial to the health of the local congregation; and
WHEREAS, The Concordia Plan Services (CPS), the LCMS Office of National Mission (ONM), and the Concordia Center for the Family (CCF) at Concordia University Ann Arbor (CUAA) have partnered with Congregation Family Services, a provider of family ministry research and consultation, in a pilot research project called the LCMS CW-FNA to deliver solid researched-based information to provide the church with a portrait of church worker needs and health; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Board for National Mission take up the responsibility for
1. Assessing the gaps in ministerial wellness throughout the Synod
2. Promoting worker wellness within the Synod through official publications and special mailings
3. Facilitating cooperation and the sharing of resources between RSOs and specialized worker wellness programs within Synod
4. Responding to the needs and requests of districts and district presidents in the identification and provision of ministerial wellness programming resources and funding
5. Studying, developing, and encouraging opportunities and suggestions for sabbaticals 6. Working with Mission Advancement to identify funding sources and solicit contributions for worker wellness throughout Synod
and be it further
Resolved, That the Office of National Mission provide bi-annual progress reports and conversation with the Council of Presidents; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Office of National Mission provide a report of its progress to the 2019 Synod convention.
[The estimated cost to implement this proposed resolution appears in the Report of the Finance Floor Committee – found in Sunday’s issue of Today’s Business.]