2003 Synod Assembly

Resolution 2003-06 - Pass the Buck to Lutheran Campus Ministry of Minnesota Appeal

Passed

WHEREAS, there are approximately 3,000 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America members attending one of the three colleges in Winona, Minnesota; and

WHEREAS, the vast majority (approximately 75%) of our members of the ELCA attending college go to state colleges, universities and technical schools where Lutheran Campus Ministries are there to serve them; and

WHEREAS, this subset of our membership is served well by the campus ministry located at the Lutheran Campus Center in Winona; and

WHEREAS, in its year 2000 assembly, the Southeastern Minnesota Synod voted unanimously to support the Lutheran Campus Center in its capital fund appeal; and

WHEREAS, after making an appeal to every congregation in this synod, employing the volunteer efforts of several leaders in asking for support from individuals, congregations, and endowment funds, and after many visits, mailings, and numerous other approaches, the capital fund is still not in sight of its goal; and

WHEREAS, there is a significant risk of losing this opportunity to permanently stabilize this ministry serving the college communities in Winona if this goal is not reached by September of 2004; and

WHEREAS, Lutheran Campus Ministry of Minnesota (LCMM) is facing a $60,000 deficit this fiscal year, due to shortfalls in synodical support from the Minneapolis Area Synod as well as the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, which if not ameliorated may lead to curtailment in Lutheran Campus Ministries, statewide; and

WHEREAS, the proposed synod budget for 2004 to support Lutheran Campus Ministry is $151,400, which is $1,600 less than budgeted for 2003, and $11,000 below what LCMM needs to support this synod's proportionate share of support for the 12 campus ministries and 14 full-time campus ministers serving in this state; 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the congregations of this synod be encouraged to designate a Sunday of their choosing as "Pass the Buck Sunday," and request of their members a special one time offering of $1.00 per baptized member in support of Lutheran Campus Ministry in Winona; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that should a congregation choose not to go this route, but rather seek to meet or exceed this request through its treasury, endowment, or other special giving fund that it be encouraged to do so; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that should any individual or congregation of this synod need further interpretation of this need, it shall be supplied by the Lutheran Campus Center of Winona, Minnesota; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that should the amount received via this special "Pass the Buck" campaign exceed the amount needed to finalize the purchase of the Lutheran Campus Center in Winona, that the surplus be forwarded to the Southeastern Minnesota Synod Office as benevolence dollars targeted to fully fund Lutheran Campus Ministry of Minnesota.

Submitted by the Root River Conference, Pastor John Carrier, author