57th Regular Convention News - Central Illinois District - Lutheran ...

8The GatePost • October 2012Did You Know?Did you know 80% of all ourchurches in the LutheranChurch–Missouri Synod havetheir membership and worshipattendance plateaued or declining?Our Central Illinois District wants tohelp our plateaued and declining churchesto move forward in serving Christ’s peoplein their congregation and the peopleof their community.A District Revitalization Process(Refreshing congregations) providesRev. Joel Cluver of our Central IllinoisDistrict office to assist your congregationmonthly for up to two years. This serviceis provided to our Central IllinoisDistrict congregations at no cost!For more information, contact Rev. JoelCluver, Mission, Evangelism andStewardship Executive at (217) 793-1802or jcluver@cidlcms.org or contactRev. Mark Miller, CID President,at (217) 793-1802.Lutheran Older Adult RetreatLOAR, Lutheran Senior Services of Missouriand the Southern Illinois District will holdthe biennial Lutheran Older Adult Retreat onApril 24 & 25, 2013, at Pere Marquette Lodgenear Grafton, IL.The keynote speaker for the 24th will be theReverend Doctor John Nunes, CEO & Presidentsince 2007, of Lutheran World Relief. He leadsstaff in seventeen countries in working to endpoverty, injustice and human suffering. Whileworking on his doctorate at Lutheran School ofTheology in Chicago, John served as Pastor ofBethany Lutheran Church in Oak Park, IL, andserved as Professor of Theology at ConcordiaUniversity, Chicago. Dr. Nunes is the author ofVoices from the City: Issues and Images of UrbanPreaching. He was born in Jamaica, grew up inHamilton, Ontario, Canada, and currently livesin Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife Moniqueand their youngest son, John Jr. Monique is anadministrator for Baltimore Lutheran School.John will speak on the retreat theme: “ShiningWhere God Leads You.”The Bible Study leader on Thursday afternoonwill be the Reverend Gregory P. Seltz, speaker ofthe Lutheran Hour since February 2011. TheLutheran Hour, the flagship ministry forSt. Louis-based Lutheran Hour Ministries, isthe world’s longest-running Christian radiobroadcast and currently airs on more than1,400 traditional radio stations across NorthAmerica, as well as online and over theAmerican Forces Network. Prior to joiningLutheran Hour Ministries, Pastor Seltz wasDirector of Cross-Cultural Ministry Center andProfessor of Theology at Concordia University,in Irvine, CA. He previously served as ExecutiveDirector of Life’s Journey Ministry inManhattan, NY. Seltz was founding pastor ofthe first new Lutheran mission start in NewYork City in more than 40 years (Church ForAll Nations-LCMS). He started a missionchurch in Dallas, TX, and served as pastor of alarge congregation in Tampa, FL. He and hiswife, Marie Yvette, have one daughter, Devin.Workshops will be held on Wednesdayafternoon and Thursday morning by guestworkshop leaders. During the two days, 16workshops will be held and the participantsmay attend four of them.For more information, call Mary Preuss at(618) 288-9525 or visit http://lssliving.org.InstallationsRev. Stephen Mueller (left) was installedas pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church,Geneseo, on June 17, 2012.Rev. Michael Heidle (right) was installedas pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church,Danville, on August 4, 2012.