R5 Board of Directors

R5

Board of Directors A. Relationship to the Synod It is necessary to understand clearly what the Synod is when considering a report from the Synod Board of Directors (BOD).

The Synod is an organization of congregations. The congregations created the Synod to carry out specific activities that congreOfficer position, an abortive attempt to replace the Synod website, and a now-underway effort to replace and vastly increase the scope of corporate Synod’s constituent relationship management system—all touching on important aspects of the Office of the Secretary—have curtailed bandwidth for other important projects, like data analytics and the Commission on Constitutional Matters’ effort to revise congregational constitution guidelines. With a new triennium, hope may be renewed. Part of that hope rests on the board’s proposal to revise the Operations Team structure, to consolidate the Chief Financial and Chief Administrative Officers into one Chief Operating Officer and then build out under that officer a rank of high-caliber leaders for important areas of corporate Synod function, including legal, compliance, and information functions. It is hoped that some of the work that falls to this office can find its new and proper home, were that realignment to be achieved.

G. Conclusion I conclude with a note of appreciation for the many folks throughout the Synod whose concern for the Synod’s well-being and cooperation have made our work, to the extent it has been accomplished, possible.

In Fiscal Year 2026, including the commissions and dispute resolution and expulsion, the staff of Rosters, Statistics, and Research Services, and all overhead, the office cost each parish in the Synod about $326, on which we earnestly attempt to deliver value, and to do so all the more effectively in years to come. (The Secretary also maintains the Council of Presidents budget, which amounts to an additional $44 per parish per year.) We remain deeply grateful for and humbled by the Synod’s investment in this work. Even though now augmented with the new position, we daily find ourselves taxed beyond capacity but with no shortage of opportunities for new and improved work with significant promise. The Synod is worth it and needs our work if it is to accomplish its vital objectives, for and on behalf of our member congregations. The Lord prosper the work of our hands so that the investment of the “diversity of gifts” in us may truly be “for the common profit.” John W. Sias, Secretary