Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 147

2026 Convention Workbook
112 
OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
cies of the Synod in the areas of stewardship, worship, counsel-
ing, worker wellness, youth ministry, and the recruitment of future 
pastors, teachers, deaconesses, church musicians, and other work-
ers. The district is also privileged and pleased to have Concordia 
Theological Seminary in our midst, with whom we cherish a close 
working relationship.
In the area of mental health care and counseling, in particular, 
the past few years have seen the beginning of Concordia Counsel-
ing in Seymour, Ind., and Cross Connections of Tippecanoe Coun-
ty in Lafayette, Ind., indicative of the desire and effort to provide 
theologically sound temporal assistance and support alongside the 
ongoing spiritual care of the Church and ministry of the Gospel. It 
is noteworthy that parishes in other parts of the district are likewise 
exploring the possibility of providing similar counseling services.
Within the life of the district, the undersigned has focused on 
visitation as a primary means of oversight and pastoral care for the 
pastors and parishes of Indiana and northern Kentucky. He has thus 
far been able to worship with roughly 70–75 percent of the con-
gregations and to visit in some capacity as many as 85–90 percent 
of the parishes. As those efforts continue through this new trienni -
um, a process of more formal visitations will begin, for the sake of 
providing counsel and encouragement in the ministry and mission 
of the Church on earth. The president and regional vice-presidents 
also make regular visits to the circuit pastors’ meetings throughout 
the year, in order to maintain communication and close connections 
with the pastors and their labors in the Lord on the front lines of the 
Church and in the trenches of this life under the cross. The circuit 
visitors are likewise instrumental in this exercise of care and over -
sight for the congregations, all the more so because of their close 
proximity to and familiarity with the parishes of their circuits. Sim-
ilarly, our education executive is making regular visits to schools 
and principals, in order to know them and the challenges they face, 
and to serve and support them in their work.
There are challenges, of course, facing not only the schools but 
the congregations of the district in general as well. The Synod’s 
Set Apart to Serve initiative has helped to spread awareness of the 
urgent and growing need for more theologically trained teachers 
and pastors for the present and future generations of the Church. 
As more pastors are reaching the point of retirement, the number of 
vacancies increases, some of which are harder to fill. At the same 
time, demographic declines have contributed to the struggles of 
our small congregations. We look to the Lord for wisdom, even 
as we pray that He will continue to provide what is needed for His 
Church. We know and trust that all things depend upon His faithful 
Word!
D. Richard Stuckwisch Jr., President
R28
Iowa District East
The congregations of Iowa District East remain a pasture where 
the pure Word of God and the Holy Sacraments are delivered to 
the sheep of each flock. As such, the sheep are well fed and able to 
stand firm in the Christian faith amidst an ever-increasing anti-faith 
culture. Our pastors are well trained and dedicated to tending their 
congregations with fidelity to the correct exposition of Scripture 
and the Lutheran Confessions.
The schools of our district are experiencing growth, for which 
we give thanks and praise to our Lord. Each school is led by qual-
•	 Encouraging, facilitating, and/or providing pastoral care for 
the pastors of the Indiana District;
•	 Likewise, supporting and caring for the pastors’ families;
•	 Promoting an active fellowship between brother pastors and 
sister congregations at the circuit level;
•	 Increasing the clarity and consistency of the practice of 
closed Communion throughout all of our congregations; and
•	 Fostering a more harmonious unity of worship practice 
across the district, for the sake of our confession of Christ.
Along with regular attention given to each of these concerns, 
the district president and secretary were able to record a couple of 
podcasts on the theology and practice of closed Communion and 
on the benefits to be found through increased harmony of worship 
practices among the congregations of our church fellowship. Those 
recordings are readily available on the district website.
In addition to the above concerns, another priority of focus has 
been on Lutheran education. An investigation of classical Lutheran 
education, initiated by the 2022 district convention, culminated in 
a report presented to the board of directors in December 2024 and 
acknowledged with thanksgiving by the 2025 convention. We were 
also able to partner with the Consortium for Classical Lutheran Ed-
ucation in sponsoring a number of practicums within the district. 
Conversations continue and future plans are being pursued with 
various parishes interested in exploring a classical pedagogy.
Broadening the scope of our considerations and discussions in 
response to a resolution adopted by the 2025 district convention, 
we are exploring the theology of Lutheran education and looking 
for ways to promote and support distinctively Lutheran schools as 
valuable partners in the Church’s overall ministry of the Word. We 
are well served in those efforts by our new education executive, Mr. 
Nathan Wingfield, and his capable administrative assistant, Mrs. 
Martha Peters, both of whom came on board in June of 2025.
Now in 2026 we are preparing for the retirement of our long-
time missions executive, Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Robinson, who will 
have served the district for 19 years as of the end of July. Plans are 
underway to fill his big shoes with a new executive, who will most 
likely serve as an assistant to the president with a focus on mis-
sions, outreach, mercy, pastoral care, and other duties as needed. 
We are profoundly grateful for Dr. Robinson’s faithful and steady 
service to the district throughout these past many years.
The district has been especially pleased to continue its signif-
icant support of the ongoing mission and mercy work among our 
Lutheran brothers and sisters in Tanzania, including the training of 
new pastors, the establishment of a seminary, and the building of 
much-needed orphanages. The 2022 and 2025 district conventions 
and the board of directors have been consistent in their support of 
these and other efforts, and we are grateful to God for the progress, 
indicative of a commitment to the purity of the Word of God and the 
clarity of our Lutheran teaching and confession of the faith.
As we have worked with the Office of International Mission 
and partnered with other Synod districts in supporting the work in 
Tanzania, so have there also been a variety of efforts over these past 
several years to partner with the Office of National Mission and the 
recognized service organizations of the Synod in our district, as we 
strive to exercise our fellowship in the Gospel for the benefit of our 
congregations and circuits. Besides our ongoing relationships with 
Concordia Plan Services, the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, and 
the LCMS Foundation, we have also worked with various agen-