October 23, 2022 Voters' Meeting

Special Voters’ Meeting Sunday, October 23, 2022 Grace-Sahuarita Mission: Our mission at Grace is to teach the inspired and inerrant Word of God, to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the crucified and risen Savior of the world, and to nurture believers for lives of Christian service.

Agenda 12:00 Noon Opening Prayer 12:05 PM

Extend Two Divine Calls for Lead Teacher at our Child Learning Center

12:25 PM

Leadership Conference Motion

12:30 PM

Panel Discussion and Member Feedback Regarding Sahuarita Pastor

1:15 PM

Adjourn with Prayer

Lunch will be available by 11:30. Those who are arriving from other sites are welcome to eat as the meeting begins. We intend to conclude the meeting at 1:15.

Background Information Lead Teacher Divine Calls Two classrooms at our Child Learning Center (CLC) are currently vacant of a lead teacher. Our plan at the CLC is to provide quality childcare as we also reach out with the Gospel to the families and children under our care. An instrumental part of this program is to have a lead teacher responsible for each age level. Our lead teachers plan and implement the schedule and lessons for each day and also are the immediate point of contact for parents and guardians.

The WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools will provide us with a list of candidates for our consideration, and we will ask the voters to prayerfully decide on two to whom we will extend our divine calls. We trust that these calls are truly divine because God guides our discussions and decisions.

Leadership Conference The second ever WELS Conference on Lutheran Leadership is scheduled to take place January 16-18, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Three members of Grace attended the first conference in 2020 and found it to be very valuable. The upcoming conference offers workshops on a variety of topics useful to our congregational ministry. The Ministry Board would like to send up to five members to attend the conference and to cover their costs for registration, lodging, transportation, and meals. Grace has already paid some registration fees from the Thrivent Choice Dollars Fund. The Ministry Board is recommending that the rest of the costs for this be covered by undesignated income from the Perpetual Memorial Fund. Undesignated income

has previously been used for sending members to conferences. Making use of this income requires the approval of the voters. The estimated remaining cost is $1124 per person ($5620 total if five members participate). The exact amount needed from the PM Fund would be determined after the conference is completed and all receipts are turned in to the Central Office. The current balance for undesignated income from the PM Fund is $11,734. For these reasons, the Ministry Board is recommending that the voters approve this motion: To approve spending from the Perpetual Memorial Fund’s undesignated income to pay the remaining costs for up to five members of Grace to attend the WELS Conference on Lutheran Leadership, January 16-18, 2023.

Sahuarita Ministry Staffing Discussion As first noted in our 2021 Annual Meeting, the AZ/CA District Mission Board (DMB) encouraged Grace to think about the potential of additional staffing at Grace-Sahuarita to assist with and capitalize on the growth of this mission field. Grace’s initial discussions internally and with the DMB were about a vicar in missions (a student intern whose presence would also be subsidized by the synod). The DMB then recommended that the congregation reconsider and think about a second mission pastor. A small committee of Grace members and experienced mission board members met to discuss this concept. They recommended working with the DMB and WELS Home Missions to request funding and manpower for a second mission pastor at GraceSahuarita. The Ministry Board has discussed this with interest. The Ministry Board would like to use a portion of our meeting to begin discussing this possibility with more members of Grace.

This will offer members the opportunity to share opinions regarding this new possibility as well as to ask any questions they may have. A panel of people familiar with the discussions will be available to respond as needed.

Some points that have guided past conversations on this issue that could receive congregational feedback:  These discussions originated from the DMB, not from Grace. We are not responding to an immediate perceived need, but to opportunities for outreach and for financial support. Potentially, this site could grow faster with additional staffing.  There could be other approaches to staffing levels at Sahuarita and throughout the Grace multi-site.  The recommendation would be to call a pastor from the field with strengths to complement (not duplicate) Pastor Heiman’s. The new Pastor could focus on community while Pastor Heiman continues to work with CLC families.  There continues to be a relatively high vacancy rate for pastors. Grace has a number of called workers (pastors and teachers) who could receive calls, and the timeline for having a pastor accept our call is uncertain.  We would like to better understand how members from all Grace sites view these issues. We are not seeking a decision at this point, but guidance for the Ministry Board.