LOOMING LARGE: >
The Pivotal Place of the Laity in 100 Years of History by MR. NORMAN WERNER, Contributing Writer KING OF GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH, Golden Valley, Minn.
factor in the life of many. Therefore, the love of the Lord was in their hearts and, when they were sought out to be nominated or appointed to a synod board or committee, they willingly heard and accepted the call. Some men served one year, many served several years; in fact, 29 men (eleven percent) each served more than 20 years.
The decisions that are made in the name of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod are determined at the annual conventions. Between conventions, the day-to-day work of the synod is conducted by boards and committees, whose membership is approximately equally shared by clergy and laity. A review of annual reports of the synod show that during the 64 years from 1954 to 2018, 269 laymen from Earl Aasen to Charles Zitzmann provided 2,626 years of service for the synod. A normal term of service for each member is three years, but, as indicated by the preceding numbers, the average length of service was about ten years for each man. Most positions are filled by election at the conventions; some members are appointed.
Most committee meetings are one day at a time, but some extend two or three days. Some meet once a year, but most are four or more times each year. The meeting dates are planned, but additional research, study, and advance preparation is necessary for each member to ready himself to resolve the issues on the next agenda. Travel time to the meetings may be fifteen minutes for some, but for others, it may be a day or two. In much of the twentieth century, the travel was often by railroad and the travel time was longer.1 Expenses of the committee members are reimbursed by the synod, but there is no salary or financial remuneration for the time that is spent away from the family or from employment. Time is donated by the laymen. Their life experiences are another contribution that the laity bring to the work of the Lord, experiences and knowledge that are not readily available to the clergy.
The Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, ESV). The 269 laymen who served the 2,626 years in the service of the Lord within the structure of the ELS received God’s law in their hearts at the time of their baptism. It is likely that the majority were baptized as infants and were increasingly exposed to and educated in the Christian heritage through their family, through the Sunday School and the Christian Day School. Christian higher education was a E L S 1 0 0 TH A N N I V E R S A R Y I S S U E
Women at the 1921 Convention
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1. A railroad secretary was an important officer of the synod, planning the travel of synod officers and committee members.