Governing Board Responds to SC Proposal
Response to Synodical Council Proposal from the
Governing Board of Michigan Lutheran Seminary
Since the Synodical Council (SC) published its press release at the end of February 2007, recommending the closure of MLS after June 2008, the members of the MLS Governing Board have given the proposal prayerful consideration and have met with President Karl Gurgel. During that time MLS has received hundreds of letters of encouragement and advice. We have taken them to heart. With this response to the SC proposal, we do not pretend that we have all of the answers to the synod’s current budget difficulties. We ask the Lord to bless the following suggestions according to his gracious will, and we ask you, Synodical Council members, to receive them as brothers in Christ. We enjoy the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and so we ask you to contact any of us if you have any questions about anything you read here, or if you simply want to talk. Our contact details are listed below.
We know that Board for Ministerial Education (BME) representatives went into the February SC meeting with a proposal to distribute the subsidy allocated by the SC, noting that there were substantial risks if all four schools were not fully funded. We understand from official correspondence of the BME that you declined to offer a rationale for your decision in your resolution or the press release, even though there was some discussion about rationale in your subcommittee and full council meeting. We hope to respond to your background, rationale and context document once it is developed for the April SC meeting. You may note as you read this response that we feel at a little bit of a disadvantage without that document.
Elected by the WELS districts and by the synod in convention, the members of the MLS Governing Board are constitutionally charged with responsibility for the operation of MLS, including the care and support of MLS faculty and staff. We read in the Q&A section of the WELS website that “every effort and plan is being made to support our MLS faculty and workers, provide incentives to MLS students and parents to continue their education in synod schools, and to preserve MLS property if possible for WELS constituents.” We are not aware of many of the details of these efforts and plans. We hope to comment on them once they are developed for the April SC meeting.
We note with concern the rapid decline in reserves at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS), the recent decreasing subsidy for Martin Luther College (MLC), the proposed closure of MLS, and the limited funding of Luther Preparatory School (LPS). President Gurgel has informed us that, even with an 8% increase in offerings, it may be challenging to keep the prep level (MLS and LPS) of the ministerial education system. We suggest that all three tiers and all four schools of the ministerial education system remain at genuine risk if the synodical administration continues to insist that only about 25% of the synodical mission dollar may be allocated to ministerial education. We believe that a simple examination of the budget histories of the Wisconsin and Missouri Synods will prove that point.
We note that the Synodical Council denied the BME request in October 2006 to help balance the budget by across-the-board salary and benefit freezes and cuts. We encourage you to reopen that investigation in view of the current situation.
We note that over $100 million is invested in the WELS Investment Fund with average annual returns of over 9%. We know that not all of that may be available for synodical entities. Still, although past performance is no guarantee of future results, we encourage you to allow synodical entities to take more than the 4% currently allowed for annual operating budgets.
We understand from President Gurgel that “the SC is not planning to reconsider their proposal at their April meeting.” Based on the input received from Synod members since the SC press release, we encourage you to reconsider the proposal at your April meeting.
We have noted through the years that people unacquainted with the prep schools in general and MLS in particular are often able to see their value in just a brief visit. So we cordially invite you to hold your April meeting on our campus.
We mean absolutely no slander or judgment of motives when we write that we are convinced that the budget proposal departs too far from the direction of the 2005 synod in convention in the areas of prep schools (http://www.mlsem.org/jump/2005-res-spec-reps), overall synodical priorities (http://www.mlsem.org/jump/2005-res-synod-min-dir), and borrowing as necessary (http://www.mlsem.org/jump/2005-res-fin-sys). We would like to encourage the members of the Synod to study the pertinent 2005 resolutions on the WELS website and make up their own minds in the matter.
If you are interested in a partial compilation of other budget remedy suggestions, a defense of the value of prep schools, a history of synodical budget allocations, or a digest of the Board’s question and answer session with President Gurgel, you may ask for any of these documents from info@mlsem.org.
We understand from President Gurgel that, with only a handful of exceptions, the people who have written to him about the proposal have done so politely and with appropriate Christian passion. We encourage the members of the Synod to continue their Christian correspondence on the many issues that face us at this time. We also encourage the members of the Synod to continue to support its very important work, carried out under the leadership of the Synodical Council, with prayers and offerings.
Rev. George Ferch
13461 Shakamac Dr.
Carmel, IN 46032
317-815-1583 home
317-571-0204 office
317-373-3407 cell
317-571-0204 fax (call first)
Mr. Steven Krause
426 Jay St.
Tomah, WI 54660
608-372-7215 home
608-343-5605 cell
Rev. James Naumann
302 Prospect St.
Vassar, MI 48768
989-823-7923 office
989-823-3643 home
Teacher Christopher Olson
2696 18th Ave.
North St. Paul, MN 55109
651-777-1450 x318 school
651-773-3204 home
651-748-0723 fax
Rev. Philip Paustian
504 Loueda St.
Gladstone, MI 49837
906-428-2650 home and office
Teacher Kurt E. Rosenbaum
4652 Ardale St.
Sarasota, FL 34232-4020
941-342-6760 home
941-371-5909 office
941-377-9670 fax
Rev. Jeffrey D. Wegner
49 Vista Dr.
Rumford, RI 02916
401-434-4078 home
508-761-5051 work and fax (call first)
401-345-6731 cell
Mr. Dan Witte
664 Jefferson St.
Crete, IL 60417
708-267-8666 cell
708-672-0633 home and fax
