The 51st Biennial Convention of the Southeastern Wisconsin District met Tuesday and Wednesday, June 12 and 13 on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee.
Convention Theme: SEW 100: A District Centennial
Looking Back...at a Century of God's Grace
Moving Forward...with Prayer and Resolve
Opening Service Preacher: District President David Kolander
Keynote Presentation: The Despisal of Grace Is the Death of the Church
a presentation and discussion of the essay delivered by Professor August Pieper
at the first district convention in 1918
District First Vice-President Joel Leyrer
Our district was formed in 1917 when the Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska districts merged to form the Joint Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Wisconsin and Other States. The Wisconsin Synod was carved into the three districts we know today (Northern, Southeastern, and Western). Each of the other synods became their own district. Each of these new districts held their first conventions in 1918. The first convention of the Southeastern Wisconsin District was held at St. John, Burlington the week of July 10-16, 1918.
This convention will observe the centennial of this first convention in several ways. The sermon text for the opening service will be the same text used in the 1918 opening service (John 8:31,32) and the worship format of the service will be representative of worship in 1918.
The keynote presentation will include the presentation and discussion of the essay that was delivered at the 1918 convention by Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Professor August Pieper. Although it was originally presented in German and speaks of the situation of the world and the church one hundred years ago, we will see how similar and relevant its message is to our world and church situation today.
We are also preparing a commemorative booklet that will include a) this convention's worship service and devotions; b) a recently revised translation of the original essay by Professor Pieper; and c) several pages of historical highlights gleaned from the proceedings of the first convention and other historical documents. A picture of the delegates who attended the 1918 convention, which has been in storage at St. John's, Burlington since that time, will also be displayed.
The agenda for this convention will include reports from representatives of most of the synod's boards and commissions and several local ministries and the election of the district officers, district representatives on the governing boards of the synod's ministerial education schools, and the leaders and members of various district boards and committees.
More pre-convention information is available in the 2018 Convention Announcement Letter.
Please follow this link to register for this convention: 2018 District Convention Registration.
Pleases follow this link to reserve a room at the Mayfair Radisson at reduced rates: Radisson Reservation Link.
Convention Reports and Other Materials
2018 Report to the Districts
The printed and .pdf versions of the Report to the Districts is slimmer than in years past. It includes only major reports from areas of ministry and those reports needed for discussion at the district conventions. Copies of the printed report have been mailed to each congregation and each male called worker. An electronic copy of that streamlined report is also available here: 2018 Report to the Districts.
Links to the .pdf of the printed report, as well as reports from other areas of ministry that traditionally report to the districts via the Report to the Districts, are available at www.wels.net/rttd2018.
PLEASE NOTE:
All of the following files are formatted with bookmarks for each individual report or section.
If you open them in Adobe Acrobat Reader, they will open with the bookmark pane visible.
They are also all formatted for two-sided printing.
Convention Reports
ALL Convention Materials (a large file - 63 Mb)
(includes everything from the next four files - Correspondence, Convention Information, District Reports, and Other Reports - note: the Table of Contents page is not yet clickable)
Correspondence
(including a welcome letter from Wisconsin Lutheran College and fraternal letters of greeting from many of the other districts.)
Convention Information Pages
(including Agenda, Floor Committees, Information, Parliamentary Guidelines, Circuit Meetings, Elections By-Laws, Nominations, Membership List, Serving the District, District Calendar, Evaluation Form)
District Reports
(including District President, 2016 Minutes, Financial Report, Secretary Report, 2019 Synod Convention Delegates, Mission Board, Ministry of Christian Giving, Lutheran Schools, Special Ministries, Worship)
Other Reports (note: this is a large file - 61 Mb)
(Reports from synodical and para-synodical boards, committees, and organizations)
Commemorative Booklet
(NOTE: Every delegate will receive a copy of this commemorative booklet at the registration tables. You wouldn't need to download the next five files unless you wanted electronic copies, too.)
Entire Commemorative Booklet
(This files includes all the information in the next three files.)
Convention Worship - (included in the booklet)
(A Service of Holy Communion, Tuesday Afternoon Meditation, Wednesday Morning Meditation, Wednesday Afternoon Meditation)
Convention Essay - (included in the booklet)
("The Despising of Grace Is the Death of the Church - Prof. August Pieper)
Convention History - (included in the booklet)
(includes a brief summary of the events of the 1918 convention, a chart with key information from all fifty previous conventions, brief biographies of the eleven district presidents, a listing of the other officers of the district, and a 1918 roster of the district, including the lay delegates who attended the convention)
Original Size Picture (33 x 7.5in) of the 1918 Delegates (included in the booklet)
Resolutions
Floor Committee 1 (Elections):
Floor Committee 2 (District President's Report and Resolutions)
Presentations and Videos
Copies of the Powerpoint presentations and Videos shown by those reporting to the convention will be posted here after the convention.
Keynote Essay Powerpoint
Hymnal Project Update Powerpoint
Synodical Council Powerpoint
Ministry of Christian Giving Powerpoint
Congregational Services Powerpoint (with videos)
WELS Missions Powerpoint
Christian Aid and Relief Video
Northwestern Publishing House Video
Koine Video (this video was mentioned, but not shown, at the convention)
Post-Convention Information
Convention Evaluation
Convention delegates can use the form at this link to provide feedback on this convention.
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