The Conference of Presidents (COP) met Jan. 6-9. At that meeting, the COP discussed the following items:
- The current number of pastoral vacancies. There are 162 total vacancies for pastor-trained men (unchanged from October), of which 154 are in congregations (up from 148 in October). The vacancy numbers will improve somewhat in the spring, since the graduating class at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., will be larger than it has been in recent years.
- Guidelines for the call process. These guidelines apply to how often called workers can receive calls, how district presidents work together to coordinate when calls are issued and which names can be used on call lists, and how many names should be included. The COP reviewed the current guidelines and the suggestions for changes and decided to keep the current guidelines in place.
- What information should be included in the profiles of called workers that are provided to congregations when they are considering candidates to call.
- The process for assignments of called worker candidates. Assignments will take place at Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., in May.
Synod statistics for 2025 and Congregation Mission Offering (CMO) subscriptions are currently being gathered, with Feb. 6 being the deadline for both. Congregations are encouraged to submit their statistics and CMO subscriptions by that date.
The Doctrine Committee of the COP will hold its annual meeting with the Doctrine Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod at the end of January.
Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder
