Southwest Conference

The Southwest Conference has been remarkably stable, with Redeemer Lutheran in Kewanee the congregation without a full time pastor and the Edwards River Ministry continuing to seek ordained leadership [Grace, Ophiem; First, Sherrard and Swedona, Swedona ]. Bob Haak (Augustana College) and Pr. Jane McChesney have served the latter as interim.

The congregations of the conference continue to share their newsletters with one another, and a prayer calendar is prepared annually to offer prayers for each of the congregations of the conference, along with other ministries of the church.

The Pastors and AiMs continue to meet monthly for prayer,  study and fellowship. In the past year we have heard from a variety of people on a variety of topics: Pr. Kurt Nordby, Illowa Coalition; Erin Clark, ELCA Task Force on Sexuality; Pr. Nancy Jaster, Prayer Mazes; a self-directed conversation about the “Priorities of the Parish Pastor”; Pr. Jan Bengtson hosted us at his lake cabin for refreshment and renewal; a report from Church-wide Assembly Voting Members; Paula Graves, LSSI, Single Parents’ Program, Foster Care and Adoption; and Pr. Keith Killinger, diakonia.

The Conference special mission projects for 2005, in  addition to Hispanic Ministry in the Quad-Cities, included supporting an international student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

At our Spring Assembly Grace, Knoxville hosted a presentation by  John Califf, NIS Director of Development, and representatives from Thrivent Financial regarding planned giving. Our Fall Assembly, also at Grace, Knoxville, gave us the opportunity to hear from Pt. Stacie Fidlar (St. John, Rock Island) about St. John’s experience as a Reconciling Congregation as well as their outreach to Hispanics in the Quad Cities. The conference has taken the latter as the mission focus of the conference, each congregation seeking ways to be supportive. Lisa Hassenstab, the new director of Disaster Relief for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois shared the process for congregations to become involved in responding to natural disasters.

Respectfully,
Pr. Michel D. Clark, Dean