Ohio District Pastor's Conference - my perspective

Our congregation, Christ Lutheran Church was kind enough to include the cost for the spouse for the Ohio District Fall Pastoral Conference. I promised, in return, to blog about the days. Finally, 2 weeks later I am getting to it! This is the view which greeted us from the balcony of our room. It was delightful to say the least. The weather turned sunny later that day and Tuesday was also a beautiful sunny day.

Here is the view looking the other way on the balcony. Looks the same doesn't it? That's because we were surrounded by beauty at the Wilson Lodge at the Oglebay Resort and Conference Center The fall colors were almost at their peak....we were just missing the
reds of the season.


The room they put us in was deluxe to say the least. This part of the Lodge just opened in 2006 and was the plushest place we have ever stayed. They had a heated towel rack in the spacious bathroom! We did not have need of the comfy-loooking robes hanging in the wardrobe, but they did look inviting. Pastoral conferences are a real treat for pastors and their wives and they try to hold them in places which help restore the spirit. This place fit the bill. West Viginia (where this was located) is part of the Ohio District.

In addition to time alone, luxurious surroundings and the opportunity for recreation, part of the conference is to hear speakers and worship together. It has been a good many years since we attended this fall conference -- you can see this entry of my husband's blog for further info on that.

The Bible Study leader was Professor Dan Gard from Concordia Seminary in Ft Wayne. His topic was Citizens of Two Kingdoms and it was very interesting indeed! Professor Gard is both a pastor and a Naval Reserve chaplain so he lives with a foot in each kingdom on a regular basis. This picture shows the chappies together at the conference. Chaplain Gard served our nation after 9/11 at the Pentagon and Chaplain dh served our nation after 9/11 in Shanksville Pa and in NYC.


The speaker for the conference was Uwe Simon-Netto and he talked about Lay Vocation = The Lutheran Remedy Against the Me Disease. From his perspective of journalism, he encouraged us (and by extension the members of our churches) to get involved in politics and journalism. He gave us statistics which showed that Lutherans are vastly under-represented in Congress. We of all people should be involved so that we can work for good in the Kingdom of the Left. His quote was "Dirty your hands in politics and journalism; we have soap". He was a very entertaining speaker recounting many personal experiences as illustrations. During the Vietnam War, he was a journalist and considered most of the reporting foul during the TET Offensive. He said all the civilians fled in the direction of the US and the allies and yet that was not reported. He never saw any person fleeing North towards the communists yet according to the journalists, you would have thought no one wanted the Americans there. Speaking to the pastors he said "It is your job to proclaim the truth in the right-hand kingdom; it is the journalists job to proclaim the truth in the left-hand kingdom." He urged the pastors to encourage young people to enter journalism or politics. Dr. Simon-Netto was very forthright - another quote "Political correctness is institutionalized stupidity!."

He also bemoaned the lack of classical education in American resulting in not understanding philosophy and history. Because American journalists don't understand, they don't cover philosophical thought. In the European newspapers, competent debates are covered and discussed in newspapers and magazines enriching the readers as a result.

Another great treat at the Pastoral retreat is reconnecting with other pastor's wives that I know (and love). Carrie and I were able to catch a lunch together and chatted for much too brief of a time.







One more treat to mention is the wonderful food at Oglebay -- here is a picture of the dessert from our Tuesday evening banquet. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!