2003-3
A Resolution to Further Support the Service of Peer Ministers
Purpose: To support the service of Lutheran peer ministers, building ties of communication and enabling cooperation between them, while also strengthening the relationship between student leaders in Lutheran campus ministries and the Lutheran Student Movement in the United States of America (LSM-USA).
Whereas, student peer ministers, as employees or volunteers of Lutheran campus ministries, have an extremely important affect on individual Lutheran students, and are gifted leaders within their campus faith communities and could be even more so on a regional Lutheran student level;
Whereas, part of the purpose of LSM-USA is to “provide a well-developed program… for the expression of fellowship in Christ and of the social and intellectual concerns of campuses,”[1] “encourage active participation in the life and mission of the Lutheran churches,”[2] and “promote Lutheran unity in every possible way;”[3]
Whereas, student peer ministers share many of the same goals and support the ministry of LSM-USA, and by building stronger ties between them and LSM-USA, they would connect to more resources and events, helping LSM-USA be more present and visible on campuses and increase involvement at regional and national levels;
Whereas, student peer ministers connected with Lutheran campus ministries would benefit from being in contact with one another on a regional and national level, and their ministry and that of LSM-USA would be encouraged as a result;
Therefore be it resolved that:
1. The LSM-USA regional representatives will work with campus pastors, regional and national campus ministry staff, area synods, and others to develop a database for each region containing the contact information of all student peer ministers connected with Lutheran campus ministries in their regions, to be accessible on their respective regional websites,
2. The LSM-USA national webmaster, in cooperation with the Internet Committee, will collect and merge all of the regional databases as prepared by the regional representatives and post them as a single database on the national LSM-USA website, divided visually by region,
3. Every LSM-USA National Gathering will include some scheduled time or event, such as a meal, workshop, or meeting time, specifically set aside for peer ministers in attendance, as organized by the National Gathering Planning Committee.
Sponsors: Jodi Frietag, Peer Minister, Towson University
Mark Parker, Peer Minister, University of Maryland—College Park;
Ray Ranker, Peer Minister, University of Maryland—College Park;
Christine Myers, Peer Minister, University of Pennsylvania
Beth Burke, Peer Minister, University of Pennsylvania