Policy Review and Workshop.
On Monday 4 March a group of bishops, regional and national leaders, school principals and school pastors came together to begin the review of a number of documents related to the mutual ministry of principal and pastor in Lutheran schools and the responsibilities around spiritual leadership in a Lutheran context.
The review was triggered by normal policy review cycles but also a growing pressure around the changing nature of our communities. Specifically, the decline in numbers of practicing Lutherans, decline in numbers of Lutheran pastors and the increase in growth in our schools. The policies and procedures under review include: Church Membership and the Lutheran School Principal (policy), Staffing Policy for Lutheran Schools (policy), LEA Principal Colloquy (procedure), Principal as Spiritual Leader (paper), and The Role of the Pastor in Lutheran Schools (policy). The dedicated and passionate members of the focus group collaborated well to consider possible ways forward, essential criteria for revised documents, and envisaged how these multiple documents might be amalgamated into one. The next step in the review is to convene a writing group to draft the revised documents. Following this, the draft revised policy will be open for wider consultation and feedback before final drafting. We invite your prayers for this very important review so that we can further strengthen and support our leadership in Lutheran schools.