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Last updated 05/13/2009
Election for Synod Vice President
 Priscilla
Schlenker Kinney will conclude her second term as synod vice
president this summer, and our constitution will not permit her to serve
another term.
Duties of the Vice President
The
synod’s constitution specifies that the vice president must be a lay person and an active member of a congregation of this synod.
The chief responsibility of the vice president is to chair the synod
council at its four regular meetings each year and any special meetings.
He or she is ex officio a member of all of the synod’s ministry teams and
committees and is also a voting member of the churchwide assembly.
Serving in this office requires some travel, as the vice president is
often called upon to visit congregations to share in celebrations, conduct
elections, or discuss the work of the wider church. Two or three times a
year, the vice president may be asked to represent the synod at meetings
somewhere in Northeast Region of the ELCA or at the churchwide offices in
Chicago.
The vice president confers regularly with the bishop and the other
officers of the synod.
Nominees for Vice President (in alphabetical order)
Dawn M. Baxter
Biographical information
Congregation: Allegheny, Knauers
Current occupation: Director, West Berks Mission District,
and parish secretary, Hope, Reading
Former occupation: Parish secretary, St. John, Mohnton;
realtor, Caldwell Banker Landis
Congregational activities: Youth group advisor; Sunday
school teacher; congregation council president and secretary; lay worship
assistant; stewardship committee
Mission district, synodical, and churchwide involvements:
Synod Council, liaison to West Berks mission district; mission district
staff (mission associate and director); Witness and Service Ministry Team;
chair, synod council Program and Review Committee
Community involvements: Leader of group of volunteers who
developed Family Promise of Berks County, an interfaith ministry to
homeless families with children; board member, Southwest Berks Thrivent
Chapter; Family Promise board and program committee chair
What do you thing you would bring to the office of vice president?
I believe I bring a sense of joy and enthusiasm for ministry! Serving
on Synod Council these past six years, I have come to understand the many
and varied ministries of which we all are a part. I have also come to
realize that new ways of doing ministry will be necessary for our future
as a Synod. We need to be able to look at ministry in a new light, in
God’s light that continues to shine as brightly as ever, but which seems
to face an ever more difficult challenge in helping us to see what we need
to do to be the church in this time and place!
I look forward to being part of facing those challenges and believe that
if we joyfully serve and share God’s love with our neighbors, that they
too may want to discover that source of joy! I believe the work that we
have started to help congregations renew and energize their ministries is
a good first step, and I am anxious to see where it will lead.
I feel that finances will demand that difficult decisions will need to be
made by many of our congregations. I have led a congregation successfully
through a dissolution process and recognize the importance of good
communication through all aspects of change. In building a new church, all
must feel they have played a part in the decisions being made. The same
care will need to be taken with congregations facing challenges. Avoiding
the issues will not help a congregation take the steps necessary to see
their future in a new light. Ministry may not look the same for them in
the years to come; it may not be in a building they now call home, it may
not be with a full-time pastor—but we as leaders of the Synod will need to
help them see that different can be better. We need to help them seize new
opportunities for ministry and encourage them to be looking forward
instead of back. If we are truly “followers” of Jesus, then we must
believe he is leading us somewhere—probably not over the well-worn paths
we’ve been walking for decades, but leading us to new and greener pastures
if we will just trust him. It may be a rocky road, there will be many
obstacles, but we need to start planning the trip. I think the Synod
Council will need to take a role in this process which may just be our new
focus for ministry. I believe my experience in the church would help me to
lead this effort.
My work with the WBMD and Family Promise has allowed me to see what can be
accomplished when congregations work cooperatively. We can do together
what we could not do alone. I see that as cause for celebration and
encouragement and believe the future will be bright for the people and
ministries of the NEPS, if we are willing to step into God’s light.
Edward C. Cool
Biographical information
Congregation: Holy Trinity, Bethlehem
Current occupation: Retired
Former occupation: Manager of Project Engineering, Bethlehem
Steel Corp; Senior Consultant in Engineering Dept., Bethlehem Steel Corp.
Congregational activities: Adult Sunday school teacher;
confirmation class teacher; chair, stewardship committee; chair, committee
meeting with neighboring Lutheran congregations to explore joint ministry
or merger; lay preacher and worship leader; former chair of staff support
committee and call committee; member and vice president of congregation
council
Mission district, synodical, and churchwide involvements:
Member of synod council; chair of synod council Administration Committee;
voting member of Churchwide Assembly in 2005 and 2007; chair, synod
assembly Elections Committee, 2008; synod council liaison to and member of
synod Men in Mission team; member, joint SEPA and NEP synod committee
planning Men in Mission annual event; member, advisory panel appointed by
bishop to investigate conflict in a congregation; member, former
Bethlehem-Easton mission district stewardship committee; synod council
liaison to and board member of Lutheran Congregational Services
Community involvements: Vice President and executive board
member, Minsi Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America; member, Area 5
Committee of Northeast Region, Boy Scouts of America; active in training
of adult leaders and other leadership roles in Boy Scouts; president, Elms
Condominium Association
What do you thing you would bring to the office of vice president?
 To
answer this question, I first looked at the duties of the vice president.
The synod’s constitution states simply it is to chair the Synod Council
and, thus, I looked further at the functions of the Synod council to see
what the vice president needs to help lead. The Synod Council serves as
the executive board for the synod, with specific functions related to the
budget and our financial issues, to passing on personnel items and other
items relating to legal/constitution issues. While not stated, the vice
president is called upon to represent the synod and also to counsel and
provide a perspective of a layperson to the bishop.
Considering the above as the duties of the office of Vice President my
thoughts on what I might bring to the office are:
- I have considerable experience in conducting meetings, both from my
prior work life and continuing volunteer involvement.
- While my educational background is in engineering, the majority of
my work career was in supervision and management. As a result I have a
good background in handling personnel issues and in developing and
managing budgets.
- I have knowledge and experience in the workings and responsibilities
of a board for a volunteer organization. This comes from my service on
the Synod Council and on executive boards of several non-profit
organizations, including Boy Scouts, condominium associations and
Lutheran Congregational Services.
- I have unique experience and perspective on the ministry
opportunities faced by congregations in a variety of settings. I am a
native of Bethlehem and grew up in my current congregation and have
again been a member of that congregation for the past 18 years. However,
during my working career I lived for a number of years in Maryland,
western New York and western Pennsylvania. While living in those areas,
I was an active member of a variety of different Lutheran congregations
in different settings, including large urban, large suburban, medium
sized urban, small suburban and small semi-rural. These were members of
both major predecessor bodies of the ELCA; the LCA and ALC.
- On several occasions I have been called upon to represent the synod
to congregations. Periodically I also have represented the other
volunteer organizations I am associated with by making presentations
before other groups. I am comfortable in fulfilling the role of being a
representative for the synod.
I am committed to and very encouraged by the synod’s current initiative
to renew the church, particularly in encouraging and developing vital
congregations. I look forward to continuing to do God’s work here in our
synod area.
Jean Sandberg
Congregation: St. Mark, Lackawaxen
Current occupation: Educator, currently teaching Special
Education
Former occupation: Teacher: Secondary Multiple Disability
class, middle level inclusion and self-contained, Delaware Valley School
District; Teacher and Home-bound instructor: Eldred School District, NY
Congregational activities: Council Secretary; organist and
youth choir leader; lector; assisted with social gatherings and
maintaining of grounds; youth group advisor; congregation voting member to
Mission District Assembly’s and Synod Assemblies.
Mission district, synodical, and churchwide involvements:
Mission District Council chairperson; mission district youth advisor;
member, Pocono Area Leisure Ministry Committee; synod Youth Ministry team;
coordinated synod Jr. High Events and synod Sr. High Servant events; Synod
planning team for a Regional Youth Event and have lead workshops at
Regional Youth Events; voting member to the 2007 Churchwide Assembly;
Community Life Staff at four National Youth Gatherings
Community involvements: Member, Thrivent Financial Chapter
Leadership team; Special Olympics coach; Habitat for Humanity site builds
and selection committee; Program committee for Bear Creek Camp; I
volunteer as staff for respite week-ends for disabled adults; serve as a
standards visitor for American Camping Association.
What do you thing you would bring to the office of vice president?
As a youth I had the opportunity to serve on the Synod youth board and
as President of my Mission District. These roles offered me the chance to
attend a Synod assembly as a youth. These experiences along with attending
the National youth gathering broadened my view of the church and its
ministry, along with the roles I have an opportunity to be a participant
in.
My faith and life journey has provided me with various experiences of
sharing ministry in different parts of the country. As a youth I was
involved in 4-H where I learned Parliamentary Procedure using Roberts’
Rules of Order, including competition with other clubs. I have used those
skills to conduct meetings of organizations in which I have served as
President or chairperson. I have had to team with others to accomplish the
ministry of the organization. I have pursued opportunities to serve the
church beyond the synod level. I have found these experiences to be
enriching and exciting. I have a commitment to my faith and to serving the
church as I am called. I would bring a new viewpoint to the position. I
would enthusiastically embrace new opportunities to share in the work of
the church.
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