Lutherans for Life Conference

Set for July 24-25, 2009 in St. Louis

By Jim Day

Under the theme “Celebrating the Abundant Life” (John 10:10), Lutherans For Life (LFL) will hold its 2009 national conference July 24-25 at the Doubletree Westport Hotel, St. Louis. Registration is open now, by mail or online at its Web site, www.lutheransforlife.org, where other details about the 2009 conference are posted. The conference is open to all – not just Lutherans. Individual registration for the entire conference is $95 ($85 for students), with registrations also available for partial attendance. Those who register online for the whole conference receive a $10 discount for each adult registering.

A rate of $83 per room per day is available for conference attendees who make reservations with the Doubletree Westport Hotel by July 2.

Dr. James Lamb, LFL executive director, will conduct a pre-conference leader’s workshop that will focus on “Renewal For Life,” LFL’s initiative to bring life-issue discussions and resources to a congregational level.

A musical program will kick-off the conference on Friday, followed by a worship service led by Dr. Lamb. Following the evening’s banquet, Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Schindler Schiavo, will give the keynote address, “Remembering Terry Schiavo: My Family’s Battle to Save My Sister’s Life.”

Plenary speakers will be Rev. Don Wagner, pastor of Christ and Zion Lutheran Churches in Elbow Lake and Hoffman, MN., whose conference topic will be “Celebrate the Abundant Life through a Living Hope,” and Col. John Eidsmoe, a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and a pastor in the Association of Free Lutheran Churches, on “Being Pro-Life in the Obama Era.”

Workshop topics will include “Legal Strategies in the Face of Roe v. Wade,” “Following the Shepherd by Defending Life,” “The Good Shepherd and the Cure for the Incurable,” and “Following the Shepherd at Life’s End.”

An optional event on Saturday morning is a sidewalk prayer vigil at an abortion clinic. Educational daycare will be available for children on Saturday, and an ingathering of layette items – blankets, diapers, onesies, new infant clothing and toys – will be taken for Concordia Seminary families.

Lutherans For Life, whose mission is stated as “Witnessing to the sanctity of human life based on the Word of God,” describes itself as “the only pan-Lutheran pro-life organization in the nation.” With national offices in Nevada and Iowa, LFL has 11 state or regional federations, 148 local chapters, and 167 life-ministry coordinators nationwide.