ULMA started off 2006 with the semi-annual meeting of the ULMA
Commission in Naperville, Illinois the weekend of January 13 - 14.
Our thanks go out to Bethany Lutheran Church, our gracious hosts for
this event. The meeting stretched over two days with a rather busy
schedule.

The first order of business was to review the progress at our first
Mission in Milwaukee. The Mission is continuing to meet for regular
worship. Following the ULMA Commission Meeting in Naperville, Pr.
Jack Cascione of Redeemer Lutheran Church, St. Clair Shores,
Michigan, proceeded up to Milwaukee to be the guest preacher for the
weekend. With prior notice in "Christian News" and on the Internet,
the service had a large number of attendees, close to 40 in all.
Pastor Cascione preached on the Baptism of Christ and the Doctrine of
the Trinity. This was followed by Bible Class and an informal meeting
to discuss the next steps for the mission.

The lay leadership in Milwaukee is anxious to form a congregation. A
faithful group has been meeting for worship every Sunday. They are
proceeding with a study of the "Constitutional Guidelines for Mission
Congregations of the ULMA". ULMA officials are working with the
Milwaukee laity to help them in selecting a name, holding their first
voters meeting, and adopting a Constitution. The goal is a formation
meeting in March. The group is dedicated, excited, and moving forward
at a quick pace.

We have been blessed to have Pr. James Behling agree to serve at the
Mission as they continue to organize and grow. People are telling
their friends about the new mission, handing out flyers, and
spreading the word. The Mission may move to a nearby location that
will be more accessible and provide room for a nursery. We will send
out notification of any changes as they come up.

Next on the ULMA Agenda was the review to help solidify procedures,
goals, and the planting of mission congregations. Working documents
for the organization were finalized and status reports given. The
Officers of the ULMA were all reelected for another term. An increase
in committed mission funds from member congregations has almost
doubled our available mission funding. An additional commitment was
approved for the continuing work with our Milwaukee Mission.

To help others know more about the Association, we continually work
on updating our website and getting information out via our news
releases. We had a glitch last month where the site was offline for a
few days. It is now back online in its own hosting location. We
apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused.

We currently talk to interested churches and individuals mostly by
telephone. Work is underway on a presentation about ULMA that can be
taken "on the road". We hope to have this material put together by
Spring for visits to groups of interested laity and clergy. Stay
tuned.

We discussed leads for other mission startups in Indiana and Georgia,
plus some international inquiries. These leads are being actively
pursued. The ULMA has also approved the inclusion of the following
statement in its "Constitutional Guidelines for Mission Congregations
of the ULMA".

Added at the end of paragraph (A) within Article VII: Authority of
the Congregation:
We also accept the doctrine and practice of the "Brief Statement of
the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod [Adopted 1932]."

Doctrine is key in these troubled times. The members of the United
Lutheran Mission Association are committed to preserving God's Word
and Sacrament ministry among us and the missions we help launch.

Between meetings the ULMA Commission members meet by telephone and
conference call as the need arises. Our next semi-annual Commission
meeting will be on July 7 – 8, 2006 in Indianapolis. Thank you for
your continued prayers and support.