Q&A
Q&A with LCMS Convention Planner Lynne Marvin
Marvin is senior director of event planning and procurement for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
As the senior director of event planning and procurement for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), Lynne Marvin is in charge of planning major events, including the triennial LCMS convention.
The 69th Regular Convention of the LCMS — Marvin’s 12th convention — takes place July 18–23 in Phoenix, Ariz., and will be attended by 1,346 delegates and many other guests from around the globe. This summer, she celebrates 35 years of service to the LCMS.
What sort of planning are you involved with for convention?
A: I shop and assess locations, not necessarily on price point, but on which will provide the best value. I’m also the signer for national hotel and car rental contracts — I attempt to negotiate to protect and preserve every dollar that goes into travel.
I also work with our suppliers: hotels, convention centers, volunteers, A/V providers and elections specialists, as well as ancillary support such as caterers, florists, security, cleaning staff and the decorator. If you look at it, eat it, experience it, I probably had an opinion and order for it.
What will you be doing during convention?
A: I rarely go onto a live convention floor because I have so much going on behind the scenes: it’s constant checking in and checking on people and events. Every minute of every day is a pulse check. They’ll never catch me sleeping!
We have hundreds of events affiliated with the convention. The districts usually have breakfast meetings. We have a number of luncheons and gatherings. Plus, every night there’s something going on: Saturday night, the delegate dinner; Sunday, the LCEF ice cream social and the Ministry to the Armed Forces dinner; Tuesday, the alumni night; Wednesday, the president-elect’s reception; and then Thursday, we’re packing up. It just goes that fast! It’s like a train you get on or a marathon that you’re running. Step after step, you keep going through it, and anything can happen.
How have you seen convention change over the years?
A: When I started, we had just switched to voting machines. Everything before that had been paper, but now, everything’s wireless. As far as the audio/visual aids, I remember our “big decoration” in 1992 was a huge vinyl banner in the back of the convention stage, with pipe and drape around it.
So much has changed, but as far as the coming together, the voting, the discussions, I don’t think it’s changed as much as you might think. It’s a beautiful coming together — you get more collaboration when people are face-to-face, trying to understand each other, instead of arguing online.
What can we expect from Phoenix as a host city?
A: Of course, it’s going to be hot! That’s part of meeting anywhere (except for Canada) in July. The Cardinals are playing the Diamondbacks while we’re there. (I petitioned Major League Baseball — the city does it on my behalf — and they listened.) There’s food and beverage everywhere, the hotels are first-class, and it was much less expensive than our hometown.
What do you hope attendees experience in Phoenix?
A: I hope people feel inspired by Word and Sacrament. I hope people feel heard, valued and included. I hope they feel they made a good decision to invest their time and energy in their church body.
My job is to love and serve people. That is my main focus. I am there to ensure the Office of the President and staff have what they need to facilitate the program. That’s the job, and it is a privilege.
What is your favorite moment of convention?
A: When the gavel goes down at the end. (Laughs) Of course, I love the opening worship, and the Ministry to the Armed Forces dinner, when they bring in the color guard. But when the gavel goes down and our people are safe, that means the world to me.
Learn More
- Learn more about the LCMS convention
Mary Henrichs
Staff writer and editor for LCMS Communications.
