Race Track Ministry
Letters in support of Rev. David Krueckeberg
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE RACETRACK MINISTRY OF THE REVEREND DAVID KRUECKEBERG
WHEREAS the Reverend David Krueckeberg, better known to the people whom he
serves as "Reverend Dave," is an ordained minister of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod who has served with distinction as a minister for the workers of the thoroughbred horse racetracks in the Chicago area since 1969, and
WHEREAS he was the first full-time racetrack minister in the United States and his ministry has served as a model for racetrack ministry for the Christian Church at large, and
WHEREAS he has been licensed by the State of Illinois for 38 years to have access to the people who live and work in the stable areas of the racetracks, and
WHEREAS he has conducted a unique, but thriving seven-day-a-week ministry to
those who care for the horses that could not be done easily by a parish pastor,
since state law restricts access to the stable area to licensed personnel and since many of the grooms, hot-walkers, exercise riders, and other workers work long hours seven days a week that hinder their involvement in a typical congregation, and many lack transportation to leave the racetrack, and
WHEREAS Reverend Dave, in addition to preaching the gospel, has tried to help racetrackers meet some of their most basic physical needs (including electricity, indoor plumbing, and water quality), and
WHEREAS it is not good for any mortal to prevent a pastor from exercising his holy stewardship over Word and Sacrament, and
WHEREAS one of the purposes for which the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod was organized and exists is to support pastors from unjust removal from their ministry, and
WHEREAS Reverend Dave has been barred by the Hawthorne Race Course from
ministering to racetrackers in both the public and the non-public areas of the racetrack and by the Arlington Park Racetrack, which is owned by Churchill Downs, Inc., from ministering to racetrackers in the non-public areas of the racetrack, and
WHEREAS Reverend Dave had been allowed to conduct services within a two-hour period each week in the non-public stable area at the Hawthorne Race Course, but even that privilege was revoked on March 31, 2006, and
WHEREAS Reverend Dave has repeatedly not been allowed to do grief ministry
to the families of deceased workers who live and work in the non-public
stable areas of the racetracks immediately following the death of a loved
one, even though he had a pastoral relationship with the families, and
WHEREAS there has been a significant decrease in the number of baptisms
among racetrackers and their families since Reverend Dave has been denied
full access to the stable areas of the racetrack, and
WHEREAS there has been a 40 percent decline in the number of racetrack
children enrolled at Grace Lutheran School since Reverend Dave has been denied
full access to the stable areas of the racetracks and it is anticipated that enrollment will continue to decline if he continues to be barred from his ministry, and
WHEREAS the owners and managers of the Hawthorne Race Course and the
Arlington Park Racetrack have rebuffed numerous requests for the reinstatement
of the ministry of Reverend Dave, and
WHEREAS Reverend Dave's plight has been featured in the English Channels, the Northern Light, the Reporter, the Lutheran Witness, and in the local secular press including the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Herald, and The Pioneer Press, and Reverend Dave has been commended by our synodical president Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, and by five district presidents whose districts include Hawthorne Race Course and all racetracks owned by Churchill Downs, Inc., and
WHEREAS many people throughout the United States and Canada have signed a Petition in Support of the Ministry of the Rev. David Krueckeberg promising not to participate in the activities of the Hawthorne Race Course and of Churchill Downs, Inc., including their off-track betting facilities, their racetracks -- Arlington Park in Arlington Heights - Chicago, Illinois, Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney - Chicago, Illinois, Calder in Miami, Florida, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky - Evansville, Indiana, Fairgrounds in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Hoosier in Anderson - Indianapolis, Indiana -- and all simulcast presentations originating from their racetracks until such time as Reverend Dave is allowed unrestricted access to the racetrackers and their families; therefore be it
RESOLVED that the LCMS in convention publicly commend Reverend Dave for his labors and publicly support his ministry, and be it further
RESOLVED that the LCMS in convention in the names of our 2.4 million members find Hawthorne Race Course and Arlington Park Racetrack's actions unacceptable, and be it further
RESOLVED that the 2007 LCMS convention encourage the owners of Arlington Park and Hawthorne racetracks to allow Reverend Dave the access he previously had to the racetrackers at those racetracks to continue his ministry.
This page was created on 01/22/2007 and last edited on: 10/15/2009