# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1950_S1131
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

564 INTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS

Church, the American Lutheran Church, the Au
Church, the Lutheran Free Church, ra United Evangeline LL
theran Church, the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, and i
Suomi Synod — eight bodies in all. At the first day’s meetin, the
was “resolved that it is the sense of this group that a cle *
organizational affiliation of the participating bodies in the Nations
Lutheran Council is desirable and should be sought by all von
means.” The adoption na this resolution led to the appointment sf
a committee of 15, authorized
3 cornice to prepare a structural plan for the
On January 5, 1949, a meeting was held, also in Mi i
confined to the representatives of the five venesal bodies pale
tuting the American Lutheran Conference. This meeting ado; ted
the following resolution: “Resolved, That in view of the anti
proposing a closer organizational affiliation of the Churches par.
ticipating in the National Lutheran Council as it was voted on
January 4, 1949, it is the sense of this meeting that every efiort
should be made to bring about the consummation of this plan, but
that no objection should be made to lesser approaches to unity
within the framework of the American Lutheran Conference.”

The Church Council of the ‘Evangelical Lutheran Church
(Norwegian) met in Minneapolis on February 21, 1949. It ap-
pointed a Union Committee to begin unity negotiations “with the
United Evangelical Lutheran Church (Danish) and with such other
constituent bodies of the American Lutheran Conference as ma:
officially express desire for such approach.” The Church Council
at this meeting also expressed regret “that at present there appear
to be no plans under way for the calling of an all-Lutheran confer-
ence as proposed by the American Lutheran Conference and ex-
pressed the hope that the proposal for this more inclusive con-
ference may be realized.”

_ The Executive Committee of the American Lutheran Con-
ference next held a meeting in Chicago on March 30, 1949, and went
on record in favor of the calling of an all-Lutheran free conference
athe wan of “widening the scope of Present approaches to

A sequel to the meeting of January 4, 1949, mentioried above,
was the meeting of 15 Lutheran leaders in Chicago, on April 26
and 27, 1949, from the general bodies participating in the National
Lutheran Council. This meeting made the following report to its
constituents: “In the deep conviction that our definite objective
should be the organic union of all American Lutherans in one
Lutheran Church, we recommend:

“I. That the Committee of Thirty-Four take action to place

. = TCR <

INTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS 565

“before each of the eight bodies participating in the National Lu-

theran Council the following two questions:
” . «A Whether it would be willing at this time to approve in
principle complete and immediate organic union with other par-
ticipating bodies of the National Lutheran Council which give
similar approval; and

~ «Bp Whether -it would join in creating a joint ways and means
committee to formulate a plan and to draw up a constitution for
such a union.

“TJ, Pending the consummation of such organic union, we
recommend that the Committee of Thirty-Four adopt the following
proposals for the establishment of a National Lutheran Federation,
and take action to place the same before the participating bodies
of the National Lutheran Council for their approval:

“A That there be established a National Lutheran Federation,
meeting annually, its member churches to be the general bodies
now or hereafter participating, in accordance with the provisions
of the Council’s constitution, in the work of the National Lutheran
Council.” Then follow stipulations B to I, delineating the function
of this “National Lutheran Federation.”

On May 6, 1949, the College of Presidents of our Synod passed
the following resolutions, brought here in full:

“Recognizing that this critical period in the history of the world
demands a realistic approach to the cultivation of unity in Amer-
ican Lutheranism, the College of Presidents of The Lutheran
Church — Missouri Synod

“1, expresses profound distress over Lutheran disunity and
declares its desire and willingness to co-operate in efforts to achieve
Lutheran unity in doctrine and its application to the life and work
of the Church;

“2. proposes that all Lutheran bodies in America join in free
conferences of pastors and laymen, under the guidance of God’s
Holy Spirit, to establish existing agreement and to remove existing
differences for the purpose of bringing about unity of Christian
faith and fellowship;

“3. hopes that a practical result of the discussions will be agree-
ment in doctrine and the eventual formation of a federation of
Lutheran bodies designed for co-operative Lutheran action on the
‘basis of the Word of God;

“4 resolves collectively and individually, in the various Dis-
tricts of the Missouri Synod, to promote Lutheran unity through
brotherly discussion, with the hope that such discussion will lead
to mutual recognition and co-operation;

“5. requests the President of the Missouri Synod, in co-opera-