# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1956_S543
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

INTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS 543
The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod and the American Lu-
theran Church.

The matter came under special discussion after such doctrinal
meetings through declarations and by requests of the American
Lutheran Church: The pamphlet by Dr. M. Reu, In the Interest
of Lutheran Unity, 1940, pp. 31 to 46 being directed to the Missouri
Synod in the matter of Prayer Fellowship; 1941 Proceedings of the
Missouri Synod: p. 278 (Doctrinal Unity Committee Report Con-
cerning A.L.C. declarations): “That they did not believe that all
the Scripture passages in Par. 28 as condemning unionism are ap-
plicable; (f) That with respect to prayer-fellowship they hold it
is wider than church-fellowship”; p. 283 (Detroit A. L. C. Conven-
tion Report): “Referring to prayer-fellowship, we are still con-
vinced that prayer-fellowship is wider than church-fellowship; but
we do not consider this difference as church-divisive and believe
in the course of time it will be overcome completely”; p. 283 (Mo.
Synod Doctrinal Unity Committee statement): “With respect to
prayer-fellowship we state as our opinion what we stated to the
American Lutheran Church Commissioners: ‘Generally speaking,
prayer-fellowship involves church fellowship. There may be cases,
however, where the question whether common prayer means fel-
lowship belongs to the field of casuistry”; p.299 (Report of the
Convention Floor Committee): “However, it became evident that
in reference to a certain aspect of the benefits derived from the
Lord’s Supper and in reference to prayer-fellowship the difference
is not merely that of phraseology.”

In our own midst there were the following declarations and
writings: Church Fellowship, Faculty Opinions of Concordia Sem-
inary, St. Louis, Mo., Concordia Publishing House, 1946; Prayer
Fellowship, May 1941, p.3; Towards Lutheran Union, 1943, pp. 168
to 172, 192—206, 207—219; Faculty Opinions, CPH, 1946: May 1944,
pp.4—T7; Prayer Fellowship, by Dr. Theodore Graebner, Septem-
ber 25, 1945; Faculty Opinions, CPH, 1946: May-June 1946, pp.
21—22; Essays Related to A Statement, 1946, Thesis VIII, pp. 55—57.

Resolutions were made in the matter of Prayer Fellowship
at our synodical conventions: Proceedings, 1944, pp. 251, 252; Pro-
ceedings, 1947, pp. 516,517; Proceedings, 1950, pp. 644—647, 647 to
651, and 659; Proceedings, 1953, p. 552.

The matter of Prayer Fellowship was brought into the Synod-
ical Conference conventions especially since 1950: Syn. Conf. Pro-
ceedings, 1950, pp. 133, 134, and 137; Syn. Conf. Proceedings, 1952,
pp. 149 and 152.

Prayer Fellowship became one.of the special matters in deal-
ings with the Wisconsin Synod since September 1953: “A Fraternal