# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S140 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 140 RESOLUTIONS WHEREAS, Regulations call for his retirement from this position at the close of this current year; and Wuereas, The Board of World Relief is already in the process of calling a successor for this important post of leadership and service; therefore be it Resolved, That we thank God for His gift in the per- son of Dr. Werner Kuntz and that we thank Doctor Kuntz for his dedicated and effective service to the Lord and to our church; and be it further Resolved, That we pray God’s continued blessing according to His gracious will upon Pastor Kuntz in his new state of retirement; and be it further Resolved, That we heartily concur with the board’s intention to seek the continuing expert service of Doc- tor Kuntz on a consultative basis; and be it finally Resolved, That we implore the guidance and direc- tion of the Holy Spirit in the selection of the new di- rector who will be called to this important assignment. Action: Adopted (5). To Accept Report of Board of World Relief RESOLUTION 9-02 Report 9-04 (CW, pp. 387—389) Wuereas, The Board of World Relief was able to give a small measure of relief to the existing needs of dis- tress in many parts of the world through Lutheran World Relief, Inc., and by independent allocation of funds; and Wuereas, The need for continued relief appears to be even more critical in the immediate years to come; and Wuereas, This need must be a matter of great con- cern to the church in carrying out the ministry of Christ for the total man; therefore be it Resolved, That we give thanks to God for the com- passion that has been shown by our several congrega- tions in carrying out this ministry of love under the direction of the Board of World Relief; and be it further Resolved, That in demonstration of the many boun- tiful blessings which the Lord has showered upon us we continue to support the World Relief program with more generous offerings as the needs of increased re- lief may arise in all parts of the world. Action: Adopted (6). To Express Concern for Moral Standards RESOLUTION 9-03 Overtures 9-09, 9-10 (CW, p.392) WuereEas, Pornography, nudism, and sexual perver- sions are increasing at an alarming rate and corrupting especially the minds of young people; and Whereas, The exploitation of violence and sex in print, films, and stage productions is causing a sharp decline in moral standards; therefore be it Resolved, That the church make renewed efforts to improve the present moral climate by — 1) encouraging its families to discriminate in their support of good publications, films, stage plays, televi- sion programs, etc.; 2) encouraging its members in their witness to the communications industry and society at large in this respect; and 3) encouraging talented Christians to prepare them- selves as communicators and to promote high moral standards in the industry; and be it also Resolved, That we ask the President of the Synod to inform the President of the United States, the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, the jus- tices of the Supreme Court, and the Governors of all states (and the provincial governments of Canada through Lutheran Church — Canada) of our concern for positive legislation and judicial action to protect and strengthen the moral standards of the nation, and that we encourage the members of the Synod to write on this matter to their representatives. Action: Adopted as amended (13). (Amendments in Session 10: Insertion of reference to Canada and addition of final clause.) To Avoid Racism, with Special Reference to Membership Transfers RESOLUTION 9-04 Overture 9-11 (CW, pp. 392—393) Wuereas, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod on the basis of God’s Word condemns all manner of racism as immoral and anti-Scriptural; therefore be it Resolved, That we at this time reassert our Scrip- tural position on the priesthood of all believers regard- less of race; and be it further Resolved, That our congregations and individual Christians practice brotherly love and avoid all racism; and be it finally Resolved, That all un-Scriptural practices in the church, including such matters as racism in transfers, be dealt with in accordance with Christ’s will as ex- pressed in Matthew 18. Action: Adopted as amended (6). (Before amendment the second resolved had read: “avoid everything that can be interpreted as racism.” A motion to recommit in order to clarify procedures for dealing with congregations on the basis of Matt.18 failed to carry.) To Alert Church to Dangers of Communism RESOLUTION 9-05 Overtures 9-22, 9-23, 9-24 (CW, pp. 398—399) Wuereas, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod has consistently recognized the dangers and evils of Communism (1962 Proceedings, Res. 13-17, p. 164; Res. 8-15, p. 143) and through its periodicals and other pub- lications has not lost sight of these evils; therefore be it 4 { i | | i i i & i i