# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S190
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

190 CHURCH RELATIONS

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri
Synod will also strive to achieve an agreement on com-
mon standards and procedures in the practice of fellow-
ship before a formal unity or altar and pulpit fellowship
is declared with any other Lutheran group.

Curist LUTHERAN CHURCH

New Castle, Pa.

ARTHUR HarTFELDER, President

Henry F, Scuvurz Jr., Secretary
(3-245)

To Declare Fellowship with All Who
Subscribe to Lutheran Confessions

Wuereas, Our Lord relates in love and grace to all
who confess Him before men, and St. Paul affirms that
we are all the children of God through faith in Christ;
and

Whereas, It is the whole purpose of Christ in the
Gospel to draw all men together to Him and one another
in faith and love, by grace; and

Wuereas, It is the practice of all our congregations
to accept members into pulpit and altar fellowship who
subscribe to the ecumenical creeds and the Lutheran
Confessions at every confirmation (even though among
them are many who at the time and later have not
attained perfection), expecting them to continue to
grow in grace and love of God and one another by fel-
lowship in the body of Christ; and

WHEREAS, Our present practice of excluding from
pulpit and altar fellowship those of other synodical affil-
iation who subscribe to the same ecumenical creeds and
Lutheran Confessions is in our minds contrary to Gos-
pel grace and invitation and contrary to common prac-
tice in all our congregations at confirmation rites; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That we bring our synodical practice in
harmony with the Gospel purposes and congregational
practices by declaring pulpit and altar fellowship with
The American Lutheran Church and with all others
who subscribe to the ecumenical creeds and the Lu-
theran Confessions, letting God be the judge of their
consciences and fidelity to Him, while we share His
grace in striving to build up one another in love.

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION
Yardley, Pa.
ELMER H., Strout, Secretary
O. T. McREE, Pastor
(3-246)

To Publicly Acknowledge Lutheran
Fellowship

Whereas, Christian fellowship is a free gift and
creation of God in Christ, just as is justification, and
is not brought into being by synodical resolutions, dec-
larations, etc.: and

Wuereas, The Handbook of the Synod makes no
provisions for “declaring fellowship,’ but does insist
that we recognize other church bodies as “Lutheran”

when they accept as normative the Lutheran Symbols
(cf. C. F. Walther’s Altenberg Theses); and

Wuereas, All the major Lutheran bodies in America
do in fact accept as normative the Lutheran Symbols,
it seems to us that the current definition of altar fellow-
ship in The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod is not
an accurate reflection of the previous statements: there-
fore be it

Resolved, That the campus pastors assembled at the
Consultation on Campus Ministry in St. Louis ask The
Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod to publicly ac-
knowledge the fellowship which exists among Luther-
ans; and be it further

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri
Synod make every effort to eliminate manifestations of
separation and heal all divisions.

Campus Pastors CONFERENCE
REUBEN BAERWALD, Chairman

(3-247)
To Restructure Lutheranism

WuereEAS, It must be considered to be our Lord's will
that whenever and wherever possible, Christians are
to have a visible fellowship as one body in Christ: and

WuereaS, Whenever and wherever possible, this
must also be considered a Lutheran goal and a desired
objective, yea, to be promoted and sought; and

WuereaS, The only true fellowship to be promoted
is not one revolving around a name. such as Lutheran,
but around the Word of God and practice; and

WuereaS, These objectives have not been reached so
far with The American Lutheran Church and at this
time appear to be unobtainable because of such con-
cerns as the social gospel, neoorthodoxy, lodge practice,
and unionism; and

WHEREAS, We see in both The Lutheran Church —
Missouri Synod and The American Lutheran Church
such a polarization of theological convictions that it is
virtually impossible and meaningless to attempt to keep
these divergent views and practices under one theologi-
cal “roof”; and

Whereas, To establish altar and pulpit fellowship
without such a unity of doctrine and practice would be
more disruptive of harmony than promotive of true fel-
lowship, for harmony cannot come with a convention
vote; and

Wuereas, The American Lutheran Church has now
extended the hand of fellowship in two directions, both
to The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod and to The
Lutheran Church in America, creating an entirely dif-
ferent situation than existed 2 years ago; and

WuereEas, To say no to all fellowship concerns would
be wrong and to say yes without harmony is equally
wrong; and

WuerEAS, The real problem confronting our church
body is not one of broader fellowship but one of Biblical
orthodoxy; and

Whereas, It is clearly evident that there are those