# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S441
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
Resolved, That the Synod in convention direct the Commission
on Theology and Church Relations, by July 31, 2020, to issue a final
report affirming the burial of the body as the best practice for last
rites, not as a burden of conscience but as a joyful confession of the
eternal life and bodily resurrection won for us by Christ, while
acknowledging God’s mercy for those situations where such is not
possible, e.g., a plane crash or loss at sea, or the like; and that our
seminaries and official publications teach likewise.
Saint John’s, Chicago, IL; St. Paul, Brookfield, IL
Ov. 5-30

To Adopt the Conclusions of
the Lutheran Church—Canada’s CTCR
Document, “Cremation and the Christian”
WHEREAS, Many pastors of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod (LCMS) seek guidance with respect to the practice of
cremating the dead for the purpose of providing counsel to their
congregation members; and
WHEREAS, The LCMS conventions of 2013 and 2016 were
presented with overtures requesting the study of cremation with the
hope of providing a statement of belief and recommendations for
practice; and
WHEREAS, The LCMS conventions of 2013 and 2016 did not
bring such an overture to the convention floor, but provided a
recommendation following the 2016 convention that LCMS pastors
use, as a guide, the Lutheran Church—Canada’s (LCC)
Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) 2011
study, “Cremation and the Christian” (lutheranchurchcanada.ca/theological.php); and
WHEREAS, The LCC CTCR document offers the following
conclusions:
1. While not the case in Canada, there are places in the world
where, because of the scarcity of land, it has become
virtually impossible to purchase land for cemeteries and for
burial plots. If cremation has become the only option in
certain lands, Christians need to find ways to make clear
witness for our faith in the resurrection of the body. (p. 6)
2. The pastor should not offend the consciences of those who
have chosen cremation. In the case of one who is dying and
who has made up one’s mind on the subject, using the law
to convince them to do otherwise could create spiritual
doubt regarding their relationship to God. (p. 6)
3. The pastor should discourage thoughts of having the ashes
of the departed scattered, for this practice indeed arises
from a pagan denial of the importance of the body and
creates the impression that the spirit’s survival is all that
matters. (p. 6)
4. Families of Christians who have been cremated should be
encouraged to have the remains of their loved ones placed
in a columbarium or kept together in some other way. The
name of the deceased should be noted on the urn and/or on
the niche in memory of the one who has died and who
awaits the resurrection. (p. 6)
5. Though ashes cannot be committed to the earth in the same
way that a body may be committed, a clear message of
hope in the resurrection of the body needs take place even

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as the ashes are commended into the hands of God in the
hope of the resurrection. (p. 7)
6. As is always the case, the clear message given at the
funeral/memorial of all Christians is the hope of the
resurrection of the dead, not merely the survival of the
individual in heaven. Our creeds confess the resurrection of
the body (indeed, of the flesh!), not merely the survival of
the soul. (p. 7)
7. In sermons and Bible studies throughout the church year,
especially when dealing with lessons that cover the subject,
the Christian teaching on the resurrection of the dead must
be stressed, and the blessings confessed by the traditional
practice of burial over against cremation must be noted.
Burial should be encouraged over against cremation as the
means by which the church best confesses before the world
the return of Christ and the resurrection of the body (p. 7);
therefore be it
Resolved, That the English District memorialize the 2019 Synod
convention to adopt the LCC CTCR study’s conclusions.
English District
Ov. 5-31

To Affirm the Relationship Between Unity in
Theology and Mission and Diversity in Practice
WHEREAS, St. Paul affirms the need for the Gospel to remain
unaltered and uncompromised in 1 Corinthians 15 and Gal. 1:9; and
WHEREAS, Our church body was organized around the common
confession of faith from Scripture as it has been articulated in the
unaltered Book of Concord; and
WHEREAS, St. Paul reminds us that faith comes from hearing the
Word of the Lord (Rom. 10:17); and
WHEREAS, St. Paul teaches us by his example to proclaim the
Word of the Lord in a manner consistent with the cultural context
of the lost, saying in 1 Cor. 9:19–23:
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to
all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a
Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as
one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I
might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became
as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but
under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have
become all things to all people, that by all means I might save
some. I do it all for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share with
them in its blessings;
and
WHEREAS, Our Lutheran Confessions affirmed true unity in
theology is not dependent upon unity in practice:
It is sufficient for the true unity of the Christian church that the
Gospel be preached in conformity with a pure understanding of
it and that the sacraments be administered in accordance with the
divine Word. It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian
church that ceremonies, instituted by men, should be observed
uniformly in all places (Augsburg Confession VII);
and

2019 Convention Workbook