# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1847_S13
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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Instructions for the Präses [president] of the German Evangelical
Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States Concerning
His Visitation Journeys.

§ 1. The Präses is to distribute his visitation journeys as evenly as
possible over the time of his three-year term of office, so that his own
congregation is not deprived of him for too long a time in any one year.

§ 2. As a rule he should give the ministers concerned sufficient advance
notice of the time of his arrival; however, he remains free, if necessary,
to appear unannounced as well.

§ 3. He is to arrange things so that, where possible, he spends Sunday in
the larger congregations. The length of his stay in each congregation is
to be determined by that congregation's circumstances.

§ 4. On his journeys he is also to visit those ministers who are merely
advisory members of the synod, if this is the wish of the minister and his
congregation, and if the latter covers the costs thereby incurred.

§ 5. He is entitled to draw from the synodical treasury that part of his
travel costs not covered by voluntary collections of the congregations
visited.

§ 6. In order to achieve, as far as possible, the purpose of those
visitation journeys as set out in Chapter V, Section 7 of the synodical
constitution, the Präses is to:

a, listen at least once to the pastor's sermon at public worship;

b, in doing so, look chiefly to whether the pastor rightly divides law and
gospel and proclaims the way of salvation purely and clearly; whether he
also uses plain, clear, and distinct language in his preaching; whether
doctrine and exhortation stand in proper proportion to one another;
whether he joins to pure doctrine also the right defense against, and
rebuke of, existing errors, and does so truly out of love for the truth and
not out of merely fleshly zeal.

c, where Sunday catechism classes [*Katechiſationen*] are already held,
attend them and note whether the children and catechumens are being
required to retain the text of Luther's Small Catechism word for word in
memory, to grasp its correct meaning, and to support it with the most
necessary Bible verses.

d, besides those matters on which the Präses is to report under Chapter
V, Section 7 of the constitution regarding church orders, etc., he is
further to pay particular attention to how the liturgical acts and
ceremonies are conducted in the churches he visits.

e, he is to inquire whether and how afternoon and weekday services are
held, and whether catechism sermons are given, which he is especially to
recommend.

§ 7. He is to inquire how the pastor applies law and gospel in individual
pastoral care and church discipline, and to give him guidance on specific
questions in this regard; likewise it is his duty to question the pastor
about the state of the congregation with respect to attendance at public
worship, participation in confession and Holy Communion, and
attendance at congregational meetings, as well as about everything
contained in Chapter V, Section 15. He is also to inquire whether, and
what, persistent problems may be found in the congregation.