# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1849_S73
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 73 —

...would attend to them; still, it believes that at least every possible
effort should be made toward this, since such attendance is richly
rewarded by the beneficial impression and influence of brotherly fellowship
and cooperation.

The synod held nineteen public sessions in all, along with several
ministerial conferences, committee deliberations, and other gatherings.
Sunday worship was held four times during this synodical period, and
evening worship four times as well. Following the earlier custom, the
synodical sessions themselves were opened in this manner: at the start of
the morning sessions a suitable hymn was sung, after which one of the
pastors read a chapter from the pastoral epistles, followed by a reading
from the Acts of the Apostles, and a prayer was offered imploring God's
gracious help and blessing. At the start of the afternoon sessions the same
order was followed, only omitting the hymn. The Lord's Prayer closed
every session.

During this third synodical convention sixteen congregations were
received into our synodical body upon their written request, so that
thirty-six voting pastors and fifty-six individual congregations now
belong to the synod; and thirteen pastors and three schoolteachers were
admitted as new members. In connection with this, a colloquy was twice
found necessary and held before the synod. Several pastors who applied
in writing for admission were not received, because certain concerns
about them existed that could not be resolved without their personal
appearance before the synod.

At this convention the synod had the good fortune to be spared any
contentious correspondence; on the other hand, several other petitions
lay before it, some of them quite important, which required careful
examination and deliberation by the synod. Only once matters had been
sufficiently discussed before the whole synod did the president, where
necessary, appoint special committees to draft and finalize, as it were,
the results of the deliberations. Before we turn to reporting the various
matters contained partly in the minutes and partly in the relevant
committee reports, we draw the reader's attention to the vice-president's
convention address and to the president's annual report.

Convention Address.

In the name of the holy, most praised triune God, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Reverend brothers, beloved in Christ, in office and in faith!

So we are once again assembled, after the close of the second synodical
year, in order — as before the face of our God and under the gracious
help of his Holy Spirit — further to consider, deliberate, and decide
together what serves to the honor of the Lord our God, and to the
benefit and welfare of the Church and of each individual congregation.

But if we first look back on the past synodical year, our hearts must
rightly be stirred deeply to thanks and joy.

For, first of all, it has by God's grace come to pass that we have
persevered in the undimmed unity of the Spirit, that this unity was in
no way disturbed or clouded from any side, neither by the rise of false