# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1851_S169
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 169 —

outweighed by the harm our whole Church would suffer through the rupture
threatening it. For the vacancy that would arise at the seminary, no
substitute could of course be found, so that the students would
meanwhile have to be directed to their private studies; but for the
vacancy caused by Pastor Wyneken's absence, Dr. Sihler was proposed; and
since the deputy of the St. Louis congregation, Mr. Barthel, on this
proposal held out the best hope for that congregation's consent to the
choice of the aforementioned brothers as delegates, the Synod let the
choice stand for the present, proposing Dr. Sihler as Professor
Walther's companion in case Pastor Wyneken should be unable to get away.
The third point in deliberating the delegation matter was the extent of
the journey itself, on which the Synod concluded that, although it would
be desirable to extend it over all those German states in which a newly
awakened life of the Lutheran Church made itself known, consideration
for the college as well as for the St. Louis congregation counseled
rather a shortening than a lengthening of the journey; the delegates'
aim should therefore be more to confer with the leaders and spokesmen of
confessionally faithful Lutherans, to attend pastoral conferences, and,
as circumstances allowed, to arrange such conferences. All further
particulars would naturally have to be left to their own judgment and to
circumstances. The last point, finally, concerning travel costs, no
longer presented any difficulty, since many congregations had already
made very generous contributions and pledges, so that there was no
longer any doubt about raising the estimated sum of 700 to 800 dollars.

Finally a motion was made to include the important matter of the
delegation in the public church prayer, to which all gave their heartfelt
assent.

The writer of this takes the liberty of adding to this report the news
that the journey, which was to follow immediately after the Synod, was
indeed postponed by a several-weeks' illness of Professor Walther, but
that after his recovery, with God's help, it was actually begun after
the middle of the month of August. May the Lord guide the dear brothers
by his holy angels and crown their work with his blessing.

Professor Walther's Proposal for a Paper on Church and the Preaching
Office.

When, at last year's Synodical convention, Grabau's second synodical
letter came up for discussion, with its false accusations and charges
against our doctrine and practice, it was thought advisable to publish a
paper in vindication of our doctrine of church and ministry [Kirche und
Amt], especially since we are charged with false doctrine on these
points not only by Pastor Grabau, but also because a divergent view has
been raised against us among the brethren in Germany with whom we have
until now stood in fellowship of faith. Professor Walther had, on the
Synod's commission, undertaken the composition of this paper, and laid
its draft before this year's convention for examination. According to
the plan he communicated, the paper consists of 3 parts: a preface,
giving a historical account of the circumstances under which the paper
arose; a number of theses, presenting briefly and clearly both our
doctrine of the church and of the preaching office; and finally