# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1851_S183
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 183 —

come about; and he would not have declared only afterward that he could not recognize Pastor Crämer as a false teacher, when he had in fact recognized him before.

Since, finally, Pastor Crämer's claim in his report — that Pastor Winkler had broken his congregation's constitution — was also attacked as untrue by missionary Baierlein and Pastor Clöter, the above claim nevertheless proved true, because the congregation did not yet belong to any synod when the whole dispute began, and its constitution prescribed, for such a case, that the highest church tribunal be formed from a committee, to which each side would elect one man, and these two elected men would jointly appoint a third. Those dissatisfied with Pastor Winkler acted according to this provision of the constitution and were unwilling to depart from it; Pastor Winkler, however, after the opposing party had already named its committee member, joined the Buffalo Synod and wished the matter to be brought before that church tribunal instead.

So this whole unpleasant matter was considered settled, after the brothers Baierlein and Clöter had asked the Synod's forgiveness for their hasty judgment, and had gladly and joyfully received it. They expressed only the further wish that Pastor Schaller might withdraw his harsh expressions against Pastor Winkler, which had been published by him in the *Lutheraner*. This, however, could not be granted any further, without denying the truth, than that he might well have used milder expressions, but had by no means said anything untrue in the ones he used; moreover, he would gladly meet Pastor Winkler halfway, wherever the latter, for his part, would acknowledge his wrong and seek reconciliation.

Negotiations with Pastor Klügel.

A motion was brought before the Synod, on behalf of two members of the congregation of Pastor Klügel in Milwaukee, through a member of the Synod, to make the article on election by grace [*Gnadenwahl*] — over which Pastor Klügel had separated from us — a subject of the synodical proceedings. Since within the Synod itself there was no dispute over this doctrine, and this matter therefore did not belong to its necessary business, the motion was accepted only under the following conditions:

1. That the petitioners state sincerely whether they were truly troubled in conscience over this division in doctrine and wished to arrive at proper certainty and clarity.

2. That Pastor Klügel himself set forth, in short and definite statements (theses), partly what he teaches on the matter in question, and partly in what respect he disagrees with the Formula of Concord, so that the actual point of dispute might lie clearly before us and not later be shifted.

3. That the petitioners be willing to be patient until the Synod had concluded its own business. Should it happen, on the other hand, that Pastor Klügel's matter could not be discussed before the close of the Synod, most members declared themselves willing to devote the day after the Synod's adjournment to this matter.

In response to this, a letter did indeed arrive from Pastor Klügel; but since it by no means met the requirement of setting forth, in definite