# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1941_S242
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

242 Constitutional Matters

and held. Officers of the constituent synods are requested to ar-
range for such conferences.

Section 3. Examining Committee.—The President shall at every
convention appoint committees and assign to them the respective
synodical reports of the several synods and Districts for careful
examination as to their doctrinal content. These committees shall
report their findings at the following convention. All members
of each committee shall sign their respective reports. The Sec-
retary shall notify the examining committees of their appointment
and supply them with copies of the respective synodical reports.

Section 4. Expenses. The expenses~of the Synodical Con-
ference shall be shared by the constituent synods in proportion
to the number of their communicant members.

Addendum

The committee of the convention of the Synodical Conference
in 1938 also proposed the following paragraph:

“Since the establishment of fraternal. relations with church-
bodies which have not as yet been recognized as brethren in the
faith by the Synodical Conference of North America is a concern
of all the constituent synods and not of one synod alone, the
Synodical Conference of North America shall elect a standing
Committee on Relations, to which committee this matter shall be
referred. It shall be the duty of this committee to keep itself in-
formed on the doctrinal position of the various Lutheran bodies
and to report to the Synodical Conference of North America what-
ever developments it may deem important. The Synodical Con-  .”
ference of North America considers it advisable that the approach
toward new fraternal relations be instituted through this com-
mittee. Each constituent synod shall elect two members to serve
on this committee. :

“The convention resolved not to adopt this paragraph but to
place it at the end of the by-laws as an addendum and submit it
to the pastoral conferences of the Synodical Conference for con-
sideration.” (Proceedings of 1938, p. 132.)

During the two years from 1938 to 1940 only two pastoral
conferences, both of the Missouri Synod, reacted and sent to the
President of the Synodical Conference their opinion that this
paragraph should not be adopted. These opinions were printed
in the Reports and Memorials submitted for the convention of
1940, p.29. The committee considering this matter at the con-
vention of 1940 debated this paragraph, but no recommendation
on it was adopted.

Pror, L. Fuersrincer, D. D., President, Synodical Conference