LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 121

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,oment? Shouldn’t we pursue the answers to such
yestions together?

- We want you to know, I want you to know personally,
hat we respect your sense of identity. We highly
reciate the way in which you honor it, the way in
hich you keep reminding all of us over and over again
hat there is a solid core of being out of which you
serate. We appreciate that. We feel that we also have
pmething of the same kind, though it may differ
pmewhat. But we would ask only whether there are not
ufficient grounds for us to pursue life together in a more
geaningful way. I congratulate you on your many

esident BohlImann, Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
mbers and Guests of The Lutheran Church—
ouri Synod:
: It was a privilege for me to introduce your President,
Ralph Bohlmann, to the AELC convention last
ptember to bring greetings to our assembly, and Iam
teful to have received his invitation to reciprocate.
The acceptance of these two invitations may have
oken an ice jam between us. The timing of these
acceptances has been extremely important because our
‘hurch body, along with The American Lutheran
hurch and the Lutheran Church in America, will soon
. out of existence by becoming members of a new,
rging church body. Similarly, the opportunity to
dress one another directly as churches will terminate.
ter our new church is formed, any effort on the part of
é AELC to speak as church or to be spoken to as
urch will become anachronistic, to say the very least.
perefore the remaining opportunities to speak to one
hother should be used with great care and concern.
Rudyard Kipling once described a person as being “a
undle of relations and a knot of roots.” If you grant the
uth of that description, then itis obvious thata person
out of his environment, away from his roots, may
uve a difficult time adapting to new surroundings.
erhaps that’s one reason for the proverb “Blood is
i¢ker than water.”
“In the past few years there may have been some
stsons in our church and some also in yours who have
Experienced such feelings when they thought of one
her—once together, now separate. At such times,
ether past or present or future, it is important to
inember that there is a tie that binds us together—a tie
ronger than blood, stronger than old relationships,
ronger than a knot of roots in a family tree.
All that Jesus Christ earned by the shedding of His
d, God had also incorporated in water—the water of
tism. And by that water Paul was able to say: “We
ré all baptized into one body.” To the Ephesians he
‘ote. that Christ cleansed His church “by the washing

GREETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE AELC 123

achievements, especially your new international head-
quarters. Dr. Swanson has pointed out to me, since his
visit last night, that your President has the largest
office of the president of any Lutheran church in the
United States. The rest of us will endeavor to keep him
humble. We appreciate your bold venture in missions
supported by the generosity of your people. I pray for
you as a church—for your leaders, your congregations,
your people—that God may guide you by the riches of
His grace and that you may continue to find in Him joy,
peace, and hope. And we ask you to pray for us in the
same way.
James R. Crumley, D.D.

4. Greetings of the President of the Association
of Evangelical Lutheran Churches

of water with the Word” and thus made us members of
His body.

Brief moments like this could be spent by recalling
old hurts, old wounds, and we might become like little
children who have an almost uncontrollable desire to
pick away at wounds and hurts, to make the healing
super difficult. There is much more to life than the
simple nitpicking of the past and keeping the wounds
open. You and I need to look at life not simply as an
arena, but as an arena where God acts. And as we look
back, we ought to be able to say: Whatever the intention
may have been, whatever words may have been said,
whatever actions may have been taken, whatever sor-
rows or griefs or hurts may have been endured, God in
His wisdom, His ability, and His governance has turned
it to good, for the use in the building of His kingdom.

It’s time to search out that finger of God as He makes
use of our pasts for the sake of the future of His church.
In that sense I want to say that He has unmistakably
turned us toward tomorrow through the current move-
ment toward Lutheran unity. He has given us a patient,
committed membership. He has enabled us to endure
the hardships of the past by providing at difficult
moments the resources to survive and grow. He has
given us a place in the sun, a place that we can call our
own, and now He is broadening our horizons and our