LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 123

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sting seminaries, including the Concordia Seminary
+ Louis, where we currently have two students
IJéd. We are thankful for your help. But to give them
ractical training and language experience in our
we are kindly asking your church and the
ty.of the seminary to allow our students to fulfill
icarage assignments with us.
‘@w-that you know a little more about us and our
wk, I hope that we are no longer strangers, but

dent Bohlmann, Secretary Mueller, Delegates and
Hers to the 55th Convention of The Lutheran
eh Missouri Synod, Brothers and Sisters in

re. beginning my presentation on behalf of the
eran. Council, I want to publicly extend congratu-
to Ralph Bohlmann on his reelection as your
sident and to salute you, the delegates, for your good
dgment that resulted in his reelection. I have appreci-
d the opportunity to serve God and His church
ether with Ralph in varying ways during the last two
s: | cherish him as a colleague and look forward to
continuing relationship.

also extend my congratulations to Robert Sauer,
om you have reelected your First Vice-President. I
pect to address an increasing number of mutual
rests and concerns with him in the years to come.

; Then, I pay tribute to your Secretary, Herbert

ncil. Heis a cherished partner and brother
am most grateful for his friendship; we
pe: there will be many. opportunities to
e@ our pilgrimage together in the days ahead.
pleased that you have given me the opportunity
u on behalf of the Lutheran Council in the
rganization, referred to in the church body
élong as a common agency, has now served
sutheranism for 17 years. It was brought
eing by esteemed leaders of the member churches
purpose of
hering the witness, the work, and the interests
the participating bodies;
seeking to achieve theological consensus in a
systematic and continuing way on the basis of the
. Scriptures and the witness of the Lutheran Con-
 fessions;
providing an instrumentality through which the
~ participating bodies may work together in ful-
filling their responsibility of Christian service
‘where coordination or joint activity is deemed by
them to be desirable and feasible.

had

The Lutheran Council is a common agency because

GREETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT OF LCUSA 125

brothers of the Lutheran family. Variety of forms but
unity in spirit has always been the cornerstone of the
Lutheran heritage.

We salute you as our big brothers and sisters for your
courage to stand up and be counted for what you believe.
Wedothesame. Let us use what we have for the glory of
God and the welfare of the Lutheran Church. God bless
you all!

Robert V. Abolins, Vice-President

6. Greetings of the President
of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A.

it belongs to all_.of the five member churches: your
church, The American Lutheran Church, The Associa-
tion of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, the Latvian
Lutheran Church, and the Lutheran Church in America.
These five together have and are fulfilling significant
ministries on behalf of our gracious God and His people;
as a servant entity /organization, the Lutheran Council
becomes the focus of our united witness and service to
the degree and in the manner desired by the member
churches. But the council also has the task and
responsibility to challenge its member bodies by alert-
ing them to possible common expressions of service
and, I dare say, even witness and ministry. We want the
council to do that even as its member bodies reserve for
themselves the prerogative to decide the extent of their
participation.

During the first week of May I participated in the
initial festivity sponsored by the East German Lutheran
Church in observance of the 500th anniversary of
Martin Luther’s birth. My traveling companion and I,
besides attending the events at the Wartburg Castle
outside of Eisenach, also visited other sites that have
historical significance because of the life of Martin
Luther. It was inspiring to see them. The last site we saw
before leaving West Berlin, through which we passed on
entering and leaving East Germany, was one that
Martin Luther never saw; it was that infamous wall
that divides a city and a country, separating the people

re