LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1962, Page 94

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94 RESOLUTIONS — COMMITTEE 2

tion and bolstering neighborhood stability in areas of
ferment and racial unrest; and be it finally

Resolved, That the ideal of the Communion of Saints
be visualized, that the isolation of one sector of the
city from another be overcome, and that our mutual
love for one another be demonstrated —

a) by encouraging our members living in suburban

areas to exercise their missionary responsibility toward

people in the inner city by personal involvement;
b) by proposing a “redistribution of leadership po-
tential” wherever feasible among our congregations; and
c) by suggesting an occasional exchange of pulpits
and by arranging for exchange visits of youth groups
and other societies between inner-city and suburban
churches.

Action: This resolution was adopted.

To Assist Town and Country Churches
to Reevaluate Their Role
RESOLUTION 2-09
Report 201, I, C, p. 105, Reports and Memorials

Wuereas, The church in town and country has be-
come so greatly affected in the changing social and
technological advances that many parishes must re-
evaluate their traditional role; and

Wuereas, The church in town and country plays
a vital role in our Synod and deserves special attention
as a sending church in all areas: support for missions,
Christian education, training, and recruitment; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That the Synod, through its Board for
Missions in North and South America, assist Districts
in encouraging congregations to reevaluate their role,
using existing tools to help them in matters regarding
mergers and consolidations for more effective service
and outreach; and be it further

Resolved, That the pastors be urged to be better

- prepared through specialized courses to serve this stra-

tegic ministry in the town and country church and thus
to emphasize the unified nature of the church; and be
it finally

Resolved, That, through the Board for Missions in
North and South America, the Synod continue research,
provide literature, hold institutes, and do whatever is
necessary to assist congregations, circuits, Districts, and
pastors to equip members of these congregations for
service wherever the members may go.

Action: This resolution was adopted.

Intercultural Outreach — to Overcome
the Barriers of Class and Race
RESOLUTION 2-10
Report 201, I, D, pp. 105, 106, Reports and Memorials

Wuereas, All human beings, no matter how lowly
their station in life or how destitute they have become,

are the products of God’s creative purpose and objects
of Christ’s redeeming love; and

Wuereas, The enemies and critics of the church have
accused us, not without some justification, of being
a class-conscious church and of ignoring or slighting
some elements of the population in our missionary en-
terprise; and

Wuereas, Our Lord Jesus Christ taught and exem-
plified the concern that we should have for the physical
and spiritual welfare of the downtrodden and dispos-
sessed (“The least of these My brethren”); and

Wuereas, Among the teeming masses of our major
cities there are to be found new arrivals who are lonely
and confused such as unskilled laborers, people of less
than average income, unfortunates of all kinds, men
and women of subnormal intelligence, derelicts, and
the like; therefore, be it

Resolved, That we express our determination, under
the leveling power of the cross of Jesus Christ and the
compulsion of the Holy Spirit, to overcome the barriers
of class and race that would prevent us from “becoming
all things to all men in order that by all means we might
save some”; and be it further.

Resolved, That our Board for North and South
American Missions initiate a theological study on the
implications of the doctrine of redemption, the doctrine
of the church, and the doctrine of man in order. that
we may overcome the misconceptions and sinful atti-
tudes which prevent the Word of God from having free
course among all people and that a total cultural out-
reach be undertaken; and be it further

Resolved, That we investigate and seek to utilize new
approaches and methods in a serious attempt to serve
those segments of the population which have hitherto
escaped our attention; and be it finally

Resolved, That our Board for North and South
American Missions, in conjunction with the Districts
and local congregations where the needs are most evi-
dent, thoroughly explore the possibilities of reaching and
ministering to all neglected groups such as Oriental and
Jewish American, migrant workers, southern whites
from the hill country who have moved near or within
our metropolitan parishes, Indian Americans who are
being relocated from their reservations to urban centers,
and anonymous “lost” men and women in the slums and
on the skid rows of our cities.

Action: This resolution was adopted.

To Make Maximum Use of Media
of Mass Communications
RESOLUTION 2-11
Report 201, I, E, p. 106, Reports and Memorials

Wuereas, In the media of mass communications the
church has tools for reaching great segments of the
populations which it can reach in no other way; and

Wuereas, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod

Bn