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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 61

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

THEOLOGICAL MATTERS 61

in discussions with a view toward altar and pulpit fel-
lowship. Although the Lutheran Church in America has
traditionally held that formal doctrinal talks are un-
necessary for church bodies subscribing to the same
Confessions, an informal meeting between representa-
tives of the two churches was held in May 1968. At its
1968 convention in Atlanta, the Lutheran Church in
America endorsed the late President Franklin Clark
Fry’s response to President Harms’s invitation and en-
couraged newly elected President Robert Marshall and
other church officials to continue “unofficial discussions”
with leaders of other Lutheran bodies with a view to-
ward the establishment of fellowship. Accordingly an-
other meeting between representatives of the two groups
was held in February of this year to discuss a number
of topics pertaining to the constitutions of the two
bodies. The commission recommends:

10. a. That the Synod endorse the efforts of Presi-
dent Harms in seeking consultations with the Lutheran
Church in America in order to remove the causes of
misunderstanding and separation between our church

bodies.

b. That the President of the Synod in conjunction
with the Commission on Theology and Church Rela-
tions be encouraged to continue discussions with offi-
cials of the Lutheran Church in America with a view
to exhibiting the extent of the doctrinal agreement be-
tween the two church bodies.

c. That the Synod encourage her congregations, con-
ferences, and faculties to engage in doctrinal discussions
with their counterparts in the Lutheran Church in
America.

The American Lutheran Church

The commission has been active in various ways to
implement Resolution 3-23 of the New York convention
(1967 Proceedings, pp. 102—103). First the commission
completed its task of preparing outlines of the essays
adopted by the commissioners. These outlines were used
as study guides for joint meetings between congrega-
tions and conferences of The American Lutheran
Church and The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod.
Second, on President Harms’s request several members
of the commission served as resource persons for the
discussion of the fellowship question at District conven-
tions during 1968. Third, the commission was consulted
by President Harms in his appointment of The Lutheran
Church — Missouri Synod members of a joint special
committee to deal with disturbing diversities in position
and practice. This committee has now held two meet-
ings in an effort to clarify the nature and significance
of recognized diversities and to establish procedures for
dealing with them in an evangelical manner. President
Harms has kept the commission informed of the prog-
ress of these talks. Finally, the commission has dis-
cussed at length with President Harms many questions
and concerns about Resolution 3-23 and its implemen-
tation.

Since Resolution 3-23 expressly directed that in re-
gard to the establishing of fellowship with The Amer-

ican Lutheran Church “the President of the Synod in
conjunction with the Council of Presidents make the
appropriate recommendations to the 1969 convention,”
the commission refrains from submitting a recommen-
dation on this matter directly to the Synod. The com-
mission, however, prepared a statement reflecting the
differing opinions within the commission on whether
the Synod should establish fellowship with the Ameri-
can Lutheran Church at this time and dealing with the
factors that should be taken into consideration in reach-
ing a decision on this matter. This statement was sub-
mitted to President Harms and the Council of Presidents
in March of this year.

The commission recommends:

11. a. That the Synod commend its officials, congre-
gations, conferences, and other groups for their efforts
to implement Resolution 3-23 by holding joint discus-
sions with their counterparts in The American Lutheran
Church.

b. That the Synod thank the officers, pastors, and
congregations of The American Lutheran Church for
their many acts of courtesy and kindness toward us and
especially for their willingness to meet with us for doc-
trinal discussions.

c. That the Synod encourage the continuation and
wider extension of these joint meetings and discussions
with the membership of The American Lutheran Church
at all appropriate organizational levels.

The Lutheran Church of Australia

After several years of discussion leading to the adop-
tion of the “Theses of Agreement” and the “Document
of Union,” the two major Lutheran synods in Australia
united in 1965 to form the Lutheran Church of Aus-
tralia. Although the previously existing fellowship re-
lations of the merging church bodies were suspended
as a result of the union, the newly formed Lutheran
Church of Australia has expressed its desire “to enter
into discussions with Lutheran Churches at home and
abroad to determine with which of these fellowship in
Word and Sacrament exists or can be reached.” (“Docu-
ment of Union,” 13)

During its 1967 convention in New York, The Lu-
theran Church — Missouri Synod received a letter from
President M. Lohe of the Lutheran Church of Australia
expressing interest in meeting with our Synod for the
purpose of establishing pulpit and altar fellowship be-
tween the two church bodies. The convention responded
by expressing its willingness “to have conversation and
consultation with the Lutheran Church of Australia
with the object of duly establishing a proper basis on
which The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod can en-
ter into pulpit and altar fellowship with the Lutheran
Church of Australia.” (Resolution 3-24, 1967 Proceed-
ings, p. 103)

In October 1968 President Harms, accompanied by
Dr. Herbert Bouman, brought greetings to the conven-
tion of the Lutheran Church in Australia and met with
its Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Rela-
tions. All official contacts with our Lutheran brethren