LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 6

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6

SYNOD REPORTS

of providing support and encouragement for other church bodies who
desire to join us in our biblical and confessional work and witness.
50 Years of Mission Work in Korea
In 1958, four LCMS missionaries by the names of Paul Bartling,
Maynard Dorow, Won-Jong Ji, and Kurt Voss arrived in Korea. Dr.
Ji, from Korea, had just one year earlier completed his doctorate in
theology from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Following the inauguration of Lutheran work in Korea, the Korean Lutheran Mission
was organized and served as the functional governing body until
1971, when a Constitution and Bylaws were adopted and the Korean
Lutheran Church came into existence. In this same year, the LCMS
recognized this daughter church as an autonomous partner church,
which two years later officially changed its name to Lutheran Church
Korea (LCK).
Today, the Lutheran Church in Korea has 42 congregations, 53
pastors, and 5,060 baptized members. Through its work of conducting
the Bethel Bible Study program, the LCK has led 450,000 individuals
and 15,000 pastors through a concentrated study of Holy Scripture.
On Oct. 26, 2008, the Lutheran in Church Korea held a special
service of celebration attended by over 1,700 guests. Representing
the LCMS on this occasion were Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Nafzger as
guests of the LCK. Dr. Nafzger, Director of Church Relations for
the LCMS, brought greetings from the Synod, and LCK President
Um presented to him a plaque for The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod which reads:
The congregations and members of the Lutheran Church in Korea
present this plaque of appreciation to The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod with profound appreciation for sending four missionary families 50 years ago for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ in a
country devastated by war. By God’s grace, and as a result of that initiative, the Lutheran Church in Korea exists today. For this reason we give
thanks to God first of all, and also [the Synod], in this 50th anniversary
year of Lutheran mission work in Korea.

My report on the observance of this milestone of mission work
in Korea serves as a reminder of the way God has richly blessed the
efforts of the Synod in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ all over
the world.
The International Lutheran Society of Wittenberg (ILSW)

In 2007, an agreement was signed on behalf of the LCMS Board
for Mission Services, the LCMS Board for Human Care Ministries,
and Concordia Publishing House (CPH) with the Independent
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany (Selbständige EvangelischLutherische Kirche [SELK]). The LCMS, CPH, and the SELK
subsequently established a not-for-profit German corporation called
The International Lutheran Society of Wittenberg (ILSW). Prior to
the formal organization of the ILSW, the agencies involved in its formation had purchased with a gift from the Central Illinois District
LCEF a building known as the altes Gymnasium (old gymnasium, or
high school). This building was built in 1564 and is located adjacent
to the City Church (St. Mary’s Church), where Dr. Martin Luther frequently preached. Dr. Wilhelm Torgerson, a SELK pastor, was asked
to serve as the first director of the ILSW.
In August 2008, the LCMS Board of Directors requested a business plan for “the Wittenberg Project” for its November meeting.
When such a plan was not prepared, the Board of Directors renewed
its request for such a plan and asked me to become involved and
“assist with church relations issues” connected with this project.
Following a February 2009 meeting with SELK Bishop Hans-Jörg
Voigt in Wittenberg, I recommended to the LCMS Board of Directors
that the Wittenberg Project be continued, but “only and explicitly as

a church-body-to-church-body project,” and that the financial commitments to this project made by the LCMS agencies involved in the
original development of this project be honored. At its May 2009
meeting, the LCMS Board of Directors, acting on the basis of my
report and recommendation, made new appointments to the ILSW
Supervisory Board and asked that it receive reports on this project at
its regularly scheduled meetings.
Members from the U.S. serving on the ILSW Supervisory Board
are Mr. Kermit (Butch) Almstedt, chairman of the LCMS Board
for Mission Services; Dr. Thomas Kuchta, LCMS Vice-President–
Finance—Treasurer; and Dr. Samuel Nafzger, Director of Church
Relations, Assistant to the President, from the “LCMS, Inc.,” and
Dr. Bruce Kintz, President and CEO of Concordia Publishing House.
The ILSW Supervisory Board, at its July 2009 meeting, called
Rev. David Mahsman to succeed Dr. Torgerson, who was about to
retire, as the ILSW’s new Managing Director. The ILSW Board also
elected Dr. Nafzger to serve as its chairman, succeeding SELK Bishop
Voigt.
Planning is presently under way for the development of a museum
and visitor center in the altes Gymnasium (old gymnasium, or high
school) to present the Gospel via Dr. Martin Luther’s Christ-centered
theology to thousands of visitors to Wittenberg each year. Rev.
Mahsman has been asked to develop both a ministry plan and a business plan in time for the ILSW board’s meeting in May 2010. This
project offers to the LCMS and its partner church SELK an unprecedented opportunity for the proclamation of the Gospel rediscovered
by the Great Reformer at a time and in the place where the eyes of
the world will increasingly be focused as we near the celebration of
the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.
The Anglican Church in North America
In December 2009, I received a letter from the Most Reverend
Robert Duncan, Archbishop and Primate of the newly established
Anglican Church in North America. In this letter Archbishop Duncan,
referring to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as “a natural ecumenical partner,” suggested the initiation of a dialogue upon which
a positive relationship with the Missouri Synod might be built. He
wrote that he was therefore “respectfully requesting the beginning of
discussions between our two Christian bodies which will hopefully
result in greater understanding and future cooperation … an opportunity to talk to one another, share our beliefs, and enjoy a loving
inter-church relationship.”
Following consultation with the Commission on Theology and
Church Relations, and having received its encouragement to respond
positively to this proposal, I have asked the Director of Church
Relations to work together with representatives from the CTCR and
with the Anglican Church in North America to work out a plan for
conversations between our two church bodies to take place. This is
all in accord with the first objective of the Synod to “work through
its official structure toward fellowship with other Christian church
bodies” (LCMS Constitution Art. III).
The Anglican Church in North America held its Inaugural
Assembly in Bedford, Texas, in June 2009. It united over 100,000
Anglicans in 700 parishes in 28 dioceses. It described its origins in
this way:
Globally, regionally and locally, Anglicanism is in the process of
reformation. Within the last decades, the Episcopal Church in the United
States and the Anglican Church of Canada have increasingly accommodated and incorporated un-Biblical, un-Anglican practices and
teachings.

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