LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 55

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SYNOD REPORTS
February 2009 meeting as a resource for church workers and congregations. The document is included in Appendix II of this Convention
Workbook and is available online at www.lcms.org/ctcr.
5. Response to “A Common Word between Us and You”

On October 13, 2007, 138 Muslim scholars and clerics issued
an open letter “to the leaders of the world’s churches” offering their
understanding of “the common ground between Christianity and
Islam.” The letter was entitled “A Common Word between Us and
You” (http://www.acommonword.com/). At its February 2008 meeting, the CTCR adopted a resolution recommending that the President
submit a response to the “Common Word” letter. President Kieschnick
responded by asking the commission to “prepare a draft of such a
response for my consideration.” At the commission’s April 2009
meeting, a response was adopted to be forwarded to the President
for his review and use. The response is included in Appendix II of
this Convention Workbook.
6. Theological Statement on Vocation

In February 2009, the commission placed on its agenda a request
from Dr. L. Dean Hempelmann, Director of the What a Way! initiative
fostering recruitment and retention of church workers in the LCMS,
that the commission support this effort by drafting a brief theological statement on “vocation” that could be used in connection with
the initiative. In April 2009, the CTCR adopted the document Living
to Serve in response to Dr. Hempelmann’s request. The document is
included in Appendix II of this Convention Workbook and is available
online at www.lcms.org/ctcr. The document can also be found at the
What a Way! initiative’s Web site: http://whataway.org/assets/files/
PDF-Documents/Christian%20Vocation%20Statement-FINAL%20
-%2004-23-09.pdf.
7. Policy for Declaring Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with Another
Church Body

In 2001, President Kieschnick asked the CTCR to prepare a protocol document outlining the procedures to be followed by the Synod
in the process of declaring altar and pulpit fellowship with another
church body. At its April 2003 meeting, the commission approved
Policy for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Declaring Altar
and Pulpit Fellowship with Another Church Body. The commission then forwarded the document to the President for his review.
Reactions were also sought from both LCMS seminary faculties,
member churches of the ILC, and the President’s Church Relations
Cabinet, as well as the Council of Presidents. At the commission’s
September 2009 meeting, this policy was adopted in a slightly modified fashion and formally forwarded to the President for his use,
together with a document titled Church Relations in the 21st Century
(see item 8 below). In a November 13, 2009, memo, President
Kieschnick shared the policy with LCMS leaders and the leaders of
the member churches of the International Lutheran Council. The document has been translated into Spanish and French. Reactions have
been uniformly favorable and the policy is included in Appendix II
of this Convention Workbook and is available online at www.lcms
.org/ctcr.
8. Church Relations in the Twenty-first Century

In a June 2004 memorandum, President Kieschnick requested that
the commission address the following question: “Would it be biblically and confessionally appropriate for the LCMS, in certain circumstances, to seek to establish some kind of formalized relationship with
another church body, a group of Christians, or an emerging church

55

body other than a declaration of altar and pulpit fellowship?” He further asked that if this were possible, what would be the “basis, nature,
and parameters of such a relationship?” In response to the President’s
request, the commission prepared a document under the title Church
Relations in the 21st Century, sharing the document with various entities, including seminary faculties, the Council of Presidents, leaders
of member churches of the International Lutheran Council, and others in addition to the President. After extensive review and some modification, the document was formally adopted at the commission’s
September 2009 meeting and forwarded to the President for his use
as chief ecumenical officer of the Synod. In a November 13, 2009,
memo, President Kieschnick shared the document with LCMS leaders
and the leaders of the member churches of the International Lutheran
Council, together with the aforementioned Policy for The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod Declaring Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with
Another Church Body (see item 7 above). In a letter dated February
11, 2010, the President requested that the CTCR draft a bylaw proposal based on this document for consideration by the Synod convention allowing its further implementation in Synod’s relationships
with emerging churches, confessional groups, and others. The document is included in Appendix II of this Convention Workbook and is
available online at www.lcms.org/ctcr.
9. The Creator’s Tapestry

The 1995 convention of the Synod requested that “the CTCR coordinate a comprehensive study of the scriptural relationship of man and
woman, together with the faculties of both seminaries, making use
of other persons who are competent in the area of theology, including women” and listed a number of questions that “might be included
in such a study” (Res. 3-10). The commission’s work on this assignment involved various steps. Work during the 1998–2001 triennium
focused principally on questions related to biblical language and the
concept of “the image of God,” which provided foundational biblical data as the commission continued work on this assignment. In the
2001–4 and 2004–7 triennia, the commission dealt with other assignments pertinent to the issue of the man/woman relationship, including
responses to expressions of dissent regarding Synod’s position on
women’s suffrage and the ordination of women to the pastoral office
and a response to questions about women serving as lay teachers
of theology. In addition, the commission arranged for the publication of contrasting positions on women serving in combat. Lastly,
it responded to questions raised by districts: the Minnesota South
District asked about women holding executive offices in congregations; the Atlantic District asked about the meaning of the Greek
word authentein.
During the past triennium, between December 2006 and September 2008, the commission hosted a series of four consultations involving presentations and discussions designed to provide various insights
and perspectives to the commission on the relationship of men and
women in Christ. At its December 2009 meeting, the CTCR adopted
the report The Creator’s Tapestry: Scriptural Perspectives on ManWoman Relationships in Marriage and the Church. In the first and
major section of the report, the commission presents the scriptural
view of the relationship between man and woman on the basis of the
three articles of the Apostles’ Creed. The report also identifies the
intention of the commission to continue to address various additional
facets of the relationship of Christian men and women in the future.
The Creator’s Tapestry was mailed to the Synod’s congregations and
rostered workers in March 2010 and is available on the Web at www.
lcms.org/ctcr. The document is included in Appendix II of this Convention Workbook.
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