LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1971, Page 128

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128 RESOLUTIONS’, i.

Action: Referred under omnibus resolution to Board
of Directors for study and report to next convention.

To Include Pastoral Aspects and Women
in the Study on Abortion

RESOLUTION 2-49
Overture 2-174 (CW, p. 96); Report 9-05 (CW, p. 388)

Wuereas, The pastoral aspects of abortion have been
included in a study by the Commission on Social Con-
cerns, “Christian Reflections on Abortion” (CW, Report
9-05, p. 388); and

Wuereas, The lives of women are affected by guid-
ance the church gives on the matter of abortion; there-
fore be it

Resolved, That the Commission on Theology and
Church Relations continue to study the subject, abor-
tion; and be it further

Resolved, That the CTCR consult the document
“Christian Reflections on Abortion” in its study; and
be it finally

Resolved, That the CTCR be encouraged to consult
4 committee representing a cross section of LCMS
women in this study.

Action: Adopted (16).

To Repudiate the Inadequacies
of the “Openness and Trust” Document

RESOLUTION 2-50

Overtures 2-72, 2-96, 2-187—2-199, 2-225 (CW, pp. 70,
75—76, 101—104, 112)

Wuereas, Several overtures and the document “A
Call to Openness and Trust” ask the Synod to take a
Proper stance toward diversity and change in our
church and society; and

Wuereas, The Commission on Theology and Church
Relations has pointed out both valid concerns and
serious deficiencies within the document, deficiencies
“which weaken the Synod’s doctrinal position in a
number of areas,” and challenge her position as a “con-
fessional church proclaiming the Gospel”; therefore
be it

Resolved, That the Synod repudiate the inadequacies
of “A Call to Openness and Trust”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod admonish all those who
have disturbed the Synod by circularizing this docu-
ment; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod ask those who are publicly
identified with this document to publicly assure the
Synod through the office of the President of the Synod
that they are faithful to the confessional stance of the
Synod and repudiate the inadequacies pointed out by
the CTCR.

Action: Adopted as revised above (17).

Attachment

Dear President Tietjen:

In response to your request that we furnish you with
a statement of our association with the document “A Call to
Openness and Trust,” we have prepared the following reit-
eration of our position which you are free to make public
at any time and at any occasion which you may deem proper.

individually reported to you.

Drs. Jones, Thiele, and Repp were present at the meeting
on January 31 at which the issuing of the statement was
approved. The group out of which the statement came is
very loosely organized, if indeed it can be called an or-
Banization. The statement is in fact the product of several

ence at the meeting cannot be equated with acceptance
of the statement. Neither Jones, Thiele, nor Repp are
fully satisfied with the statement as it stands, and none
of them regards it as complete, a point which the state-
ment itself makes in an appended note,

We further reaffirm the following statement of fact that
we prepared for you on May 25, 1970, at the request of Presi-
dent J. A. O. Preus;:

We reaffirm our acceptance, without reservation, of the
confessional Article (II) of the Constitution of The Lu-
theran Church — Missouri Synod... ,

We firmly maintain that any association which we
have had with the document “A Call to Openness and
Trust” must be understood in the light of our confessional
stand which we have made repeatedly in the past: at the
time of our ordination, when we formally joined the
Synod, and on several occasions when we began our min-
istries in new locations. This confessional stand was
strongly declared in the said document when it stated,
“We identify, too, with the historic confessions of the
Lutheran Church... .” As professional educators we re-
gard the word “identify” as used above as a valid and

or legal commitment, but one which involves our total
eing,

We emphasize again that the document “A Call to
Openness and Trust” was not intended as a personal con-
fession of faith, but was meant to serve as a basis for
meaningful dialogue between Lutherans who have the
Same confessional commitment as we, so that by our dia-
logue we could mutually edify one another in the truth.
The statement was, as the title implies, an appeal for an
attitude which we think is needed in the Synod in our
time, because it is the attitude we find clearly expressed

We are sorry that the document has been misunder-
stood by some to be a denial or a limitation of our con-
fessional loyalty. We regret whatever we may have done
to contribute to such misunderstanding,

We disassociate ourselves from any interpretation of