LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 71

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
1. Response to the Request for a Supplement to the 1997 CTCR
Opinion Response to “Concerns of the South Wisconsin District Circuits
18 and 19 Regarding Infant Communion”

As noted above (I A 7) the CTCR received a request from President
Harrison for a supplement to its earlier opinion on paedocommunion. In addition to the report, Knowing What We Seek and Why We
Come, the commission adopted a resolution on Sept. 13, 2014, that (1)
supported the conclusions of its 1997 opinion on the matter of paedocommunion; (2) recognized that while “there is no precise numerical
age for first Communion required by Scripture or the Confessions,
worthy reception does involve conscious self-examination so that
communicants know what they seek to receive at Christ’s altar and
why they come to the Sacrament coupled with pastoral examination to encourage worthy use of the Sacrament”; and (3) concluded
“that the communing of infants and very young children prior to their
instruction and examination in the faith is contrary to Scripture and
the Lutheran Confessions and should not be the practice of Lutheran
congregations and pastors.”
2. Request for Opinions from South Wisconsin District President

In December 2014, the CTCR received a request from the president of the South Wisconsin District for an opinion on the nature
of calls to LCMS clergy serving as professors at CUS schools. In
March 2015, the CTCR received a request from the same president
for an opinion on questions related to the administration of the Lord’s
Supper to shut-ins. The CTCR has assigned these requests to the
appropriate CTCR committee to prepare responses for consideration
by the plenary commission.
F. Expressions of Dissent
CTCR Response to the ACELC’s “Dissent Women Redux
2014-01-27”
In correspondence dated April 15, 2014, the CTCR received from
the Association of Confessing Evangelical Lutheran Congregations
(ACELC) a document titled “Dissent Women Redux 2014-01-27”
in which the ACELC expressed continuing disagreement with certain aspects of the LCMS position on the service of women in the
church. At its Dec. 11, 2015, meeting, the CTCR approved a “nonformal” response to the ACELC’s dissent referencing the CTCR’s
Dec. 12, 2014, response to President Harrison’s request for a “CTCR
Review of 2005 Task Force Guidelines for the Service of Women
in Congregational Offices” (see I A 9 above). In its response, the
CTCR asks the ACELC to hold its dissent in abeyance as it studies and discusses the CTCR’s response to President Harrison (which
the commission sees as addressing many of the issues raised in the
ACELC’s “Dissent Redux”). The CTCR also reaffirms in its response
to the ACELC its commitment to continue and complete a thorough
study of the role of women in the church that further addresses various questions and concerns raised in the ACELC dissent.
II. Church Relations
A. Requests for Church Fellowship
1. Church Fellowship Requests Approved by the CTCR
a. Indonesian Lutheran Christian Church (GKLI)
The LCMS and the Indonesian Lutheran Christian Church (GKLI)
have been in contact for many years. After correspondence and several visits by LCMS personnel, the GKLI requested altar and pulpit
fellowship with the LCMS this past triennium, and the Office of the
President asked the CTCR to consider this request on the basis of
2013 Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (c). Meetings and visits together have revealed
extensive agreement in doctrine and practice. Where there are certain

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differences in practice, the GKLI has requested counsel and assistance from the LCMS. In view of the doctrinal agreement between
our two churches and continuing movement toward common practice, the CTCR informed the President that it supported declaring
church fellowship with the Indonesian Lutheran Christian Church.
Subsequently, the LCMS called a missionary to serve in Indonesia
to aid in theological education. At the present time, the President is
continuing to consider this fellowship request and the CTCR’s recommendation in light of ongoing work being done in Indonesia.
b. Lutheran Church in Norway
The Lutheran Church in Norway (LCN), a small, confessional
church which has had a close relationship with the LCMS for several decades, requested altar and pulpit fellowship with the LCMS in
2011. During the course of multiple cordial visits, meetings, and correspondence between representatives of the two churches, agreement
in doctrine and practice between our two churches was recognized and
affirmed. At its May 2014 meeting, on the basis of extensive examination and discussions regarding the history, doctrine, and practice of
the LCN, the commission approved recognition of fellowship between
our churches on the basis of 2013 Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (c). In November
2015, President Harrison formally declared fellowship with the LCN
(see the President’s Report). The 2016 convention will be asked to
endorse his action.
c. The Lutheran Church in Uruguay
The LCMS Office of Church Relations relayed a request for
church fellowship to the CTCR on Dec. 11, 2015, from a small,
emerging Lutheran church in Latin America, The Lutheran Church in
Uruguay (LCU). The LCU was planted in 1936 with assistance from
the LCMS and later nurtured by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Brazil (IELB), an LCMS partner. It is now an independent church
body, in fellowship with the IELB. After examining the history, confessions, and practices at its December 2015 meeting, the commission
recommended church fellowship on the basis of Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (c).
On Jan. 6, 2016, President Harrison formally declared church fellowship with the LCU. The 2016 convention will be asked to ratify
his action.
d. Recognition of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Kazakhstan, the Lutheran Church in Guatemala, and the
Lutheran Church of Venezuela as Self-Governing Partner
Churches
In February 2016, the Board for International Mission (BIM) conveyed to the CTCR requests from three church bodies (the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Kazakhstan, the Lutheran Church in Guatemala,
and the Lutheran Church of Venezuela) for recognition as self-governing partner church bodies in keeping with Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (d). The
bylaw requires that such be approved by the CTCR before being proposed by the BIM for recognition by the Synod in convention. This
approach to formal recognition and fellowship is grounded in the de
facto fellowship that exists for all LCMS missions. The church in
Kazakhstan, which has received mission assistance from the LCMS
in the past, seeks to become an independent church and partner of the
LCMS. The churches in Venezuela and Guatemala became independent some years ago and are members of the ILC, but had not been
formally recognized by the LCMS as self-governing partner churches.
At its February 2016 meeting, the CTCR approved the recommendations for recognition of the three churches.
2. Current/Pending Requests for Church Fellowship

a. Ethiopian Evangelical Church—Mekane Yesus
The Ethiopian Evangelical Church—Mekane Yesus (EECMY)
is one of the largest Lutheran church bodies in the world with some
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