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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 426

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

426

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Resolved, That we acknowledge with gratitude the unity of
confession that has been given to our two churches under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit; and be it further
Resolved, That we give thanks to God for the Lutheran
confession of the Gospel the ELKB provides; and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage and walk with the ELKB as it
proclaims the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world; and be
it further
Resolved, That we pray for God’s blessings in the coming years
on this agreement in the confession of the Gospel that we enjoy as
partner churches; and be it finally
Resolved, That in celebration and thanksgiving of this
partnership in the Gospel, the convention assembly signify its
approval by rising and singing the Doxology.
Commission on Theology and Church Relations
Ov. 5-02

To Endorse Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with
Portuguese Evangelical Lutheran Church
Preamble
The Portuguese Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELP, Igreja
Evangélica Luterana Portuguesa) was founded by the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB, Igreja Evangélica Luterana do
Brasil). In 1952 the President of the Brazil District of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod, Rev. Rodolpho Hasse, visited Portugal
with the intention of introducing a radio program and to explore the
possibility of conducting mission work there. The IELB’s 32nd
National Convention in 1954 officially authorized the beginning of
the mission in Portugal. On July 3, 1958, the first Lutheran
congregation was organized in Lisbon. May 28, 1959 marked the
foundation of the IELP. Initially, the activities of the IELP were
concentrated in the region between Lisbon and Caldas da Rainha.
In the 1970s mission efforts were expanded northward within the
country of Portugal. At the beginning of the 1990s, the first parish
in the region of Porto was established. The IELP currently
maintains regular activities in four localities: Mercês (Lisbon),
Maia (Porto), Ponte de Lima (North) and Angra do Heroismo
(Azores Island). In 2007 the IELP joined the European Lutheran
Conference and the International Lutheran Council.
WHEREAS, The mission efforts of the Brazil District of the Synod
and later, the IELB, have led to the establishment of the IELP; and
WHEREAS, The Synod and the IELB are partner church bodies;
and
WHEREAS, The IELP is now an independent, self-governing
church body; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, President Adalberto Hiller of the IELP
recognized that even though the IELP began as the mission work of
the Brazil District of the Synod and continued with the support of
the IELB (after the IELB was recognized by the Synod as a selfgoverning partner church), the Synod and IELP had never entered
into formal fellowship; and
WHEREAS, President Hiller of the IELP contacted the Synod and
requested formal recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship; and
WHEREAS, The IELP accepts all the canonical books of the
Sacred Scriptures of the Old and of the New Testaments as the
infallible, revealed Word of God and the symbolic books of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, compiled in the Book of Concord of
2019 Convention Workbook

1580 as a correct exposition of the Sacred Scriptures, and it will not
admit any modification to this rule; and
WHEREAS, The IELP is in altar and pulpit fellowship with other
partner church bodies of the Synod such as the IELB and the
Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Europe; and
WHEREAS, The Handbook says, “When a small, formative,
emerging confessional Lutheran church body (identified as such by
the President of the Synod as chief ecumenical officer) requests
recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship with the Synod, after
consultation with the Praesidium and approval by the commission,
such recognition may be declared by the President of the Synod
subject to endorsement of the subsequent Synod convention”
(Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2[c]); and
WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations
(CTCR) has examined pertinent theological and organizational
documents of the IELP and found these documents to be faithful to
Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions; and
WHEREAS, Church fellowship has been recognized by the
President of the Synod after consultation with the Praesidium and
approval by CTCR; therefore be it
Resolved, That we acknowledge with gratitude the unity of
confession that has been given to our churches under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit; and be it further
Resolved, That we give thanks to God for the Lutheran
confession of the Gospel the IELP provides to its country; and be it
further
Resolved, That this convention endorse the President of Synod’s
recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship between the Synod and
the IELP; and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage and walk with the IELP as they
proclaim the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world; and be it
further
Resolved, That we pray for God’s blessings in the coming years
on this agreement in the confession of the Gospel that we enjoy as
partner churches; and be it finally
Resolved, That in celebration and thanksgiving of this
partnership in the Gospel, the convention assembly signify its
approval by rising and singing the common doxology.
Commission on Theology and Church Relations
Ov. 5-03

To Recognize Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with
Confessional Lutheran Church of South Africa
Preamble
The Confessional Lutheran Church of South Africa (CLCSA) was
established as an independent church body in 1989. The church is
primarily located in Middelburg, South Africa. The church reports
ten congregations and six preaching stations with a total of about
15,000 members. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has had
a long relationship with this church body and its founding pastor
and bishop, Mandla Khumalo, via St. Peter Lutheran Church in
Arlington Heights, IL, and more recently through the Michigan
District. In 1988 St. Peter Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights, in
cooperation with Dr. Robert Preus of Concordia Theological
Seminary in Fort Wayne, provided Rev. Khumalo with a Synod
seminary education.