LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 285

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
and mission endeavors and ecumenical relationships. Bishop Abia
then met face to face with the CTCR and LCMS President Matthew
Harrison in September 2021 for formal discussions regarding
church fellowship.
At its December 2021 meeting, the CTCR unanimously adopted a
motion recommending the recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship
with the ELCSS/S. That recommendation was sent to President
Harrison for his consideration and for consultation with the
Praesidium. In a letter dated Aug. 28, 2022, President Harrison
wrote: “I am very pleased to inform you … that by virtue of the
authority vested in the President of the Synod, I am in a position to
declare recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship between our two
churches. Praise God!” The President then invited Bishop Abia to
participate in a celebration of fellowship during a joint Divine
Service held by LCMS partner churches in Kisumu, Kenya. The
joyful event was held on September 18, 2022, during the Divine
Service with participation by President Harrison, Bishop Abia, and
Rev. Joseph Ochola Omolo, Archbishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Kenya.
WHEREAS, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan and
Sudan (ELCSS/S) was established in 1993 as a confessional
Lutheran Church with significant assistance from the LHF, a
recognized service organization; and
WHEREAS, Despite the challenges of civil war and great turmoil,
the Holy Spirit enabled the ELCSS/S to evangelize effectively in
South Sudan and Sudan, beginning some 150 congregations with
over 150,000 members, establishing a seminary and training school,
ordaining 60 pastors, and preparing over 100 evangelists and other
church workers—all in less than a decade under the leadership of
the Rev. Andrew Mbugo Elisa; and
WHEREAS, Despite the untimely death of Bishop Elisa, internal
dissension, and other challenges, the ELCSS/S weathered another
decade of difficulties and emerged with a continuing firm
commitment to the theology and practice of scriptural and
confessional Lutheranism; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the history of the ELCSS/S, the LCMS
in its various entities has continued to support, enable, and
encourage the ELCSS/S to be and remain committed to theology
and practice that is faithful to the Word of God and the Lutheran
Confessions; and
WHEREAS, The ELCSS/S accepts all the canonical books of the
sacred Scriptures of the Old and of the New Testaments as the
inerrant, revealed Word of God; and
WHEREAS, The ELCSS/S accepts the symbolic books of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, compiled in the Book of Concord of
1580, as a correct exposition of the sacred Scriptures; and
WHEREAS, On October 25, 2018, Bishop Peter Anibati Abia, on
behalf of the ELCSS/S, renewed a long-standing request for the
LCMS to recognize fellowship between our churches; and
WHEREAS, Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (c) 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
[CTCR], such recognition may be declared by the President of the
Synod subject to the endorsement of the subsequent Synod
convention”; and

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WHEREAS, The CTCR has examined the pertinent documents of
the ELCSS/S and found them to be faithful to Scripture and the
Lutheran Confessions; and
WHEREAS, President Matthew C. Harrison declared the
recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship between our two church
bodies in a letter to Bishop Abia on Aug. 28, 2022; and
WHEREAS, The fellowship between our church bodies was
publicly announced and celebrated in a joint service held on Sept.
18, 2022, in Kisumu, Kenya; 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 that, despite violence, civil war,
significant cultural and ecclesial challenges, God, by His grace, has
equipped and prepared the ELCSS/S to give a faithful, confessional
Lutheran witness in South Sudan and Sudan; and be it further
Resolved, That we give thanks to God that doctrinal discussions
between official representatives of the LCMS and the ELCSS/S
have resulted in recognition of complete concord and agreement;
and be it further
Resolved, That this convention endorse the President of the
Synod’s declaration of altar and pulpit fellowship between the
LCMS and the ELCSS/S; and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage and walk with the ELCSS/S as they
proclaim the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ in East Africa; and be it
further
Resolved, That we pray for God’s blessings in the coming years
on our agreement in the confession of the Gospel that we enjoy as
partner churches, and for the blessing of the Lord upon the members
and leaders of the ELCSS/S; 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 the Lutheran Church of Uganda
Preamble
Work to establish a Lutheran mission in Uganda began in early 1993
in Jinja town. This work was initiated by five local Ugandans,
who—dissatisfied with divisions and infighting in local Bugosa
dioceses of the Anglican Church—were yearning for a church that
truly proclaimed the Word of God and that could worship and work
together in peace.
In early 1993, these five lay Christians (three men, two women)
visited Kenya and urged the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya
(ELCK) to initiate Lutheran mission work in Uganda. The ELCK,
then under the leadership of Rev. Francis Nyamwalo, was not able
to fulfil the request due to logistical challenges. Soon thereafter,
contact was made with the Rev. Dr. Paul Kofi Fynn, then-president
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG), a longtime
partner church of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS).
In July 1993 President Fynn sent Rev. Isaac Gyampadu to Uganda
to assess the possibility of beginning mission work there. Rev.
Gyampadu returned with a positive report, which was followed by
a visit of Bishop Fynn to Uganda in February 1994.
2023 Convention Workbook