LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1977, Page 21

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21

MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION

Opening Service

The opening service of the 52nd regular convention
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was held
July 15, 1977, in the Dallas Convention Center, Dallas,
Tex., with Dr. Walter A. Maier, Fourth Vice-President
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod serving as
the preacher and Dr. Carl Heckmann, President of the
Texas District, serving as liturgist. In his sermon Dr.
Maier reviewed the blessings as well as the short-
comings of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in
the past several years and pointed to the need for
humble, heart-deep repentance as well as prayer for
strengthening for eager obedience to the divine Word.
He pointed out that life presupposes growth and that
for that growth there must be nourishment, spiritual
nourishment, which is the Word of God. When we do
not use the Word for growth, God sometimes chastens
us to bring us back to it. Our goal is unity of faith in the
knowledge of the Son of God as well as the other things
which are pointed out in Ephesians 4. We need to come to
the throne of grace for pardon and for power to carry out
the Lord’s will. If we do, our horizons are virtually
unlimited. Dr. Maier summarized the thoughts of his
sermon in the words of the hymn “May God Bestow on
Us His Grace and Favor.”

Session 1

July 15, Evening
Opening

The opening devotion of the 52nd regular conven-
tion of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was
conducted by Dr. Preus and began with the singing of
the Reformation hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our
God.” Using the opening words of 1 Peter 1 as his text,
Dr. Preus pointed to the paradoxical nature of the
Christian religion. We are aliens, yet we are a people of
God, and this is reflected in the statements of Martin
Luther that a Christian is both saint and sinner at the
same time. If we ask the question, How long are we
here? we can answer that question in terms of the
convention. However, we cannot answer it for the
larger dimension, because we are gathered as the
chosen ones, dealing with ultimate issues involving the
Lord’s business and top priorities. We are called to live
in the world and serve in the midst of filth, grime, and
poverty. Yet we have the promise that where sin
abounded grace abounds much more. We are to be faith-
ful and leave the results to God. The church is always
pilgrim and alien but lives under God’s covenant of
forgiveness, grace, and blessing. Consequently we must
do our work patiently, knowing that God is more
patient with us than we can ever be with each other.

Registration and Credentials

Dr. Albin Stanfel, chairman of the Committee on
Registration and Credentials, introduced Catherine
Burkhard of the local committee on registration, who

reported that 477 voting lay delegates and 544 voting
pastoral delegates were registered. This is more than
the number constitutionally required for a quorum.

Convention Gavel

Dr. August Suelflow, Archivist of the Synod,
presented to Dr. Preus a gavel which had been used in
the opening ceremony of the synodical convention for
the past 66 years. The gavel was first used in 1911 and
has been used by four of the eight synodical Presidents,
including Drs. Pfotenhauer, Behnken, Harms, and
Preus. The gavel itself contains a carving of Luther and
Dr. C. F. W. Walther, as well as the first log-cabin
seminary. It is made from a beam of the log cabin and
includes the motto: “Therefore we conclude that a man
is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law.”
Using this historic gavel, President Preus declared the
convention in session in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.

Black Lutheran Centennial

Dr. Joseph Lavalais, Dr. Peter Hunt, and Rev.
DeWitt Robinson, members of the Black Lutheran
Centennial Committee, were presented to the delegates.
Dr. Lavalais, chairman of the committee, expressed
thanks to Dr. Preus for the counsel, advice, and help
which had been given in preparation for the Black
Lutheran Centennial year. He presented Dr. Preus with
a proclamation prepared for this occasion. President
Preus stated that the proclamation would be hung in
the headquarters of the Synod and then read the
proclamation to the delegates.

Announcements

A change of schedule was announced, stating that
Committee 10, the Committee on Ethnic Concerns,
would report on Sunday at 3:45 p.m. while Committee 9,
the Committee on Special and Sundry Matters, would
report at 4:00 p.m. Monday.

Dr. Preus then introduced Mrs. Mabel Stickel and
Dr. Mark Steege, who will serve as parliamentarians
for the convention, as well as Dr. Herbert Mueller,
Secretary of the Synod, Dr. Walter Rosin, convention
secretary, and pages Margaret Burkhard and William
Schmidtke.

Welcome

Dr. Carl Heckmann, President of the Texas District,
welcomed the delegates to Texas and expressed the
regrets of Governor Briscoe that he was unable to be
present. The welcome to Texas and the Texas District
was issued on behalf of its 300 congregations and over
100,000 members. Dr. Ray Martens, president of
Concordia College, Austin, also welcomed the delegates
and invited them to visit Concordia College in Austin if
they have the opportunity to do so. Dr. Harry Barr,
member of the Board of Directors of the Synod, spoke
on behalf of the Board of Directors, thanking Dr.
Heckmann and the Texas District for their hospitality.