LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1977, Page 27

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION 27

Bylaws of the present synodical Handbook instead of
the change in wording which had been proposed by the
committee. Delegates, however, declined to refer the
consideration of making the office of the Treasurer of the
Synod a full-time and appointive office to the Task Force
on Constitution, Bylaws, and Structure (Res. 4-03, TB
81). The Board of Directors was commended by the
convention for sharing information with the church in
the past and was encouraged to expand its efforts to
communicate to the members of the Synod as many
details as possible concerning its work (Res. 4-04, TB 82).
By adopting Res. 4-05 (TB 82) the transfer of Grace
Lutheran Church of Strasburg, Ill., to the Central
Illinois District; of Redeemer Lutheran Church of
Seymour, Ind., to the Indiana District; of Unity
Evangelical Lutheran Church, Cleveland, Ohio, to the
Ohio District; and of Our Savior Lutheran Church,
Midland, Mich., to the Michigan District was approved.
The request of Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Milwaukee,
for transfer from the South Wisconsin District to the
English District and that of Holy Comforter Lutheran
Church, Mt. Vernon, New York, for transfer from the
English District to the SELC District were also granted
by adoption of Res. 4-06 (TB 83). The passage of Res. 4-
07A (TB 205) by the delegates permitted the transfer of
All Saints of Livonia and The Savior of Kalamazoo from
the Michigan District to the English District while
declining action on the transfer requests of Holy Trinity,
Livonia, and Faith, Livonia, because of their
withdrawal from the Synod. Resolution 4-08 (TB 83),
calling for deferral of the request of Immanuel,
Charleston, Ill., to transfer from the Central Illinois
District to the English District, was introduced after
substituting the word “solution” for “conclusion” in line
66 (TB 83). After some discussion the convention agreed
to consider a substitute motion that the transfer be
granted as requested. Time for consideration of this
motion expired before the matter could be resolved.

Elections

Rev. Arthur Ziegler, chairman of the Committee on
Elections, reported that 1,047 ballots had been cast for
the office of First Vice-President of the Synod, one of
which was invalid. 524 were required for election.
Results of the election were as follows: Bernthal—46;
Heckmann—20; Lavalais—39; Maier—191; Mueller—
327; Weber—423. Ballots for a run-off election were then
distributed to the delegates.

Missions

Rev. Lloyd Behnken, chairman of the Floor Com-
mittee on Missions, introduced the resolutions of the
committee by asking the delegates to lift up their sights
and to view the tremendous needs and opportunities for
sharing the Gospel. He pointed out that personal
involvement with the Lord Jesus Christ means that we
are involved because His Spirit lives in us. After
referring to some of the mission activities of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Rev. Behnken
called on President Preus to introduce President Fuliga,
president of the Lutheran Church of the Philippines.
President Fuliga brought the greetings from 14,000 to

President Fuliga of the Lutheran Church of the Philippines

15,000 Philippine Lutherans and described the work
which is being carried on there at the present time. In
his remarks he stated that this is a crucial period in the
history of the Philippine Lutheran Church. It is a
rapidly growing church in which it is difficult to meet
all of the needs because of the meager salaries which
are provided to pastors, who receive $80 to $100 per
month. The Philippine Lutheran Church has close to
100 congregations and over 50 new mission stations in
a nation of 46,000,000 people. No mission work at all is
being done on many of the islands. The emphasis of the
Philippine Lutheran Church is presently on
evangelism, stewardship, and education. President
Fuliga concluded his remarks by praying that it would
not be said on Judgment Day that The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod spent too little money on
missions. After receiving some background from Rev.
Hintze, Secretary for World Areas, on the opportunities
for work in West Africa, the delegates approved Res. 2-
01A (TB 193) authorizing new mission work to be
established there. After hearing from missionary John
Fajen, missionary to Nigeria, who has been responsible
for the translation of the New Testament in a native
language, the delegates expressed their thanks to God
for the translation of the New Testament into the Yala,
Bokyi, and Kukele languages (Res. 2-03, TB 38). Upon
the request of the Lutheran Church—Hong Kong
Synod and the recommendation of the Board for
Missions and the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations, the delegates agreed to recognize the
Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod as a sister
church (Res. 2-02, TB 37).

Elections

Rev. Arthur Ziegler, reporting for the Committee on
Elections, stated that 1,060 ballots had been cast, of
which three were invalid. 529 votes were required for
election. The results of the election for the First Vice-
President of the Synod were as follows: Bernthal—22;:
Lavalais—14; Maier—74; Mueller—391; Weber—556.
Dr. E. C. Weber was declared reelected as First Vice-
President of the Synod and received a standing