LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1977, Page 106

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MEMORIAL ADDRESS 107

afflicted. ... But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities,” so that “with His
stripes we are healed.”

That is why the apostle Paul assured the jailer at
Philippi, who cried out in anguish, “What must I doto be
saved?” by saying, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you shall be saved.”

That is why Christ our Savior said to Nicodemus
during the hush of night: “God so loved the world that

He gave His only-begotten Son that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
May God in His grace keep us “steadfast and
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,”
as we press forward to the high prize of our calling
through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior—always witha
victorious sense of expectancy to be with Him. Eternally
at peace! Eternally at rest! Eternally filled with the
fullness of joy and bliss in His holy presence! Amen.
Roland Wiederaenders, D.D.

Greetings of the President of The American Lutheran Church

The American Lutheran Church extends warm
greetings to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in
convention assembled. You are ever in our prayers. We
treasure deeply the confessional unity to which God has
called us. We have rejoiced in the fellowship we have
known with so many of you through the years and
especially since our joint declaration of altar and pulpit
fellowship in 1969. It has been inspiring to meet with
ALC and LCMS missionaries in Papua New Guinea as
they shared this mission outreach of Christ’s church in
that far-off place. It has been a profoundly moving
experience to meet with our military chaplains as they
carry on their ministry together. It has been a joyful
experience to participate in evangelism rallies where
members of our two churches prayed and worshiped
together as they prepared to go out in evangelical
strength. It has been our hope and expectation that our
partnership in the Gospel and in the mission of the
church would broaden and deepen in the months and
years ahead. For that we continue to pray.

We in the ALC believe doctrinal unity exists between

the LCMS and the ALC. We believe we have a God-given
agreement on all chief articles of the Christian faith. We
together confess our faith in the triune God; in Jesus
Christ as true God and true man, the Redeemer of the
world; and in the Holy Spirit-created Christian church.
Together we affirm the Word and sacraments as God’s
chosen means of grace, vehicles by which the saving
Christ is present among us. We confess together our
human sinfulness, that we are lost and condemned
creatures left to our own devices. We confess that it is by
God’s grace alone that we are brought to faith in Christ,
to membership in His body, and to the lively resurrection
hope of life in His kingdom. Together we hold to the
inspiration and authority of the entire Scriptures, and
i pgether we declare them to be our norm for faith and
ife.
; We believe that God-given unity should be expressed
im mutual sharing of gifts of God, in mutual trust and
love, and in active partnership in the mission of the
church.

We are therefore hurt and saddened to hear of your
convention’s action regarding “fellowship in protest.”
We do not understand the spirit that motivates such
4a move. We find it incomprehensible that our churches,
which share allegiance to Christ and His church, to the
Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, should be

Dr. David Preus, President of the ALC

sidetracked from mutual fellowship and mission by
picking away at matters which are not directly ad-
dressed in either the Scriptures or the Confessions.
Your Commission on Theology and Church
Relations has indicated a list of concerns abou the ALC.
We must say that we also have a list of concerns about
the LCMS. We expect to deal with these as sisters and
brothers in the faith. Let me briefly spell out a few ofour
concerns. Most needing attention is the nature and basis
of fellowship. We have consistently asked for a
Scripture-based study of what is necessary for
Christians to be in altar and pulpit fellowship. We are
very pleased to see that your current action calls for such
a study. It is highly unlikely that Christian groups will
ever attain fellowship if any one group says there must