LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 31

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION 31

1. Faith Lutheran Church, Mt. Vernon, Il, from the
English District to the Southern Mlinois District;

2. Delaware Valley Lutheran Church of the Deaf,
Philadelphia, Pa., from the New Jersey District to
the Eastern District;

3. Salem National Ev. Lutheran Church, Westland,
Mich., from the English District to the Michigan
District.

Since the concerns expressed in Overture 4-35 are
being dealt with by the President of the Synod and the
Board of Directors and since the program for training of
staff called for in the overture did not appear to be an
appropriate means of dealing with the concerns ex-
pressed in that overture, the convention declined Over-
ture 4-35, which called for seminary courses to be made
available to synodical staff personnel (Res. 4-17, TB 94).

Res. 4-19 (TB 95) calling for the amendment of Bylaw
2.07e regarding the salaries of outgoing officers was
adopted. With the adoption of this change the salaries of
full-time officers who had not been elected to their office
before they reached the official retirement age or who
had elected to resign their positions will receive their
full salary until the end of the calendar year rather than
the fiscal year as had been called for by the existing
Bylaw. Bylaw 2.105 a, 1, dealing with retirement pol-
icies, was also changed by action of the convention to
conform to existing federal law through the adoption of
Res. 4-20A (7B 236).

Closing Devotions

Closing devotions for this session were conducted by
President Johannes Gedrat, president of the Ev. Luther-
an Church of Brazil. The text for his closing devotion
was the psalm verse, “How good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity.

Session 5

July 6, Afternoon
Opening Devotion

_ Opening devotion for the fifth session of the conven-
tion was led by Dr. August Suelflow. After the delegates
had joined in the singing of “Thou Who the Night in
Prayer Didst Spend,” Dr. Suelflow described to the
delegates the interest and support which the Lutheran
Church had given to its system of higher education from
the very beginning. He pointed out that if the Synod had
followed the pattern of other Lutherans it would be the
year 2020 before it would have established its first
seminary. He closed his devotion with a reading from

- Romans 10, a prayer and benediction, and a hymn sung
by the delegates.

Election

Dr. Wilbert Griesse, reporting for the Floor Com-
mittee on Elections, informed the delegates that 1,035
votes had been cast with 518 needed to elect. The results
of the balloting for First Vice-President were as follows:
Lavalais—38, Maier—163, Mueller—413, Sauer—421.

Following the announcement, the third ballot for First
Vice-President was distributed, and after the delegates
had voted and ballots were collected balloting was
declared closed.

Administration

The convention joyfully adopted Res. 4-01 expressing
their thanks to God for the dedicated ministry of Dr.
Preus as President of the Synod during the past 12
years, by rising and joining in the singing of the hymn
“Now Thank We All Our God.” A dozen roses were given
to Mrs. Preus as a tribute from the Board of Directors for
the support which she had provided Dr. Preus during
his years of service. Both President and Mrs. Preus
expressed their appreciation to the delegates and to the
Board of Directors.

Because of certain legal requirements involved in the
establishment of the Lutheran Church Extension Fund—
Missouri Synod (LCEF) the delegates agreed to the
deletion of the words “‘a Board for Church Extension”
from Bylaw section 2.03 a and to the amendment of
Bylaws 8.51 and 8.55 as proposed by the Floor Com-
mittee on Administration (Res. 4-10, TB 90). By the
adoption of Res. 4-14 (TB 93) they also requested the
Board of Directors to effect equalization of convention
travel expenses beginning with the 1983 convention.
Although Valparaiso University has hada long history
of association with the Synod and shares a concern with
the Synod for Lutheran lay higher education, concerns
continue to be expressed with regard to the theology
taught at Valparaiso University. In order that a resolu-
tion of these theological concerns could be effected
which would enhance the relationship between Valpa-
raiso University and The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod the delegates adopted Res. 4-18 (TB 95), asking
that dialogs and conversations toward a resolution of
these concerns be initiated between representatives of
the Synod selected by the synodical President and
representatives of Valparaiso University. They also
requested that a report on the results of the dialog and
conversation be made to the Synod in a way determined
by the synodical President. The convention also agreed
to amend Bylaw 2.11 e and f regarding sabbaticals and
study leaves for boards and commissions so that these
would be dealt with in accordance with policies adopted
by the Board of Directors rather than with the approval
of the respective division chairman (Res. 4-21, TB97).In
adopting Res. 4-11A (TB 235) the convention dismissed
the Black Centennial Committee with special thanks
and expressed its gratitude to the members of the Black
Centennial Committee for their excellent service to our
Lord. It also asked that the concerns and programs
initiated by this committee be continued by the Com-
mission on Black Ministry with special attention being
given to the gathering of Black Lutheran historical
materials and intensification of recruitment of Black
students during the coming biennium. They also asked
that members of the Black Centennial Committee be
enlisted in these efforts.