LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 207

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9. SPECIAL AND SUNDRY MATTERS

To Open Every Ministry to
Black Professional Church Workers

RESOLUTION 9-01
Overtures 9-05A—B (CW, p. 313)

WHEREAS, The Synod has an ongoing effort to recruit
Black and other minority persons for church vocations;
and

WHEREAS, White pastors traditionally have been
eligible for calls to all of the ministries in which we have
been involved, but Black and other minority clergy
generally have been placed in only Black or minority
ministries; and

WHEREAS, The placement of Black professional
church workers into every facet of ministry will make
the ministry of our church more attractive to young
men; and

WHEREAS, The placement of Black professional
church workers in all areas of ministry will help elim-
inate the stigma of racism in the placement process of
our church; and

WHEREAS, There is ample room to place new Black
professional church workers in all fields of ministry;
and

WHEREAS, The Mission and Ministry Committee of
the Commission on Black Ministry has undertaken the
task of planning the deployment of 150 Black pastors
over the next 10 years; and

WHEREAS, Resolution 2-20 of the 1962 Cleveland
convention states concerning the placement of Black
church workers that “the Council of Administrators of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has called atten-
tion to the disturbing fact that our membership gains
among Negroes in the United States have been less
than 17,000 when they should have been 229,000 if they
had kept pace with our acquisition among the rest of the
population”; and

WHEREAS, The 1962 convention resolved that “We
demonstrate our sincerity and expedite our outreach
among Negro Americans and other nonwhites . . . by
working toward the ideal that our Board of Assignments
assign the graduates of our terminal schools to congre-
gations and that they be accepted by them on the basis
of Christian character and personal ability, thus mak-
ing available to the church in every sphere the best that
God has provided in personal consecration and fitness,
without weakening the church’s witness and program”;
therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod affirm the Scriptural
principle that race or color must not restrict a trained
pastor’s field of service, but that all pastors, regardless
of race, be given serious consideration for calls to all
areas of ministry; and be it further

209

Resolved, That we move with haste at this time to
implement Res. 2-20 of the 1962 Cleveland convention
that Black professional church workers be placed in
foreign missions, hospital chaplaincies, prison min:
istries, military chaplaincies, campus. ministries, as
professors in higher education, and in various executive
positions in Districts and the Synod in the next 10 years.

Action: Adopted (12).

To Encourage and Support
an Effective Ministry
to Military Personnel

RESOLUTION 9-02

Report 9-01 (CW, p. 309); Overture 9-04 (CW, p.
313)

WHEREAS, Our nation’s interests and security require
that many trained and dedicated citizens in military
uniform be ready and willing to give of their personal
safety and convenience—and even life itself—for the
preservation of our national liberties; and

WHEREAS, Many of these. persons in military
uniform, on active duty and in the Reserve, are brothers
and sisters in Christ, who have responded to our
nation’s needs as a calling from God in these times of
national tensions; and

WHEREAS, Our Lord has called upon us to minister to
one another in order to meet the spiritual needs of
members of the body of Christ; therefore be it

Resolved, That we call upon our heavenly Father in
Christ to extend His hand of protection over our nation
and all who serve under its flag; and be it further

Resolved, That we especially ask that His gracious
presence attend our church’s men and women who
represent us in our military forces; and be it further

Resolved, That we commit ourselves to make every
effort to extend to our brothers and sisters in military
service a meaningful ministry of Word and Sacrament
individually, through our congregations, and as mem-
bers of the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That we support the ministries of the
Armed Forces Commission, and encourage our congrega-
tions to utilize fully the services of our Armed Forces
Commission in providing ministry to our military mem-
bers wherever they may be stationed; and be it finally

Resolved, That congregations whose pastors are
members of military Reserve forces be encouraged to
facilitate their pastor’s participation in our nation’s
military establishment and his fulfillment of special
requirements placed upon him by his service.

Action: Adopted (12).