LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1995, Page 57

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PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION
FOR JUBILEE YEARS
OF CONGREGATIONAL CELEBRATION

WHEREAS, 14 congregations, united by a common
confession of faith and witness, and in accordance
with “the example of the apostolic church” (Acts
15:1-31) and “our Lord’s will that the diversities of
gifts should be for the common profit” (1 Cor.
12:4-31), did join together on April 26, 1847 to form
what is today known as THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—
‘Missouri Synop; and

WHEREAS, Today, under the blessing of Almighty
God, we are able to count moe than 6,000 congrega-
tions who have elected to be part of this union of faith
and fellowship; and , ,

- Wuereas, The Lord of the church, by the power. of
His Spirit through. Word and Sacrament, has placed
His benediction upon our congregations in their joint
work so that they have, also through the agency of
the Synod, provided leadership to the whole Chris-
tian church in the areas of Christian education, mis-
sions, and human care; and -

~ Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, cele-

brating 150 years next year; and

WHEREAS, We, like those who have gone before us,
are SENT FORTH BY GOD’S BLESSING to bring His mes-
sage of salvation by grace through faith in the mer-
its of Jesus Christ our Savior to all the world, and
thus to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord, who
has swung wide the doors of opportunity for dynamic
outreach; and

WuERrEAS, Because of our sin, we have many times
failed to do God’s will and failed fully to appreciate
the many blessings God has so mercifully bestowed

_upon us and upon our beloved Synod,

_ WHEREAS, The same Lord of the church has, above _
. all, maintained among our congregations His blessed.

Word, so that we accept even today “without reserva-
tion: the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as
the written Word of God:and the only rule and norm

of faith and practice” and “all the Symbolic Books of ,

the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a true and
unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word
of God”; and

WHEREAS, We have been privileged to observe dur-
ing this convention the 100th anniversary of foreign
mission work as well as the centennial of outreach to
the hearing impaired, and many of our congregations
and other institutions will observe similar important
anniversaries during the next three years, including

Now THEREFORE, I, ALVIN L. BARRY, as President of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod do hereby
proclaim the coming triennium, 1995-1998, to be Ju-
BILEE YEARS OF CONGREGATIONAL CELEBRATION and do
commend the observance of this anniversary to all
our people, i in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and furthermore

I hereby declare Sunday, May 19, 1996, as a day
of repentance, prayer, and commitment in all our con-
gregations, so that under God’s continuing blessing
we may grow in His Word, grow in aggressive out-
reach, and grow in the stewardship of His bounty, to
the glory of His name, through Jesus Christ, our
Lord. Amen.

IN WITNESS Wuereor, I have hereunto set my hand
and caused the seal of The. Lutheran Church—Mis-
souri Synod to be affixed this 18th day of July in the
year of our: Lord one thousand nine hundred ninety-
five, and of the Synod the one hundred and forty-

“Alvin L. Barry
President

57

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