LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 23

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION
Opening Worship

Session 1

amendments to proposed floor committee resolutions or substitute resolutions for them are submitted for printing in
Today’s Business in time for publication prior to convention
consideration of such resolutions. Amendments, amendments to amendments, and substitute resolutions proposed
in the course of the discussion must be provided to the Secretary prior to being offered from the floor. The delegates
voted to adopt the standing rules of the convention as
amended.

July 12, 1998

Convention Schedule

The opening worship service for the 60th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was held
in the America’s Center of St. Louis, Missouri. The Rev. Dr.
A. L. Barry, President of the Synod, preached the sermon,
with the Rev. Timothy Mueller, pastor of St. Johns, New
Minden, Illinois, serving as the presiding minister.

Sunday Morning Worship

Following the failure of a motion to delay elections until
Wednesday, the delegates voted to adopt the schedule for
the convention as printed on pages 20–21 of Today’s Business and as amended by announcement of the President.

The Sunday morning worship service was led by the Rev.
Dr. Paul Grime, Executive Director of the Commission on
Worship. The sermon was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Karl
Barth, member of the Board of Directors and former President of the South Wisconsin District and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

President’s Report (Part III)
President A. L. Barry emphasized the urgency of our call
to faithfulness and witness.

Committee 9: Registration, Credentials, and Elections
Electronic Response System

Rev. Eugene Gierke, President of the Nebraska District
and chairman of the committee, reported on the number of
delegates registered to this point in the convention. As of
8:45 A.M., July 12, there were 580 voting pastors and 579
voting laypersons. The total number of voting delegates present was 1,159, constituting a quorum. Also registered were
pastoral advisory delegates, 61; teacher advisory delegates,
74; representatives of Synod’s boards, commissions, and faculties, 184; youth representatives, 16; others, 12. Total registrations: 1,506.

Nebraska District President Rev. Eugene Gierke introduced the delegates to the electronic voting system to be
used throughout the convention.
Election of a President
Dr. Walter Rosin, Secretary of the Synod, presented the
slate of nominees for the office of President. The five persons receiving the most nominations who have not declined
nomination included in alphabetical order: Rev. Dr. Alvin
Barry, Rev. Dr. John Johnson, Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick,
Rev. Dr. Glenn O’Shoney, and Rev. Dr. William Weinrich.
The slate was ratified by common consent.
Motion was made to delay the election of the president
until the matter involving District President Mueller is resolved. The motion failed.
Rev. Gierke led the delegates in the casting of a first ballot on paper, following a prayer led by Rev. Dr. Paul Grime,
chaplain to the convention.

Convention Gavel
The Rev. Daniel Preus, Director of Concordia Historical
Institute, presented a celebrated gavel to Dr. Barry for use
in the opening and closing of the convention. The gavel was
first utilized in 1911 by Dr. F. Pfotenhauer, fifth President
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The gavel had
been prepared a year earlier by a layman from a piece of
wood taken from a beam of the log cabin in Perry County
that served as the first seminary. President Barry is the
sixth synodical President to use it.

Omnibus Resolutions
The delegates considered Resolution A, the omnibus resolution that refers specified overtures to appropriate committees or commissions. Omnibus Resolution A was
adopted with the following amendments:
To change the referral from President to Commission on
Constitutional Matters in Overtures 7-100 and 7-101.
To add Overture 3-33 (vicars celebrating Communion)
and refer it to the BHE.
To add Overture 6-26 (the case of Tom Bird) and refer it
to the President of Synod.
To refer Overture 5-27 to the Council of Presidents and
to the seminaries as well as to the Commission on Theology and Church Relations.
To refer Overture 7-104 (parish assistants) to committee.

Call to Order
After receiving the gavel with thanks, the Rev. Dr. A. L.
Barry declared the 60th convention of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod open in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Theme Video
The delegates and visitors saw the theme of the convention, To the Ends of the Earth, depicted in a video prepared
by the Communications Department of the LCMS.
Standing Rules
The delegates voted to amend Standing Rule 16 as follows: With the exception of omnibus resolutions, usually

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