LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 155

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 155

heterodox church bodies are not ordinarily to be admitted to Holy
Communion in our churches; and be it further

Resolved, That pastors be encouraged to invite such individu-
als to study the doctrines of our church, both to admonish repen-
tance of false doctrine and to prepare for worthy reception of Holy
Communion in our churches; and be it finally

Resolved, That exceptions to the above principles be truly ex-
ceptions and not the rule, so that close Communion may be main-
tained.

Peace, Garland, TX; Messiah, Keller, TX

3-06

To Affirm Synod’s Practice on Administration
of Holy Communion

WHEREAS, “Christian faith not only places believers in Christ
into a spiritual fellowship with their Lord, but also unites them with
one another (Eph. 4:4, 6)” (1); and

Wuereas, Christians are “fellow citizens with the saints and
members of God’s household (Eph. 2:19) [who] seek out fellow
believers in Jesus Christ in order to build them up and to be built up
by them (Rom. 1:11~12)” (2); and

WHEREAS, “The Scriptures exhort Christians to manifest the
unity which has already been given them by virtue of their incor-
poration into the body of Christ” (3); and

WuerEAS, When St. Paul says that “we, though many, are one
body in Christ and individually members of one another” (Rom.
12:5) and this means that, properly speaking, there is only one
church” (4); and

WHEREAS, Christ instituted the Sacrament of His body and
blood to nourish and sustain His people and assure them of His
grace; and

WHEREAS, St. Paul defines worthy reception of the body and
blood in terms of self examination and discernment of the Lord’s
body (1 Cor. 11:28-29); and

WHEREAS, The Small Catechism clearly states that one is truly
worthy and well prepared who has faith in the words of Christ:
“Given and shed for you for the remission of sins’’ (SC VI 10);
and

WHEREAS, The Large Catechism states clearly that the only peo-
ple who should be excluded from the Sacrament are those who nei-
ther desire grace nor absolution and have no intention to amend
their lives (LC V 5, 61); and

WuerEAS, The administration of Holy Communion includes the
necessity of exercising pastoral care in special cases and unusual
circumstances; and

WHEREAS, We live in a spirit of trust as pastors exercise pas-
toral care in varying and different circumstances; and

WHEREAS, There is a mutual God-given responsibility between
the pastor and the individual communicant for making decisions
that are faithful to what God’s Word teaches about admission to
the Lord’s Table; therefore be it

Resolved, That we affirm our Synod’s position relating to the
practice of the administration of Holy Communion, which recog-
nizes that the Sacrament is for all Christians “who are able to ex-
amine themselves and who share a common faith and confession,”
and that pastors are to be trusted as shepherds of the flock as they
exercise their pastoral care ‘in special cases and unusual circum-
stances”;

1. We reject the practice of “Open Communion,” that is, the
practice that our Communion rails are open to all who present
themselves without regard for their doctrinal understanding of the
Holy Supper; and,

2. We reject the practice of “Closed Communion,” that is, the
practice that our Communion rails are closed to all except those
who hold membership in congregations of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod; and

3. We sanction the practice of “Close Communion,” that is, the
practice that we welcome to our Communion rails all who are close
to us (i.e., in doctrinal agreement with us), in our understanding of
the Holy Supper and are worthy to receive it; and be it further

Resolved, That this resolution be presented to the next conven-
tion of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod for affirmation and
definition.

Notes: (1) Commission on Theology and Church Relations of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, The Nature and Implica-
tions of the Concept of Fellowship, April 1981, p. 10. (2) Nature
and Implications, pp. 13, 12. (3) Nature and Implications, p. 11.
(4) Nature and Implications, p. 10.

California-Nevada-Hawaii District

3-07

To Develop Uniform Practice and Definition of Terms
with Regard to Lord’s Supper

WHEREAS, There is confusion in our Synod regarding the use of
the terms “Open Communion,” “Closed Communion,” and “Close
Communion” as these terms are used to describe our Communion
distribution practices; and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Confessions admonish us not to admit
to our Communion rails those who come uninformed: “It is not
our intention to admit to it and to administer it to those who know
not what they seek, or why they come” (LC V 2); and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Confessions also instruct us to take
care that those presenting themselves at our Communion rails be
prepared and worthy recipients: “‘... he is truly worthy and well pre-
pared who has faith in these words: Given and shed for you, for the
remission of sins. But he who does not believe these words, or
doubts, is unworthy and unfit” (SC VI 10); and

Wuereas, The Lutheran Confessions also admonish us not to
be overly cautious and unduly fearful in our distribution practices
because the Sacrament is wonderfully beneficial to the faithful and
can only be hurtful to those who despise it: “We must never re-
gard the Sacrament as something injurious from which we had bet-
ter flee, but as a pure, wholesome, comforting remedy imparting
salvation and comfort, which will cure you and give you life both
in soul and body. Why, then, is it that we act as if it were a poison.
the eating of which would bring death? To be sure, it is true that
those who despise it and live in an unchristian manner receive it to
their hurt and damnation” (LC V 68-69); and

_ WHEREAS, Our Synod teaches that it is an improper policy to
deny the Holy Supper to anyone based on denominational affilia-
tion alone, as our textbooks advise our congregations: “On the one
hand, they are not permitted to introduce ‘Open Communion’; on
the other hand, they must guard against denying the Sacrament to
those Christians for whom Christ has appointed it” (Francis Pieper,
Christian Dogmatics, vol. 3, Concordia Publishing House, 1953,
p. 381); and

WHEREAS, It is, therefore, our intention and practice to admin-
ister the Holy Supper to all who sincerely desire it and have a
proper understanding of it (that is, they know what they seek and
why they come); therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod adopt
the following as descriptive of our understanding of proper Com-
munion distribution practice:

1. We do not sanction the practice of “Open Communion,” that
is, the practice that our Communion rails are open to all who pre-
sent themselves without regard for their doctrinal understanding of
the Holy Supper; and

2. We do not sanction the practice of “Closed Communion,”
that is, the practice that our Communion rails are closed to all ex-
cept those who hold denominational affiliation with congregations
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; and

3. We do sanction and encourage the practice of “Close Com-
munion,” that is, the practice that we welcome to our Communion