LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 152

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152

RESOLUTIONS

Deaconess Coordinator, and two active deaconesses appointed by the President, Concordia University—River
Forest).
The convention is asked to adopt the following actions:
Resolved, That Bylaw 6.129 c (1998 Handbook, p. 119)
be changed as noted below; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Synod be directed to
bring the Bylaws into conformity with this resolution:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Bylaw 6.129 Eligibility
The applicant shall be a communicant member in
good standing of a congregation of the Synod and shall
be able to meet the following academic and theological
requirements, comparable to the regular synodical deaconess program, before her final examination: …
c. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited educational institution. Exceptions to this requirement may
be made by the Colloquy Committee for Deaconess Ministry, in consultation with the institution’s colloquy
committee, for applicants for whom obtaining a bachelor’s degree is deemed not to be feasible. A college level
program culminating in a bachelor’s degree; or in the
case of an applicant who has a college-level education,
considerable experience in church work and who has
successfully completed a and b above but has no bachelor’s degree, the institution colloquy committee, in accord with the committee’s good judgment and after consultation with the Colloquy Committee for Deaconess
ministry, is authorized to grant two-year renewable approval for deaconess ministry contingent upon the applicant actively seeking to obtain a bachelor’s degree.

and be it finally
Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall be
used to help carry out “The Great Commission” and shall
not in any way detract or distract from the primary mission
of God’s kingdom here on earth. We will remember 1-02!
Action: Adopted (7)
(The resolution was adopted without amendment [yes: 1,003;
no: 56]. The final resolve is added as required by Res. 1-02,
adopted by the convention in an earlier session.)

To Provide Deaconess Training
at the Seminary Level
RESOLUTION 5-06B
Overtures 5-35–36 (CW, p. 218)
WHEREAS, The church follows the teaching and example
of Jesus Christ to engage the service of women in various
forms of discipleship; and
WHEREAS, The church has many women who have been
gifted by God who seek additional forms of service; and
WHEREAS, Women have served as deaconesses in the
church for many centuries, and The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod has had deaconesses in parishes, institutions, and recognized service organizations both in mission
fields around the world and in various locations in the
United States; and
WHEREAS, There are many agencies and service organizations within the Synod’s scope identified by The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Board for Human
Care Ministries requesting additional deaconesses; and
WHEREAS, Our Synod at present has only one location,
River Forest, for all deaconess training in contrast to two
200l Convention Proceedings

seminaries for training pastors, six locations for training
Directors of Christian Education, and ten locations for
training teachers; and
WHEREAS, The Board of Regents of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, invited the Synod to add the
training of deaconesses on a graduate level in addition to
their current academic offerings in response to various constituencies of the church; and
WHEREAS, The faculties of both of our seminaries are
well equipped for the education of deaconesses; and
WHEREAS, The Bylaws of the Synod (Article 1.07a) state:
“the delegate convention of the Synod is the legislative assembly which ultimately legislates policy, program and finance … reserving the right to give direction to all officers
and agencies including seminaries, universities and other
component parts,”; therefore be it
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
in convention encourage the continued training of deaconesses at Concordia University, River Forest, and permit
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, to offer graduate level deaconess
training, directing all three schools to work with the Board
for Higher Education to establish standards of deaconess
education, practice and placement; and be it further
Resolved, That all action taken in this resolution shall be
used to help carry out “The Great Commission” and shall
not in any way detract or distract from the primary mission
of God’s kingdom here on earth. We will remember 1-02!
Action: Adopted (10)
(Prior to presentation the floor committee edited its resolution
by deleting the word certification after the words deaconess training in the fifth whereas. The resolution was adopted without
amendment [yes: 984; no: 86]. The final resolve is added as required
by Res. 1-02, adopted by the convention in an earlier session.)

To Increase Congregational
and Individual Support for Full-Time
Church Work Students
RESOLUTION 5-07
Overture 5-63 (CW, p. 226)
WHEREAS, When our Lord said, “The harvest is plentiful
but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field” (Matt.
9:37–38), He indicated that His disciples were, and are
now, to be active in supporting the recruitment and training of pastors and other full-time church workers; and
WHEREAS, One of the objectives of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod is to “recruit and train pastors,
teachers, and other professional church workers” (ref. 1998
Handbook of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Constitution, Art. III 3); and
WHEREAS, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, have programs that
provide tuition assistance for professional church work students in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; therefore
be it
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
in convention thank the Lord of the church for having answered the prayers of His people and petition Him to con-