LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 47

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SYNODICAL REPORTS 47

“Holding Fast the Word of Life.” Discussion was held on the topics
of “The Role of Women in the Church” and “Inter-Christian Rela-
tionships.”

The following were elected as officers of the ILC at the Cam-
bridge conference: Chairman: Rev. Ralph Mayan, President of the
Lutheran Church—Canada; Vice Chairman and also World Area
Representative for Europe: Dr. Karl Fry, Chairman of the Evan-
gelical Lutheran Church of England; Secretary and also World
Area Representative for Latin America: Dr. Carlos Winterle, Pres-
ident of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil. The World
Area Representatives are Dr. A. L. Barry, President of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, representing North America;
Rev. Allan Yung, President of The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong
Synod, representing East Asia; Rev. David Piso, Head Bishop of
Gutnius Lutheran Church, representing Southeast Asia and Aus-
tralia; and Rev. Samuel Udofia, President of The Lutheran Church
of Nigeria, representing Africa. The Chairman, Vice Chairman, and
Secretary, together with the six World Area Representatives, form
the ILC’s Executive Committee.

Rev. Peter Ahlers, President of the Free Evangelical Lutheran
Synod in South Africa (FELSISA), is the new editor of the JLC
News, a position formerly held by Dr. Ed Lehman, former Presi-
dent of the Lutheran Church—Canada and chairman of the ILC
from 1991 to 1995. ILC News is published quarterly each year in
February, May, August, and November.

The next conference of the ILC will be held in South Africa on
Aug. 11-18, 2001, under the theme of “Justification.”

At its meeting in Cambridge the ILC adopted a proposal to form
a Standing Committee to develop closer relationships between the
seminaries of ILC churches. Appointed to serve on this committee
are Dr. Ronald Feuerhahn, Chairman, St. Louis; Dr. Jorg Salz-
mann, Secretary, Oberursel, Germany; Dr. James Rimbach, Hong
Kong; Prof. Paulo Nerbas, Brazil; Rev. Radikobo Phillip Ntsimane,
South Africa; and Rev. Wilando Roa, the Philippines.

A “Theological Seminaries World Conference” of participants
from each of the ILC churches responsible for training pastors is
scheduled to be held in Canoas, Brazil, April 5—8, 2001, under the
theme “Preparing Lutheran Pastors for Today.”

2. Lanka Lutheran Church

In a January 31, 1999, letter to President Barry, President M.
Sathiyanathan of the Lanka Lutheran Church forwarded a request
for “partner church” status with the LCMS. In keeping with the
provisions of Bylaw 13.03, and after reviewing appropriate docu-
ments, the Commission at its September 2000 meeting adopted a
resolution “To Formally Declare Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with
the Lanka Lutheran Church of Sri Lanka.” It has been submitted
as an overture to this 2001 convention of the Synod.

3. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia

At the request of President Barry, Dr. Samuel] Nafzger and Dr.
William Weinrich represented the Synod at the dedication of the
Hochschule in Riga, Latvia, on May 5, 2000. At the same time of-
ficial discussions were held with representatives of the church.

4, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania

In connection with their visit to Latvia in May 2000, Dr.
Nafzger and Dr. Weinrich met with representatives of the Evan-
gelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania for a full day’s discussion. In
July 2000, at President Barry’s request, Vice President Kuhn, Pro-
fessor Kurt Marquart, and Dr. Nafzger represented the LCMS at
the convention of the church. The church approved a resolution to
enter into church fellowship with the LCMS. On Sept. 7, 2000, rep-
resentatives of the LCMS and the Lithuanian church met in St.
Louis for further discussion regarding church fellowship between
our churches. A protocol document has been drawn up and ac-

cepted by representatives from each of their churches. In keeping
with the provision of Bylaw 13.03, and after reviewing the appro-
priate documents, the Commission at its February 2001 meeting
adopted the resolution “To Declare Altar and Pulpit Fellowship
with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania.” It has been
submitted as an overture to this 2001 convention of the Synod.

5, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti

In the fall of 2000, the President of the The Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Haiti (ELCH) forwarded a formal request to the
President of the LCMS to conduct theological discussions between
representatives of the LCMS and the ELCH that would lead to a
“formal partner church relationship.” The ELCH is also applying
for membership in the International Lutheran Council. Representa-
tives of the ELCH and the LCMS met in St. Louis on January 26,
2001. There was consensus among all present that a genuine agree-
ment in doctrine and practice exists between the two churches. In
keeping with its bylaw responsibilities, the CTCR at its February
2001 meeting completed its review of the ELCH’s request and
adopted the resolution “To Formalize Altar and Pulpit Fellowship
with The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti.” It has been sub-
mitted as an overture to this 200] convention of the Synod.

6. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya

Rev. Francis Nyamwaro Onderi, Bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Kenya, has requested meetings with the
LCMS. In response to this request, President Barry and LCMS rep-
resentatives met with representatives from the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Kenya in April 2000. Positive discussions took
place, and Bishop Onderi and representatives of this church were
encouraged to meet together with representatives of the LCMS
partner churches in Africa.

7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Committee on Lutheran Cooperation (CLC) is composed
of six representatives from the LCMS and six from the ELCA. The
CLC meets twice a year. It was established following the founding
of the ELCA in January 1988 for the purpose of discussing rela-
tionships between the two churches and monitoring cooperative en-
deavors carried out in each of them.

In keeping with a 1998 LCMS convention request that Presi-
dent Barry and Bishop Anderson of the ELCA arrange for discus-
sions on theological issues separating the churches (1998 Res. 3-
O8A), three rounds of discussions between representatives of the
LCMS and ELCA were held during the triennium (see the Presi-
dent’s report).

B. Dialogue
National Conference of Catholic Bishops

In light of recent developments in Lutheran/Roman Catholic re-
lationships, including the adoption of the Joint Declaration on the
Doctrine of Justification signed by representatives of the LWF and
the Roman Catholic Church, the Commission discussed possible
ways of the LCMS resuming dialogue with the Roman Catholic
Church. The Commission took into account the fact that the LCMS
was not invited to participate in the next round of the
Lutheran/Roman Catholic Dialogue (though it was invited to send
an observer), even though it had been a full participant in all the
previous dialogues. At its April 2000 meeting, the CTCR adopted a
resolution to encourage the President of the Synod “to initiate con-
tact with the U.S. National Conference of Catholic Bishops leading
toward theological discussions on the doctrine of justification.”

C. World Council of Churches

The LCMS is not a member of the World Council of Churches.
At President Barry’s request, Dr. Nafzger attended as an LCMS

2001 Convention Workbook