LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 27

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MINUTES
Opening Worship Service
Saturday, July 29, 2023
Opening Divine Service with Holy Communion

on the Rev. Dr. Daniel Harmelink, executive director of
Concordia Historical Institute, to present the historic gavel
used, since 1911, by the chair to call Synod conventions
officially to order. In presenting the gavel, Dr. Harmelink
spoke of the unique history and inscriptions on the gavel,
commissioned to be carved from a log from the Synod’s
original log cabin seminary to celebrate the centenary of
C.F.W. Walther’s birth, which is ordinarily on display at the
institute’s Lutheran History Museum in the LCMS
International Center. Having received the gavel, the
chairman opened the 68th Regular Convention of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The opening worship service of the 68th Regular
Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
(LCMS) was held in the Baird Center (formerly known as the
Wisconsin Center) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, under the
theme, “We Preach Christ Crucified.” Presiding was the Rev.
John M. Berg, associate pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church,
Sheboygan, Wis., which hosted the communion service; the
Rev. Sean Daenzer, chaplain and director of LCMS Worship,
assisted. The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, Synod President,
preached on Hosea 6:1–6; 1 Corinthians 1:18–25; and Luke
24:36–49a. The Council of Presidents and various pastors of
the Synod, along with presidents and bishops of LCMS
partner churches, assisted with distribution of the
Sacrament. Accompaniment and special music were
provided by Kantor Dr. Samuel Eatherton of Trinity
Lutheran Church, organist and conductor, and Richard C.
Ewert of Elm Grove Lutheran Church, accompanist and
assistant organist; instrumentalists David Magoon, Steven
Ehrhardt, Matthew Walker, John Gohl, Michael Janke, and
Johanna Anderson; the handbell choir of Trinity Lutheran
Church; and a choir composed of members of nearby Synod
congregations (all but one in Wisconsin): Bethlehem,
Sheboygan; Mount Olive, Milwaukee; Our Savior, Whitefish
Bay; St. Paul, Grafton; Trinity, Rochester, Minn.; and Trinity,
Sheboygan. The Rev. Thomas Dunseth and Deaconess Heidi
Sias interpreted the service for the Deaf.

The chair called upon the Rev. Scott Sailer, president of
the South Dakota District and chairman of Committee 13
(Registration, Credentials, and Elections), to introduce the
electronic queueing and voting systems provided by Padgett
Communications.

[President Harrison’s sermon introduced the convention
theme, “We Preach Christ Crucified.” The entire text of
President Harrison’s sermon was printed in Today’s Business
and is printed in the 2023 Convention Proceedings.]

A motion was introduced and carried, without
discussion, to adopt the report of the committee [Yes votes:
950; No votes: 2].

Session 1
Sunday a.m., July 30, 2023
Matins
The Rev. Peter K. Lange, First Vice-President, preached
on Philippians 2:1–11 in the Office of Matins, with Chaplain
Sean Daenzer serving as liturgist. Kantor Matthew
Machemer, associate Kantor at Concordia Theological
Seminary, Fort Wayne, and instrumentalists Matthew Wolf
and Nathan Wolf provided accompaniment and special
music.
[The entire text of First Vice-President Lange’s sermon is
printed in the 2023 Convention Proceedings.]
Convention Opening and Presentation of Gavel
After the taking of a convention group photo, President
Matthew C. Harrison called the assembly to order and called
Minutes

Committee 13: Registration, Credentials, and Elections

Having done so, Chairman Sailer proceeded to present
the initial registration report, noting that a total of 1,042
voting delegates had pre-registered for the convention (a
quorum requires one quarter of these to be present, or 261).
He reported the following present for the opening of the
convention:
Voting delegates
Advisory delegates
Advisory representatives
Special guests and others

991
156
158
96

The chair declared the presence of a quorum and then
introduced those seated at the front with particular
convention roles: the Council of Presidents, the
Commissions on Handbook and Constitutional Matters, the
Board of Directors, executive directors and staff, special
international guests, Parliamentarian Chris Dickey,
Secretary John Sias, Assistant Secretary Samuel Powell,
convention timekeeper Dorothy Krans, and those assisting
the chair during the convention, including First VicePresident Peter Lange, Jeffrey Hemmer, Georgia Endicott,
Kim Vieker, and Barbara Below.
Special Standing Rules
The chair called attention to the proposed Special
Standing Rules for the convention, printed on pages 15–17 of
the pre-convention edition of Today’s Business (TB, 1:15–17),
noting no substantive changes from those adopted as

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION | 27