LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 111

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Preaching and lectionary resources to guide the church’s
preaching.
Counseling resources to guide the care of souls.
The Concordia Commentaries.
Studies in the Church Fathers, in Luther, and in the
Lutheran Fathers.
Resources in our Catechisms and Confessions.

I can tell you without exaggeration that the faculties of the
seminaries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod serve as
valuable resources and encouragement to Lutheran churches
throughout the entire world, who hold them in the highest
regard. Our partner churches and friends are sending gifted
scholars and leaders to study in Fort Wayne and in St. Louis—
students from Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Korea,
Macao, Australia, India, Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania,
Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Madagascar, Sudan and South Sudan,
Germany, Latvia, Norway, and more. Our faculties also accept
invitations to lecture abroad, all around the world, as church
bodies and pastors on every continent say, “Come over and help
us!”
As we look to the future, we are excited and committed to
creatively exploring ways to do what we do better and to be
constantly in conversation with the church to respond to the
many challenges before us. As Dr. Rast emphasized, the
seminaries don’t pretend that we have everything all figured
out or that the status quo is perfect. We want to do more. We
want to do it better. In every school and in every pastor’s

confirmation class, there’s always a sense of, “Boy. It could be
done better. It should be done better.” The proclamation of
Christ and Him crucified is worth the constant effort to serve
God to the best of our abilities. We are constantly seeking to
adapt and improve.
But in seeking to improve, our seminaries don’t look to gurus or
trends. We are aware of what’s going on today. We evaluate
new as well as old ideas. We embrace new methods,
technologies, and opportunities when they truly serve the
faithful preparation and resourcing of pastors. But we place our
confidence in God’s Word as that which forms and prepares
faithful, wise, resilient servants of Christ. We gather as brothers
and sisters in Christ to be shaped by that Word. And that
formation happens especially well in a fraternal seminary
community, gathered daily around God’s Word, interacting inside
and outside of the classroom, as a rich experience of the church at
large.
For these reasons, in-person seminary formation should
continue to be the centerpiece of our church’s shared work in
forming pastors for a lifetime of Gospel ministry. Both
seminaries thank you, the people of the LCMS, for your strong
support of this endeavor. Your convictions regarding the
ministry and the Word of God have provided us the time, the
place, and the experienced faculty for this joyous work of
preparing pastors, missionaries, and deaconesses. For the sake
of the church’s confession and mission, here and throughout
the world. In the Lord’s name, thank you. God bless you.

Persecuted for Your Faith, Part I
Päivi M. Räsänen
68th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod • August 1, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is an honor to be here
today with you. It is a great pleasure to bring you greetings from
my dear and beautiful home country, Finland.
(My husband, who is with me here today, is a doctor of theology
and the principal of the Finnish Lutheran Mission Bible College.
We have five grown-up children and 10 grandchildren. I am
extremely grateful for the steadfast support of my husband and
family during these years.)
On Freedom House’s ‘world freedom index,’ Finns top the
charts as the ‘most free’ country in the world. Finland has also
just recently been named the happiest country in the world for
the sixth year in a row.
It is paradoxical that in a country that ranks so well in these
evaluations, has a good reputation regarding free speech
internationally, and has long, historical roots in the Lutheran
confession, I have been criminally charged for voicing my
deeply held beliefs that are based on classical Christianity. This
means that the same is possible in any country.
For all my long career as a member of parliament (MP), I have
been open about my Christian faith, but the last couple of years
have been surprising. In 2021, the Prosecutor General of
Special Presentations

Finland brought three separate charges against me, and I have
been in the Helsinki District Court twice last year.
The Helsinki District Court issued a unanimous, clear acquittal,
but the prosecutors appealed that decision to the Appellate
Court. The hearings will take place this August.
“Has somebody occupied Finland?” This question was asked in
June 2019 by my six-year-old grandson when seeing a giant
rainbow flag, the biggest we have had in Finland, in our home
city. He continued that this flag certainly is not Swedish,
because he recognizes the Swedish national flag.
At that same time, the majority church of our country, the
Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, officially published its
support to the pride event, which was a deep disappointment
and even shock to me, and to many others.
I had a deep concern about the church teaching against its own
confession, and that this will undermine people’s trust in God’s
Word and lead especially young Christians astray. The question
would then not be any more only about marriage, but also of
salvation.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION | 111