Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1958, Page 10

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10 Proceedings of the Forty-fifth Convention

The President’s Address
Dr. Joun S. Brapac

“Grace be unto you and peace from Him which is and which
was and which is to come, and from the seven Spirits which are
before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Wit-
ness and the First-begotten of the dead and the Prince of the
kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us and washed us from
our sins in His own blood and hath made us kings and priests
unto God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever
and ever. Amen.”

VENERABLE FATHERS AND BRETHREN OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN
SyNopIcAL CONFERENCE OF NortH AMERICA:

For the first time in the history of the Synodical Conference
we are assembled for a convention in a congregation belonging to
the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church (Synod). This SS. Peter
and Paul Lutheran Church of Lakewood, Ohio, graciously invited
us to hold our 45th convention in their midst, for which we are
very grateful to the host congregation and to its pastor, Rev. George
Vojtko. May the gracious Lord of the church give us His Holy
Spirit that this 45th convention may redound to His glory and the
welfare of Christ’s kingdom here on earth. Before we would
proceed with our address, let us call upon the sacred name of our
Savior and Intercessor, saying:

O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Son of the living God and the only
Head and Lord of the church, look upon us Thine unworthy serv-
ants assembled here for our convention. We ask Thee most humbly
and sincerely: fit us, we beseech Thee, for the work Thou hast
called us to do in our Synodical Conference. Let all our delibera-
tions and purposes be in accordance with Thy holy Word as it is
revealed in the sacred testimonies of Thy divine revelation. En-
lighten us by Thy Holy Spirit as we are searching the truth. Teach
us to speak as we believe. Make us sincere in our search, honest
with our brethren, and always ready and willing to hear when
Thou, Lord, speakest. Unite us with the bond of faith for the
perfection of saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying
of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of faith and of
the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

O Lord Almighty, we humbly beseech Thee, pour down upon
us and upon the delegates of this 45th convention the dew of Thy
heavenly blessing for the sake of Him who loved us and gave Him-
self for us — for the sake of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

Dear brethren in Christ, we are here to labor together, consult
with each other, in order to attain a more firm and lasting unity
of faith in the Synodical Conference. When we met in 1956 in
Chicago and held our 44th convention at the First St. Paul’s Church
of that city, we trembled and worried, and knowing the frailty of
human heart and the many dangers that confronted us from within
and without, we did not despair; but trusting in the divine promise
and intercession of our Savior and High Priest Jesus Christ we
went on to save and to preserve our beloved federation of true
and confessional Lutheranism. Here we are today, standing before