Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1973 · 50th Convention › Page 79
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 79

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 79

Wuereas, Creative interaction between the Christians of
these several cultures has served to edify the body of
Christ and enrich the theology of the Christian church; and

Wuereas, Our unity in Christ is a gift from our Lord and
not dependent upon a common cultural heritage or formula-
tion of the Good News; therefore be it

Resolved, That we uphold the integrity of the various
cultural communities which comprise the body of Christ;
and be it further

Resolved, That we affirm the right of each cultural com-
munity to worship, proclaim the Gospel, and formulate
theology in the language, mood, and milieu of its own cul-
ture; and be it further
; Resolved, That we encourage each cultural community to
listen empathetically to the way in which the message of
the Gospel is expressed and experienced in other cultural
communities; and be it finally

Resolved, That we praise God for this diversity of cul-
tural communities and cultural expressions of the Gospel
as we strive to communicate that Gospel to a pluralistic
society.

CoMMISSION ON MISSION AND MINISTRY IN THE CHURCH
L. C. Wuerffel, Chairman

WORSHIP
2-109

To Include Both Traditional and New Forms
in New Hymnal

Wuereas, The Synod’s Commission on Worship has sought
to fulfill its responsibility and has prepared four contempo-
rary worship forms; and

Wuereas, The commission has asked congregations to be-
come acquainted with the new forms with a view toward
their inclusion in a new hymn book; and

Whereas, It is the experience of our congregation that
many members prefer to retain the traditional Communion
liturgy and to include the new forms only as alternate wor-
ship forms; and

Wuereas, It is feasible to maintain a uniformity in the
wording of the Creeds and the Lord’s Prayer; therefore be it

Resolved, That we memorialize our Synod, meeting at
New Orleans in 1973, to direct the Commission on Worship to
retain the traditional Communion service in planning a new
hymnal and to offer the contemporary settings as alternate
forms: and be it further

Resolved, That we request that the Nicene Creed and
the Lord's Prayer be retained in their traditional wording.

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH
Saginaw, Mich.

Paul W. Bramstedt, Pastor

Robert Boldt, President

Nancy Woodington, Secretary

2-110

To Use ILCW Worship Materials

Wuereas, The Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship
has continued to evidence enlightened vision in developing
useful worship materials for the cooperating churches; and

WHEREAS, Congregations need continual encouragement
to relate the worship of the Christian community to all
facets of life and the ILCW materials can be most helpful
in that ongoing task; therefore be it

Resolved, That we commend the ILCW for their fine work
urging them to continue their efforts; and be it further

Resolved, That we encourage the congregations of the
Synod to use the ILCW materials; and be it further

Resolved, That Synod’s Commission on Worship send
each congregation copies of the ILCW materials as they are
released; and be it finally

Resolved, That we recommend to the cooperating churches
of the ILCW that full-time staff people be engaged to speed
up the preparation and publication of materials and that
funds be set aside in Synod’s budget to accomplish that task.

EASTERN REGIONAL PasTroRAL CONFERENCE
ENGLIsH DISTRICT
Erich H. Wildgrube Jr., Chairman

2-111

To Give Attention to Hymns

Whereas, The LCMS joyfully calls to remembrance 125
years of divine grace and extraordinary growth resulting
from the faithful preaching of God’s Word and administra-
tion of the Sacraments; and

Wuereas, Our beloved Synod has also enjoyed the spir-
itual power of a modest textbook, a life-long companion fre-
quently present at time of death: the “Kirchengesangbuch
fiir Evangelisch-Lutherische Gemeinden” (The first hymnal
of the LCMS, published in 1847); and

WHEREAS, Our synodical fathers put forth dedicated ef-
forts to regain the hymnic treasures that had suffered devas-
tation and havoc in their rationalistic Saxon homeland; and

Wuereas, The compilers of the synodical hymnal (that
remained virtually unchanged for over 100 years) were
“aware of the tremendous responsibility to the future church
and despairing of their own wisdom proceeded to the task
with fear and trembling, to cull from the vast treasures of
Christian hymnody only that which is worthy to be passed
on to children’s children” (“Der Lutheraner,” Vol.3, June
1847, p.112): and

Whereas, Our fathers were convinced that the hymnolog-
ical treasures of the church were of such exceeding value
that they were worthy of memorization; while some pro-
ducers of our more recent song and hymn materials are of
the opinion that “today’s music changes so quickly that to-
morrow it will be yesterday’s music” (Mission:Life “Green”
Educational Program, 7/2 Teachers Manual, p. 43); and

WuereaS, The more recent song and hymn materials, de-
signed to bridge the gap between generations have rather
tended to segregate and divide congregations and worship-
ing communities according to age; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Board of Parish Education, the editors
and writers of educational materials for all age levels be
strongly encouraged to use hymnological materials such as
The Lutheran Hymnal and The Worship Supplement; and
be it further

Resolved, That should the Board of Parish Education and
the editors and writers of such educational materials find it
necessary to use song and hymn materials not found in The
Lutheran Hymnal and The Worship Supplement, that alter-
nates for such be indicated from sound Lutheran worship
resources such as The Lutheran Hymnal and The Worship
Supplement.

PEacE LUTHERAN CHURCH
New Berlin, Wis.

Arthur Gulrud, President
Christine Schwerin, Secretary
Martin W. Bangert, Pastor

2-112

To Approve Calendar Change

Wnuereas, There have been many calls for a revision of
the church year calendar during the centuries — and these
calls have increased during the recent past; and

Wuereas, There are improvements which can be made
in the structure of the church year, e.g. the Sundays in
pre-Lent, the Sundays of Eastertide, the post-Pentecost sea-
son, etc.; and

Wuereas, In consort with its work on revision of the
lectionary, the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship was
obliged to work also on calendar reform; and

WuereEas, Having inherited the calendar in its present
form, the Synod has never been called upon to take action