LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 320

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318 SOCIAL MINISTRY

13.15 Executive Secretary

An Executive Secretary shall be appointed by
the Commission subject to the approval of the
President of Synod. He shall be responsible to the
Commission and shall perform the duties assigned
to him by it.

Notwithstanding the clear mandate outlined in the Hand-
book, the Commission, because of limited funds, was not
allowed to obtain the services of an Executive Secretary.
Unlike either the ALC or the LCA, the LCMS does not have
a part-time executive — much less a full-time executive — to
do this vital work of the church.

As in previous years, the Commission was allocated a
budget of $2,000 with which to carry on its work. Activities
of the Commission were conducted so that the budgeted
amount was not exceeded.

Personnel of the Commission changed little after the
Milwaukee convention (1971). Professors Victor A. Bohl-
mann of Concordia Seminary, Springfield, and Paul F. Goet-
ting of Concordia Seminary, St.Louis, continued to serve.
Dr. Eugene W. Linse Jr. of Concordia College, St. Paul and
Dr. Martin E. Marty of the University of Chicago together
with Rev. Robert H. Collins of Columbus, Ga. Mr. E. W.
Schroeter and Mr. John A. Fraser likewise continued their
service. Mr. Herbert W. David ended his service on the
Commission after he accepted the position of Associate
Executive Secretary, Division of Public Relations, LCUSA.
in San Francisco.

Members of the Commission have participated in 12
meetings since the Milwaukee convention. Three meetings
of the Commission were held. In addition, the Commission-
ers participated in inter-synodical conferences with the
Commission on Church and Society of the ALC and the
Standing Committee on Social Concerns, Board of Social
Ministry, LCA. The inter-synodical meetings afforded an
opportunity to discuss current social problems of common
concern, such as poverty, work ethic, amnesty, abortion, and
vocation in a technological society.

The Commission's Work

The Commission has continued to concern itself with
issues which are important in the life of the contemporary
church and world. A primary objective of the Commission
is to bring resources to the pastors and people of the Synod
in the area of social concerns. Issues considered by the
Commission involve race, abortion, amnesty, poverty, and
sexual morality. Members of the Commission have accepted
responsibility for study of each of these issues. The per-
spective within which the Commission has addressed itself
to all of these problem areas is that of the ministry of the
church to the whole man in a contemporary setting.

In the previous biennium, prior to the Milwaukee con-
vention, the Commission prepared a study report on abor-
tion. That report was not published. Its thrust, Christian
reflection and counseling, differed in part from the study
report of the CTCR on the same topic. In keeping with
Res. 2-49 of the Milwaukee convention, three meetings were
held with subcommittee members of the CTCR in an effort to
coordinate papers prepared by both Commissions on the
abortion issue. Agreement on principle exists. In addition,
both Commissions agree that additional material should be
prepared on this subject and that greater emphasis should
be placed on pastoral and counseling concerns.

Members of the Commission have participated in dis-
cussions concerning clarification of the mission of the church.
We submit that it is the mission of the church to make dis-
ciples of every nation by bearing witness to Jesus Christ
through the preaching of the Gospel, through the adminis-
tration of the sacraments, and through works of Christian
love. Neither the Scriptures nor our Confessions dichoto-
mize between the witness of the Word and Sacrament on
the one hand, and the witness of the deed on the other. To
define the mission of the church otherwise places the work
of social ministry in a secondary order of importance and
substantially undercuts support of the social ministry of the
church.

Particular attention has been given to the problems
connected with a Christian's stance on amnesty. The Com-
mission has developed a paper that attempts to outline the

issues and attitudes involved in the question of amnesty.
This paper, “The Issue of Amnesty: A Framework for Chris~-
tian Reflection.” was published in the January 28, 1973, issue
of The Lutheran Witness.

Members of the Commission have participated with the
ALC, the LCA, and LCUSA in the study of current social
problems. These conferences have resulted in a better under-
standing of the issues and a more effective approach to their
solution. Position papers and study documents have been
exchanged with counterpart representatives of the ALC and
the LCA. One such conference involved an in-depth study
of the subject “Vocation in a Technological Society.” Effec-
tive channels of communication have been established with
counterparts of the Commission in other Lutheran bodies
and these channels have resulted in more effective solutions
to contemporary church and social problems.

The effectiveness of the Commission has continued to be
limited by its failure to have executive assistance. Com-
missioners have worked with the Board of Social Ministry
and CTCR in an effort to obtain part-time executive as-
sistance. These discussions have resulted in a comon con-
viction that a separate agency of the church, such as the
Commission on Social Concerns, should study contempo-
rary world problems and suggest solutions to such prob-
lems for consideration by members of the church.

Dr. Ralph Bohlmann, Executive Secretary of the CTCR,
has given assistance to the Commission and recognizes the
need of the Commission for executive assistance. It is felt
that the Commission on Social Concerns should work closely
with the CTCR. Accordingly, the Commission on Social
Concerns submits the following for additional clarification of
its proposed relationship with the CTCR.

Among the considerations the Commission on Social Con-
cerns wants to emphasize in the projected coordinate struc-
ture with the CTCR are the following:

1— The Commission on Social Concerns should retain
some voice in the choice of the issues to which it ad-
dresses itself.

2— The size of Commission on Social Concerns should be
retained at its present level,

3—The Commission on Social Concerns should func-
tion at the level of a full committee of the CTCR
as that Commission and its present committees are
presently constituted.

In keeping with these considerations the Commission on
Social Concerns suggests the following proposal:
Proposal:

To improve the mechanics for effective response on so-
cietal issues, the Commission on Social Concerns recommends
to the Committee on Organization:

1. Reorganizing the current CTCR and Commission on
Social Concerns structures in such a fashion as to bring
these organizations into a substantive relationship:

2. Providing staff services to the Commission on Social
Concerns under the direction of the CTCR, consistent with
the needs of both organizations.

3. Reviewing this ensuing functional relationship peri-
odically in order to determine whether it might serve as a
model for more extensive functional reorganization to be
contemplated at a later time.

The Commission recommends adoption of this proposal.

Tur Commission oN Soctat CONCERNS
John A. Fraser, Chairman
E. W. Schroeter, Secretary

9-03

Report of Commission on World Hunger

1. More than half of the people on earth are hungry —
hungry because they are wretchedly poor. That is the over-
whelming reality. After this commission has cut through all
the statistics. estimates, and explanations, we remain haunted
by the fact that most of the human race is hungry.

2. As Christians we approach this agonizing situation with
a particular point of view. God loves all his human crea-
tures passionately, desiring not only that all men be saved,