LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 30

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30 MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION

action until after meetings for discussion of the theology
and mission of the church had been held. After adding
the words “and pray” after “God’s Word” in line 39 (TB
43) but declining to delete lines 60—63 (TB 43) and
after terminating debate by a convention vote, the
convention adopted the resolution.

Orders of the Day

Although it rejected a motion calling for a change in
the orders of the day, the convention did agree to extend
the time of the afternoon session to 6:30 p.m.

Theology and Church Relations.

By adopting Res. 3-02 (TB 44) the convention reaf-
firmed the desire of the Synod to establish fellowship
with the Lutheran Church of Australia.

Discussion was next begun on Res. 3-03A (TB 242), a
substitute for Res. 3-03 (TB 45). This resolution was
intended to provide a means for responding to concerns
of the former “faculty majority” of Concordia Seminary,
St. Louis. After declining a motion to table the resolu-
tion, discussion continued, with the chairman calling for
termination of debate at the end of 30 minutes. In the
judgment of the chair the % vote necessary for termina-
tion of debate was received. At this point a delegate
asked for an opinion regarding the constitutionality of
this resolution. Dr. Preus indicated that a response, to
this question would be given at a later time. Since time
for discussion had expired, final action was not taken on
this resolution. \

Missions

Dr. Richard Schlecht, chairman of the floor committee
on Missions, introduced Res. 2-02A (TB 235) as a substi-
tute for 2-02 (TB 32). This resolution called for conclu-
sion of the work of the Mission Study Commission. After
amending the resolution by striking numbers 2 and 23
from lines 26-27 (TB 235) and adding the words “and

recognize that many decisions must be made on the basis
of this counsel of the sister churches” after the word
“programs” in line 72 (TB 235), the resolution was
adopted as amended.
Social Ministry

Dr. George Rode, reporting for the floor committee on
Social Ministry, introduced Dr. August Bernthal, Fifth
Vice-President of the Synod, who is directing the efforts
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in the resettle- |
ment of Vietnamese refugees. He introduced Mr. and
Mrs. James L. Quinelly, a sponsoring family for Viet-
namese refugee Mr. Nguyen Trong Lieu. Mr. Lieu, a
former presiding judge of the military court in Saigon,
addressed the assembly, expressing his thanks to the
church for its efforts in the resettlement of the Vietnam-
ese refugees. Following his presentation the convention
adopted a resolution encouraging congregations to consi-
der seriously the possibility of sponsoring a family of
Vietnamese people and asking the Board of Social Minis-
try and World Relief to continue its activities in this area
(Res. 8-14, TB 250).

Closing Devotion

The afternoon session was closed with a prayer led by
Dr. Guido Merkens, Second Vice-President of the Synod.

Recognition Night

The evening was designated as a “Recognition Night”
in which various groups and individuals were introduced
to the convention. A number of awards were also pre-
sented at this time. Among them were the following: the
Christus Magister award presented to Armin Gutekunst
for recognition of his service as outstanding teacher and
principal; the Emmy award given to the Synod for the
outstanding religious TV program; the St. Martin of
Tours award presented to Dr. Kenneth Ahl, former execu-
tive officer of the Armed Services Commission; and the
John of Beverly award presented in absentia to the Rev.
Philip Ho of Hong Kong.

Portions of a Christian Witness musical, “Celebrate
the Spirit,” featuring singers from Concordia Teachers
College, Seward, Nebraska, were presented.

The evening closed with a devotion led by Dr. Oliver
Harms, Past President of The Lutheran Church—Mis-
souri Synod, as a memorial service for the professional
church workers who had fallen asleep in Jesus during
the past biennium.

Session 6
July 8, Morning

Opening

The morning session began with small-group Bible
studies and prayer followed by discussions in the small
groups of matters before the Synod under the main
emphasis of the day. After the delegates had joined in
singing a number of hymns, Dr. Preus led the delegates
in prayer for the sick and sorrowing in the Synod and
then declared the session open.