LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 63

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 63

shall be elected at such times and in such manner as
the board shall prescribe, at the rate of one delegate
for each ten missionaries (or major fraction thereof)
within such mission area: provided, however, that each
mission area shall be entitled to at least one delegate.

4. That Bylaw 11.111 a, regarding Personnel and Appoint-
ment to the Commission on Worship, be revised as follows:

PRESENT WORDING

a. A Commission on Worship shall be appointed by
the President of the Synod after consultation with the
Vice-Presidents. It shall be composed of seven men
and include pastors, teachers and laymen. They shall
serve for terms of four years in such manner that the
terms of three members shall alternate with the terms
of the other four members.

PROPOSED WORDING

a. A Commission on Worship shall be appointed by
the President of the Synod after consultation with
the Vice-Presidents. It shall be composed of seven
persons and include pastors, teachers, and lay mem-
bers. They shall serve for terms of 4 years in such
manner that the terms of three members shall alter-
nate with the terms of the other four members.

5. That the term layman ‘laymen), wherever it appears in
the Handbook of the LCMS, be changed to lay member's).

C. That the convention —

1) affirm the beginning that has been made in utilizing the
gifts of women at all levels in Christian witness, service, educa-
tion, and policy making:

2) ask all congregations, Districts, and Synodwide depart-
ments and agencies to examine their existing structures and
procedures and to work with the Task Force on Women to
develop plans to make any necessary changes in —

a) personnel practices (hiring, promotion, salarying, etc.),
to conform with the Synod's personnel policies:

systems of nominating, electing, and appointing men and
women to decision-making bodies, and methods of recruit-
ing and selecting persons for full-time staff positions;

b

images and role models of men and women portrayed
in church curricula, publications, and actual styles of
operation:

d) language used in worship materials.

D. That the convention adopt the following memorial calling
for greater participation of both men and women in the life and
work of the church:

WHEREAS, God the Holy Spirit has given abundant gifts to
His people, both men and women: and

WHEREAS, Failing to use these gifts thwarts and quenches
the Spirit: therefore be it

fe)

Resolved. That the Synod reiterate that “the exercise of the
franchise offers the privilege of service to the body of Christ
rather than the prerogative of power over a political entity”
(Report of the CTCR on Woman Suffrage in the Church, Denver
convention, 1969) and encourage all congregations to extend
the franchise to women: and be it further

Resolved, That all of the people of God use all opportunities
to put the gifts of the Spirit to work in their daily lives, in the
church, and in witness and ministry to others in the world.

The Task Force on Women
Mrs. Jean Garton, Chairperson
Mrs. Louise Mueller, Secretary
Prof. Harold Haas

Ms. Phyllis Kersten

Mrs. Joane Kohlmeier

Rev. Eugene Kramer

Mrs. Rozelia Richardson

Prof. Al Schmidt

Mrs. Olive Spannaus

Mrs. Florence Montz, Consultant
Rev. Samuel Nafzger, Staff

3-02

Report of Commission on Worship

At its September 1974 meeting the Commission on Worship
took some steps to restructure its work program with a view
toward a more workable system—change from a production
structure to an educational emphasis that stresses meaningful
and effective communication with the church at all levels. This
restructuring consisted in a twofold action: (a) a restatement
of the job description of the commission itself and its executive,
(b) the abolition of certain standing committees that had budget
assigned but whose work is the responsibility of counterparts
in the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship.

The commission felt itself in need of a more practical meeting
schedule, envisioning four meetings a year, each with a par-
ticular emphasis, rather than the catch-as-catch-can system of
the past few years. Since the production of materials has, by
convention resolution, been given over to the intersynodical
approach, the commission feels the need to have meaningful
contact with various areas of leadership in the Synod for educa-
tional purposes thence the desire to meet at times when such
leadership groups are also meeting).

With the advent of the PPBS approach to the budget, the
commission felt itself unprepared to enter upon such a program
without having a standing committee for planning and budget-
ing.
The commission also felt its work should take the form of
task forces (created for a specific purpose and disbanded
when the task is completed), thus freeing the budget from
becoming bogged down in a morass of details that work at
counterpurposes.

The budget request for fiscal 1975 was prepared in the
light of this restructured approach to the commission's activity,
but the realities of the fiscal picture have caused at least a
year's delay in undertaking the new approaches that had been
planned. Attention is called to the commission's overture regard-
ing the new hymnal and service book to be found elsewhere
in the Convention Workbook. A new quarterly newsletter pre-
pared for the commission is being distributed to the District
Presidents, the chairmen of District committees on worship,
and such District office staff as have worship as part of their
portfolio. This newsletter is designed to be informative as to
what is happening in the world of worship, making it possible
for the District leadership to share this information through
District media.

1973 Convention Materials

Among the proposals submitted to the 1973 convention
of the Synod were two overtures from the Commission on
Worship (Overtures 2-112, To Approve Calendar Changes:
and 2-113, To Approve Lectionary Changes) that did not come
before the convention in the form of floor committee resolutions.
Since both overtures gave Advent T, 1973, as the target date
for beginning both reforms, and since both programs obviously
had the endorsement of the Commission on Worship, many
congregations across the Synod began to use these new worship
aids. With the publication of the Inter-Lutheran Commission
on Worship book Contemporary Worship 6: The Church Year
Calendar and Lectionary both the calendar and the lectionary
reforms have received wide acceptance. Although it was within
its authority to do so, the Commission on Worship has refrained
from formally making these official for the Synod, preferring to
let the congregations and their worship leaders work their way
into feeling as “comfortable” with the new as they were with
the 1-year lectionary and the former calendar emphases (which
also were never “officially adopted” by the church of today).

In connection with the 3-year lectionary, various systems of
music for the day have been devised, including a listing of choral
and instrumental music prepared by the commission’s own
musie committee for Series C (Series A and B are yet to be
published). These resources afford the church musicians much
assistance in their planning for worship. The publication of a
series of Hymn of the Day for series A (containing hymn selec-
tions from The Lutheran Hymnal and from Worship Supplement)
has also received wide acceptance.

The 1973 omnibus resolution referred to the Synod’s Board
of Directors a number of items which in turn were referred to
the Commission on Worship. Among these were Res. 2-05 (To