Version History
Current published version
Today's Business, Issue 2B. pp. 270-271. Revised published proposal.
Official Resolution Source Text
Resolution: 1-03A
Canonical number: 1-03
Committee: National Witness
Source: Today's Business, Issue 2B
Printed pages: pp. 270-271
PDF pages: 18-19
Version: revised, current-published-proposal
Source reference: Issue 2B, pp. 270-271
Line numbers follow Today's Business, Issue 2B, with numbering reset on each printed page, so delegates can compare this page with the official PDF.
Page 270
- To Give Thanks to God for 150 Years of Black Ministry
- RESOLUTION 1-03A
- Overtures 1-02–03 (CW, 277–78)
- WHEREAS, Christ our Lord commissioned His Church to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19 –20); and
- WHEREAS, Revelation 5:9, 13:7, and 14:6 speak of salvation freely offered and the proclamation of the Gospel to
- “every nation and tribe and language and people”; and
- WHEREAS, Many other passages of Holy Scripture testify to God’s love for all people and our obligation to likewise
- love our neighbors regardless of ethnic, geographic, or social background; and
- WHEREAS, 2027 marks the 150th anniversary of LCMS Black Ministry with its establishment at Emmanuel
- Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Ind., at the 1877 convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North
- America; and
- WHEREAS, The Synod created institutions to provide education for African Americans with Immanuel Lutheran
- College in Greensboro, N.C. (1903– 1961) and Concordia College Alabama (1922– 2018) which formed hundreds of
- church workers and led to the establishment and ongoing ministry of many congregations and schools; and
- WHEREAS, Synod universities and seminaries continue to prepare workers of African descent for service in the
- church as future leaders following the pattern of both faithful servants who have gone before and those who continue to
- serve and lead in the Synod; and
- WHEREAS, The Office of National Mission, in conjunction with Concordia Publishing House, is preparing a
- scholarly book and supporting materials on the successes, struggles, and opportunities of the Synod’s ministry and
- outreach to communities of color including an updated history of LCMS Black Ministry, which will be published for
- the commemoration of the 150th anniversary (2023 Res. 11- 03A, “To Love and Disciple Peoples of All Ethnicities,
- Languages, and Skin Colors”); and
- WHEREAS, The history of LCMS Black Ministry is one of both “roses and thorns” (Rev. Dr. Richard C. Dickinson,
- Roses and Thorns [Concordia Publishing House, 1977]); therefore be it
- Resolved, That the Synod lament past failures to meet the scriptural standards of love for one another and reaffirm
- the scriptural condemnation of racism in all its forms; and be it further
- Resolved, That the Synod remember with thanksgiving the legacy of faithful servants of the Gospel in LCMS Black
- Ministry, celebrate those presently serving, and pray that the Lord of the harvest would raise up countless more; and be
- it finally
Page 271
- Resolved, That congregations, districts, recognized service organizations, and other ministry partners be
- encouraged to promote and support the 150th anniversary celebration of LCMS Black Ministry, scheduled to be
- held in Charlotte, N.C., July 7–10, 2027.
