To Refer “Sister Church” Nomenclature Change to Commission on Handbook

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1. 14To Refer “Sister Church” Nomenclature Change to Commission on Handbook
2. 15RESOLUTION 5-07
3. 16President’s Report, Part 2 (TB, 1:30)
4. 17WHEREAS, “Partner church” is a confusing term that can refer both to church bodies in fellowship and to church bodies
5. 18not in fellowship but partnering toward a variety of ends (e.g., disaster relief, medical programming, seminary formation,
6. 19etc.); and
7. 20WHEREAS, Both Synod entities and other church bodies partnering toward given ends frequently refer to the other as
8. 21a “partner church,” irrespective of church fellowship status; and
9. 22WHEREAS, “Partner church” can create fellowship confusion. When church bodies in fellowship with The Lutheran
10. 23Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) partner with the LCMS and its entities toward certain ends, and then speak of the
11. 24LCMS as a partner church; and when church bodies not in fellowship with the LCMS partner with the LCMS toward
12. 25certain ends, and then speak of the LCMS as a partner church; many non-fellowship churches are then led to believe that
13. 26they, too, are in fellowship with the LCMS. This has led to shared pulpits and communion tables without the Synod
14. 27recognizing fellowship; and
15. 28WHEREAS, “Partner church” emphasizes the human work of partnering, while true church fellowship speaks of the
16. 29divine work of God creating unity of confession in the Gospel in all its articles and integrates the faithful into God’s
17. 30“family” and creates “sister churches”; and
18. 31WHEREAS, “Sister church” better reflects the “blood” or “family” connection of church bodies in fellowship, with
19. 32such fellowship recognized through unity in the doctrine of the Gospel in all its articles (FC SD Comprehensive Summary,
20. 331–13; X 31); and
21. 34WHEREAS, “Sister church” was the historic way (at least into the 1990s) that the Synod referred to a church body in
22. 35altar and pulpit fellowship; and
23. 36WHEREAS, There are 24 occurrences of the word “partner church” or “partner churches” in the 2023 Handbook that
24. 37would be changed to “sister church” or “sister churches,” respectively, and there are two additional occurrences of the
25. 38word “partners” that would be changed to “sister churches”; therefore be it
26. 39Resolved, That the Synod in convention affirm that “sister church” more accurately reflects the nature of altar and
27. 40pulpit fellowship as a God-given unity in the doctrine of the Gospel in all its articles, as confessed in the Formula of
28. 41Concord (FC SD Comprehensive Summary, 1–13; X 31); and be it further
29. 42Resolved, That this matter be referred to the Commission on Handbook, with the instruction to change all bylaw
30. 43occurrences of “partner church,” “partner churches,” and “partners” to “sister church” or “sister churches,” respectively.
31. 44The Chief Financial Officer and LCMS Accounting and Financial Services staff, in consultation with the Finance
32. 45Committee, note the Handbook changes would fall within the existing scope and budget of the Commission on
33. 46Handbook; costs of updating related literature are more difficult to estimate but likely not significant (estimate required
34. 47by Bylaw 3.1.7 [g]).