Official Workbook PDF page source text

2026 Convention Workbook

347THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Resolved, That the Synod direct the President of the Synod and the COP to come to the aid of any pastor who is opposed, disciplined, threatened, harassed, removed, or otherwise mistreated by his congregation for faithfully administering the Lord’s Supper according to Holy Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and the Synod’s doctrine and practice of closed communion; and be it further

Resolved, That where a congregation persists in resisting, punishing, or mistreating a pastor for insisting upon faithful Eucharistic practice after admonition and instruction, the Synod require the appropriate district president, under the supervision of the President of the Synod, to exercise ecclesiastical supervision and discipline toward that congregation, up to and including suspension or expulsion from Synod membership, in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod instruct the COP, in cooperation with the Commission on Theology and Church Relations and other appropriate synodical entities, to develop and disseminate clear guidance and catechetical resources to assist congregations and pastors in res toring faithful Eucharistic practice, including instruction, examination, confession, absolution, and pastoral care of communicants as confessed in the Lutheran Symbols; and be it further

Resolved, That such resources emphasize the pastoral responsibility for admission to the Sacrament, the proper distinction between worthiness and unity of confession, and the evangelical purpose of church discipline as care for souls and preservation of the Gospel; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod call upon all congregations and pastors to repent of practices that contradict our confession, to receive correction in humility, and to labor together toward genuine unity of doctrine and practice for the sake of Christ’s Church and the salvation of souls; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod remind all member congregations and individual members that according to Bylaw 1.3.4.1, “ Members agree to uphold the confessional position of the Synod (Constitution Art. II) and to assist in carrying out the objectives of the Synod (Constitution Art. III), which are objectives of the members themselves. While congregations of the Synod are self -governing (Constitution Art. VII), they, and also individual members, commit themselves as members of the Synod to act in accordance with the

Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod under which they have

agreed to live and work together and which the congregations alone have the authority to adopt or amend through conventions.”

St. Thomas Magnolia, TX

Ov. 5-18

To Request Commission on Theology and Church Relations to Produce Study Document to Further Understanding and Conversations on Pastoral Exceptions to Closed Communion

WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) in its 1999 report, Admission to the Lord’s Supper: Basics of Biblical and Confessional Teaching states that the Lord’s Supper was given to us by God to maintain and preserve unity and that giving the Supper to those whose public confession is heterodoxy, “threatens and contradicts … the pure proclamation of the death of Christ for us” (46); and

WHEREAS, The document also recognizes and embraces the reality that there can be “rare and genuinely difficult situations of unusual personal need and pastoral care” (47); and

WHEREAS, The report admits that “it will never be possible to compile a list of ‘acceptable exceptions,’” explaining that “life in this present evil age will not allow for such simplicity and precision” (48); and

WHEREAS, At the same time, the report states that, while “the Synod has always recognized this … we must engage one another in respectful mutual conversation over the controverted specifics of the ‘situations of emergency, and special cases of pastoral care, or extraordinary situations and circumstance’ which call for ‘the necessity of exercising responsible pastoral care’” (48); and

WHEREAS, The report states that the Synod “must be willing to search for the balance between personal faith and need on the one hand, and the corporate dimensions and unity implied in and demanded by the Lord’s Supper on the other hand” (47); and

WHEREAS, The report suggests that cases for these rare and difficult exceptions are likely “times of emergency, of war, of severe illness or intense personal crisis,” and “situations involving individuals who are in a state of confession,” (47) but gives no more examples or guidance; therefore be it

Resolved, That the CTCR provide the Synod with a study document that:

1. summarizes the 1999 report and gives clarification on what is meant and understood by rare, difficult, and unusual in the context of the document;

2. provides guidance for the necessary follow-up pastoral care and on-going engagement with persons for whom exceptions have been made and how long such exceptions might persist;

3. gives a number of case studies that include examples of when such an exception might be made, examples of when it might seem that it could be made but should not, controversial instances where it is unclear and men of goodwill and faith might disagree, and study questions;

and be it further

Resolved , That this report be completed by the next Synod convention and made available to the Synod for use by congregations, circuits, and districts for engagement on these issues with the aim of promoting unity and faithful, evangelical practice.

Circuit 13 (Indiana)

English District

Ov. 5-19

To Reaffirm Sanctity of Human Life in Regard to Practice of In Vitro Fertilization

WHEREAS, Holy Scripture teaches that human life is a sacred gift from God, who is the Creator of all life (Gen . 1:26–28; Psalm 139:13–16); and

WHEREAS, Scripture affirms that all human beings are created in the image of God and that this image is bestowed upon each person at conception (Jer. 1:5; Luke 1:41–44); and