The floor committee has produced the following resolutions in response
to the longer memorial from my congregations and to a similar memorial
from our church in Green Bay.
WHEREAS, The synod adopted the Public Ministry of the Word (PMW) in
2005, and,
WHEREAS, The synod reaffirmed the PMW in 2006, encouraging "continued
study and discussion of the doctrine of the public ministry 'with all
lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another
in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace' (Ephesians 4:2, 3 NKJV), in order to bring about greater unity
in the synod and greater understanding of the doctrine of the public
ministry, and,
WHEREAS, The synod uses the PMW for colloquies and its official
teaching for inter-church relations, and,
WHEREAS, The synod adopted, "that while the public Ministry of the
Word is being clarified for these congregations, that, in the interest
of promoting fraternal unity, they be encouraged to refrain from
publicly teaching against or making charges opposed to the Public
Ministry of the Word" (Synodical Membership, 2006, p. 83), therefore,
A. BE IT RESOLVED, That the synod reaffirm the PMW, as well as the
brotherly admonitions and encouragements quoted, as the answer to the
memorials on pp. 55--56, and,
B. BE IT RESOLVED, That the synod encourage the pastors and congregations who
have broken fellowship with the synod to reconsider their actions with a
fervent hope that fellowship may be reestablished.
This resolution has not yet been brought to the floor of the convention for
discussion.