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.