RESOLUTION 4-06
Overtures 4-12, 4-16 (CW, pp. 332, 334)
WHEREAS, This year 2016 marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Lutheran Hymnal, which was issued in 1941 by the Intersynodical Committee on Hymnology and Liturgics for the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America; and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Hymnal stands as a reminder and is one of the finest products of the cooperative relationship that united the principal confessional Lutheran church bodies in the United States in the old Synodical Conference; and
WHEREAS, During the four decades in which The Lutheran Hymnal served the Synod as its primary hymnal, the Synod experienced unprecedented numerical growth, doubling its size while witnessing the tremendous expansion of its schools and institutions of higher education; and
WHEREAS, The enduring character of The Lutheran Hymnal is evidenced by its continued use to the present day and by the incorporation of its beloved texts in Lutheran Service Book; and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Hymnal and several of its attendant resources are still in print and available through Concordia Publishing House; therefore be it
Resolved, That the 2016 Synod convention commemorate the 75th anniversary of The Lutheran Hymnal by giving thanks to God for the liturgical and hymnological treasures of the church contained therein; and be it further
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in convention, by adopting this overture/resolution, formally recognize and commemorate the 75th anniversary of The Lutheran Hymnal; and be it finally
Resolved, Upon adoption of this resolution, that the convention stand and sing “God’s Word Is Our Great Heritage” (TLH 283):
Word is our great heritage
And shall be ours forever;
To spread its light from age to age
Shall be our chief endeavor.
Through life it guides our way,
In death it is our stay.
Lord, grant, while worlds endure,
We keep its teachings pure.
Throughout all generations. Amen.