1959 A Report of the Protest Committee

The WELS Protest Committee makes its report to the 1959 Convention.

1959, A Report of the Protest Committee, WELS Convention Proceedings, p. 177-179

Quote of note:

"Your committee does not find itself in a position at this time to present a solution to the problem which confronts the Synod.... That is due in part to the fact that the authors of very nearly all the protests consider only one solution to the intersynodical problem, namely a break with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod."

1957 A Report from the Protest Committee

The WELS Protest Committee was "called into existence through [an] election by the General Synodical Committee in October, 1956, pursuant to a resolution of Joint Synod in August of 1956."

Here is their first report to the convention in 1957.

1957 A Report from the Protest Committee (WELS proceedings, p. 146-148)

Quotes of note:

"... nor let it be forgotten that in resolutions of earlier conventions our Synod did speak the kind of language concerning the gravity of the issues involved and concerning the interpretation and application of Romans 16:17,18 which gave the protesters reason to expect final action at Saginaw."

"... yet we would plead that hte protesters in charity trust that there was an honest uncertainty at Saginaw concerning Missouri's having received ample opportunity in convention assembled to react to the testimony which our Synod had given since Missouri's 1953 convention..."

1958 A Letter to the Protesting Brethren (WELS Protest Committee)

June 27, 1958, A Letter to the Protesting Brethren, by the WELS Protest Committee, Chairman Pastor L. H. Koeniger

Professor Carl Lawrenz had written a Report to the Protest Committee summarizing the thoughts of the Standing Committee on Matters of Church Union on the whole matter of those who were protesting the WELS. The Protest Committee had also received a "wide variety of communications" from WELS President Oscar J. Naumann concerning severances of fellowship, protests, resignations, and other questions and misgivings that people had.

The Protest Committee found that all of the communications revolved around three basic matters:

1. The interpretation of the Saginaw resolution (1955)

2. A request for a special session of the Synod to reconsider the New Ulm resolution (1957)

3. The matter of continuing the meetings of the Church Union Committees of the four synods of the Synodical Conference.

The committee could not to respond to each individual letter they received, but instead they sent this letter to all of the protesting brethren. This letter quoted extensively from Lawrenz's report and each protester was sent a copy of Lawrenz's original Report to the Protest Committee.

Quotes of note:

Concering Lawrenz's letter stating that the judgment of the Saginaw resolutions were held in abeyance:

"The members of your Protest Committee will need to admit that they did not understand it that way at the time... But our committee feels now that the presentation of the 'official interpretation' certainly is truthful to the record... a synod does have a right to interpret its resolutions through its Praesidium and through its subsequent conventions..."