To Publicly Acknowledge Theological and Ecclesial Errors in Church’s Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

WHEREAS, God commands, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8); and

WHEREAS, Our Lord and Savior proclaims, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4); and

WHEREAS, The apostle Peter declares, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29); and

WHEREAS, The Scriptures admonish Christians to “consider how to stirup one another to love and good works,not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24–25); and

WHEREAS, One’s Christian liberty should not be determined by someone else’s conscience (1 Cor. 10:29); and

WHEREAS, Regarding the Sacrament of the Altar, the Large Catechism(LC) teaches that “some allow themselves to be hindered and held up by the excuse that we have taught that no one should approach the Sacrament except those who feel hunger and thirst, which drive them to it. Some pretend that it is a matter of liberty and not necessary. They pretend it is enough to believe without it. For the most part, they go so far astray that they become quite brutish, and finally despise both the Sacrament and God’s Word.” (LC V 41); and

WHEREAS, During the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by congregations, pastors, Synod leadership, and affiliated educational institutions included the cancellation of communal, in-person worship, the erroneous administration of the Sacrament of the Altar virtually or online, the urging of experimental and controversially-sourced vaccinations, and submission to overreaching governmental mandates; and

WHEREAS, These responses inculcated in God’s flock and the world at large the ideas that communal, in-person worship is nonessential, that worship of God should give way to earthly fear, and that public opinion or government demand can supersede the command of God; and

WHEREAS, These responses undoubtedly led to a burdening of Christian consciences and false accusations of not loving one’s neighbor as oneself; and

WHEREAS, The alarming extent of closures was documented in the December 2020 issue of Reporter, stating, “Only 15% of LCMS congregations held in-person church services on Easter Sunday” (Stacy Eising, “BNM business includes church worker recruitment, COVID-19, race,” Reporter Online, December 3, 2020, reporter.lcms.org/2020/bnm-business-includes-church-worker- recruitment-covid-19-race); and

WHEREAS, The great societal distress over the COVID-19 pandemic ought to have compelled the Church to keep her doors open; and

WHEREAS, The examples of Daniel, Nehemiah, and the Ninevites (Dan. 9:1–19; Neh. 1:4–11; Jonah 3:6–10) show corporate repentance to be God-pleasing and salutary; therefore be it

Resolved, That we commend the desires of faithful pastors to care for their flocks in a time of pandemic, granting charity due to the nature of the situation confronting the Church because “the blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7);

and be it further

Resolved, That in such future crises, the Church with her pastors would be encouraged to neither prohibit nor suspend the opportunity for communal, in-person worship, but allow the sheep who desire the comfort and strength of the Gospel to accompany their pastors; and be it further

Resolved, That those who are hindered from receiving the Sacrament be encouraged to reject the online or virtual administration of the Sacrament and content themselves with the power of the Wordof Godand the exercise of faith inour Lord Jesus Christ; and be it finally

Resolved, That we memorialize Synod to publicly acknowledge the theological and ecclesial errors committed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to publicly call those who authorized or promoted such errors to repentance, to publicly encourage all Synod congregations, pastors, leadership, and affiliated educational institutions to reflect soberly on these failures and reaffirm, with renewed conviction, their fidelity to Christ, His Word, and the public ministry of Word and Sacrament, especially in times of crisis, and to appoint a Sunday during the year 2027 as a day of fasting, prayer, and repentance for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the years 2020, 2021, and 2022.