Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has retained a fairly uniform observance of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Preparation for sacramental actions is strongly emphasized, particularly in instructing young people for confirmation. Many practices that can be traced to the movement's Pietistic origins can still be found in contemporary Lutheran worship. A visitor to the congregations which belong to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod might discover some differences in the way congregations conduct their public worship. Church members may even disagree over what is the primary objective of worship. The visitor would find no difference, however, in what these congregations and their members believe about the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper and very little difference in how they use the sacraments. This We Believe, a confessional statement accepted by the synod in 1967, reveals that the church body holds to the traditional Lutheran understanding of the sacraments: …