Book of Reports and Memorials

One of the dictionary definitions of “memorial” is:  “A written statement of facts presented to a sovereign, a legislative body, etc., as the ground of, or expressed in the form of, a petition or remonstrance.”  With that in mind, the Book of Reports and Memorials itself describes memorials as “formal requests to the convention to address specific issues” (Book of Reports and Memorials, “Foreword”).  It is a term that has been associated with conventions of our church body for decades.  For information’s sake, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod uses the same terminology.  The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod uses the term overture.