T~~ WITNESS ..-:::

parts ~ Published in Part

two 2

~

NORTHWEST

/

tJ DI s T RIC T

EDITION ST. LOUIS, MO., SEPTEl\'IBER 27, 1955 No.20

PROCEEl)INGS OF THE THIRTY~EICHTH CONVENTION OF THE NO:RTHWEST DISTRICT OF THE LUTfl~~tfHfoiHMB-©YKARY

The thil ty-eighth convention of the Northwest District o{ The Lutheran Church - Mis»oul'i Synod was held on the campus of Concordia College. The Board of Directors had authorized a change in the service schedule in order that the con­vention might recognize the golden anni­versary of Concordia College. The opening service was held as a Colle~e Anniversary Service on Monday evening, in which Dr. Martin J. Neeb, president of the new Sen­ior College. preached the anniversary ser­mon on the text Neh. 6: 3, 9. President C. H. Bensene and the Rev. E. C. May served as officiants.

A solemn Communi()n service was c()n­ducted on Tuesday morning in the Chapel of the Upper Rcom of Concordia Collt1ge. The Rev. Edwin Zschoche of Portland preached the confessional sermon. The Rev. F. A. Krinke served as officiant. Dr. F. A. Hcrtwi,: of Detroit, Fourth Vice­President of Synod, preached the principal sermon on the theme "B<: of Good Cour­age."

Each day of the convention we were privileged to hear Dr. Hertwig present re­ports on the status of the church at large, of the progre~s being m"de in the respec­tive mission fields. of the problems con­fronting oul' church in these h•tti;r days. of the doors of entry being opened to us by the Lord of the Church, and other mat­ters of synodical interest. Matters con­cerning the Board for HiKher Education and the proJ'(ress being made in the devel­opment of the Senior College were pre­sent<ed by Dr. Neeb.

Pastors Emil Jaech, Donald Larsen, and Roland Koch delivered brief s<'rmons in the opening devotional periods.

ROLL CALL SUMMARY

Voting Pastors Lay Delegates Advisory Pas\ocs Teachers

Total

Prtisent 116 103

19 15

253

I\lllSSOlJllI SYNOD. LIBRARY

Portland, Oregon, June 13-17, 1955

RECEIVED INTO MEMBERSHIP CONGREGATIONS: Holy Sacraments. Port­

land, Oreg.: Faitb Lu theran Church for t he D eaf, SpokQne, \ Vasb.: Concordiu. PuUrnnn, Wnsh .; Hope, Ve n)dnle, Wash.; G nod Sheph e rd, Boise. Jdaho; Beautiful Savior, P ortland, Oreg.; C on cordia. Oak Grov P. Ore,(,; T1·init.y. P a sco. Wash .; Our Savior's. Eph r ata. Wash.

!\HNlSTEIUAL CANDIDATES; Robert B~ck­er. Redm ond anrl Be nd. Oreg .; HolJert G. Muel­ler. 8e~ttle. \Va~h : Rid1.rrrd Nttck. Pasco, V1tash.: Kormari Ott, J.1illon-Frcewatcr•Pendkton. Oreg., All,ert 1\-!ann, The Dalles, O reg:., Karl K lisk, P o ,·tl and. Oreg.

TF.ACHER C'A!IIIl!IlATES: lJulJert O. firn­h a be1·, S henvood. Or~!:!.; Ricluird D . Ladendorf. Sn oh o mish, \Vash.: l\•IC'rlin L. Bray. VancOUYCJ". Wash.

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT On the basis of Ps. 27:14: "Wait on the

Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the L-Ord," Pastor Carl H. Bensenc of Zion Congregation, Seattle, presented his open­ing address and report on the state of the District. Citing Scriptural examples of men of God wh() had been men of cour­age, he urged all of the brethren to stand fast in the Lord and to seek to do th.­Lord's work In seekinl'{ to accomplish that work, he urged one and all to wait on the Lord and to seek strength from H im alone.

Releases

K. Heinitz to the Colorado District Geo. Derwig to the Albe11a-British Columbia District Lester Muhly to the S. California D istrict Walter G. Bos~ to the Allanti~ D istrict J. C. R . St:hrnidt to the S. Nebr:iska Ois;:trict R, Au rna1nn to the- CE"ntral District

J\. J. Bueltmann to the Central Illinois Dist. E. D. Busch to the Central District R. C. Muhly to the Western Dis trict

Te a~:hers: G. C. \\' t"'~terkurup to the Engllsh D islrlct

lks ignation~ Richard Kuhnau as teache1· at Trinity1 Portland K. Sylwester as teacher at Eden. Idaho l'~'In.rlin Ru~!-.ect as pastor nt Sea:-:ide. Ore.I{. J ohn H. Meh,:singer as pnstor at Shervtood. Oreg.

SPRINGFIELD. ILLINOIS

Ordained and Commissioned Or Installed ·

Hobert llecker. Redmond and Be11d. Oreg. -August 15. 1954 - by E. Becker.

Rc)bert G. ),fueller. ordained July l 5. by P a u l Fretlh old ,i\ N. Tonaw,wda. N .Y.; installed at Trin ity. Sent lle. as assisfant, Au gust 1. 1954. by E. Schwidder.

Richard Nack. Pasco, Wash . July 25, 19,4 -by D. C. Schroeder.

Nornian Ott. l\Iilton-t' reewater. Oreg. - Au­gust 8. 19 54 - b y R. Langbccker.

Albert Mann. The Dulles , Or e g . - September 1 9. 1 951 - by John E. Sinm.n.

Ins lalll'd or Commissionc·tl

Donald"'· Hinrichs, Emmett , Idaho-June 21. 1954 - by Ha r ry Young.

A. T. Lewis. Port Orcha rd. W"sh. - Aug. 29. 19;;4 - J,y n. Spannaus .

Car l J. Kn1egcr. Tonasket. Wash. - Septem­ber 12 . 1954 - by H. A. Kriefall.

George ,v. Mnl.h i"se n. Toledo-Newport. O re g . •-September 19, 19:;4 J,y Paul Ha,•ting.

W. A. Moose. Sherid an. Orel(. - October 3, 1954 by B. Schuldhe1sz. -

J. E. Bach . Grangev ille. Idaho - OctolJer 17. 19.54 - by F. Burtling ,

Joh n D. Frese , Grand Coulee. Wa sh . - .Novem­ber 14, 1(154 - b y A. H. Gr;ibow.

John Westendorf. comm issioned for Alaska I Ju-n <oau 1 - November 18, 1954 - by n. C. Muhly .

E. W. Cohrs , Sweet Home. Oreg. - Decem-ber 19. 19 54 h y A. C. Kratzke.

NoJ'nlan C. Meye-r. Northwest Spokane Mission - Janua,-y 16 , 1955 - by Charles Reichert ( froin Texas Disll'"iet 1. •

Alfred Eich mann. Rupert , Idah o - January 23. 195 5 - by O. H . Blessin.

Victor L. Meyer, G ood Shepherrl. Seattle. Wash. - January 3 0, 1955 - by R. £. J;iech.

Wm. C. Hooser, Lamona-O dess'1 , Wash. - Feb­nw.ry 6, and 13, 1955 - - by A. H. G rabow.

Rudi Lenser. Ephrat a. Wllsh. - February 20. 195 5 - by R. Tschil'ley , froru Ca lifornia­Ntv'1d'1 Dist rictl.

Luther E. Russer!. Assistant. Twin Falls. Idaho - February 20 , 1955 - by R. C. Muhl y.

Edw. Imme. Aberdeen. Wash. - February 20, 1955 - by W. F. K e llerman.

,John W. F e ier\;og, Veradak. Wash. . March 13, 1 955 - by E. E. H elJw ege ifrom Montana District I .

Herbert Schiefe ll,e in, Milwauk ie, Oreg. - April 17. 1955 - by Wm_ Nnnt ~.

Reinh old Goetjen, Seaside, Oreg. - May 8, 19.~5 - by B. Schulu l1eis~.

Herman Mueller, Mount Vernon, Wash. - June 5. 1955 - by C. E1111ers.

Simon Maier, Good Shepherd, Portland, Oreg. - June 5, 1955 - by H. Treit I from the A. B. C. Dist rict I.

2

Tran~fcrred to thi• Northwc,-,t Obtrict

Norman I!:. Klatt - now out of oltkt< temporar­ily- from Central Illinois.

Richaru nemisch, instl'Uctor at Conco1·dia. Port­land - from Southern Nebraska.

'T eachn Installation, Alfred C. Abel. Corynlli• - Septt>ml>er 5. 19:;4

- b) Hart,ld Gies@!ke , frorn South \\''isconsln District 1.

Emil R Lindcn1ann, Trinitv , Buhl, Idaho -N~1vf'mhcr 14, lif~t - by~Carl Lo~:-cr ( fron1 th.- W~.,\ern District J.

Medrn Brav, St. Jnhn·s. Vancouver. \\!ash. -Au.!(11,t i, 19~4 - hy C. Wild~rn,uth.

Rnbt'rt Mc-r:;,., Kt'nn.-wicli., \Vasli. - Au8ust 1 1

19:;4 by D. C. !khroPder. Rulph Beikmunn, Kennewick, Wnsh. · Au-

1!:USI I, 1954 - by 0. C. Schroeder lfr<>m Southern Nebraska District I.

Hubert O Frm.haber. Sherwood, 01 e~ -·- Au­gust 2~. rn,4 - by J. II. 1''kissln~c,·.

Richard Larlcndorf, Snohomish, \\'ash. -Au­gu.sl 2~. 19.,4 - by .1-'nuJ Schaus.

Raymond Knauft Rc-d~~.,mcr, Spoknne-, \;Vash._-· 19.)4 by E.' Hellwege I frnm 1h~ \\'e."'t~rn Dlstrtc-11.

Death

John Gihring, µastor emeritus.

PRESIDEN'l'"S REPORT ON THE AC'fIVITlES

OF OUR VISITORS An important elective office of the Dis­

trict is that of the Visitor. The Visitor sees to it that the obj(•cti"es of Sy·ood are car­ried out in his resp.,ctive circuit. The Vi5-itor ft!so has the duty to as~ist the con­grc,galions and the pastors of his circuit wilh problems that may arise. Accor<lin~ tu our District resolutions the District Bo<1rd of Directors is also to worlt in close l'o-opt.:n,tion with the Visitors.

The Visitors together with a lay repre­sentative for each circuit cnmpoHe our Fis­cal Confcrcnc<.:, which adopts the District budi;:et. In connection with this meetinl{ the Visitors have 3 one-day conference c.,f thL'ir own, in which they discuss the prob­lem~ connedeu with their otffre. In July of thi~ year all of the Visitol's of Synod will meet with the Fiscal Conforcnce oi Synod not only to receive firsthand infor­mation on lh<' financial picture of Synod but to ,·c·cciv<.: special s<·hooling to help them to ~"rrv out better th., cluties of thC'ir oflice. TI1is ~ectini:: will b" held at Con~ cordia Collei;:e, St. Paul. Minn.

The present Visitors o( our District ar€': Circuit 1-Pa~tor E. Paul H1t.:del: Cir<'uit 2 - Pastor Wm. B. Maier; Circuit :;-Pa~­tor A. E. Kratzke; Circuit 4 - Pastor F. H. Krinke: Circuit 5-Pastor Carl F. Nitz: C,rcuit 6 Pastor B. W. SC'huldheisz; Cir­cuit 7 - Pastor Harrv H. Young; Circuit 8 -Pastor C. Losi;er (Pastor J. Westendorf); Cin,uit ll - Pastor A. F. Beawer; Circuit 10 - Pastor T. E. Dorpat: Cfrcuit 11 -Pastor H. A. Krietall; C1rcult 12 - Pastor Paul Schaus: C ircuit 13 - Pastor H~,rm;,n Wi,rncck; Circuit 1-1 - Pa,lor A. W. Schl'lp.

'l'he Visitors report the following ofti-cfol visits:

With pastors 38 With conl(reua.tional officers 23 With voters 9 With entire congregations [J

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

This. however, do<:!S not tell the entire story. This report ~ written the I.1st week in April. Many of thti Visitors an: plan­ning a m eeting with the church councils in their various congrl•gntions before the Distrid convention. Such visitations were requested by the District P,·e.,_;id.-nt. Other Visitors prder to 111,,ke such visitations after the meeting in St. Paul this July.

We believe· that the Visitors are con­scientiously carryin~ out the functions of tln:ir ollke as God gives them :,trc11ath and time from their own parish activitk».

CARL H. B!:N5El\E, President

BOAim OF DIRECTORS The pa.sto, s and the laymen elected by

the thirty-seventh convention of the Northwi>st Disfrid to serve on the Board . of Dire<"tors held their flrst regular meet­ing on .July 6. lfJS,i. Al that mec>ting the Board ur1<anized in the followinc: way:

Chairman; President Carl BerJS<.'n<.'. I<.ecurding ~ccrctiu~· : Rev. Amos A. Schmidt I\li~";ion (:onunittte: Chairman, R~v. Emil

Jaech, S~c-rf'tary, Re\'", Hnrold CiesE!k~; Treas~ urcr. Ml'. P . W, Carlson: Jlev. Delbc1t Schrneder.

Pari.'.'!oh EduC"ation C,m1mittcc: Chairinan, Ro,, ·. llolnnd Frantz: Sectet:iry, Mr. Walter Kalup'l'""\11,: ?i.lr. Pm,11 L lpJ}nld.

Sk\rnrd•hip Commlll<'c: Ch11irrn.1n. Rev. E. R. Sc-lmm,m: Mr. C"rl Oownm,::, Mr. /\. K. En­i;cl.

Tru,to<·~ - C'hur,·h Extcnsiou C-ommHtcc; Chairma n, Re,·. E W Hinrichs; ~~c,elar;- of the t'ru,u, .. ~. Mr. P.:iul Nt>ils: 1'.-c~~11rer of C h urch !:xtero~ion, Mr G. C . Hilken .

Youth Comn1ittec: ChHirn1an, flev, Rnland Koch; Mt. Paul Lippold.

All members served for the ycnr with the exc1;•µtion of Mr. Carl Downin!;, who resigned from the Board in M;irch. when his work called him to Wa~hinl,\ton. D. C. Candidntes were nnmed at the April 12 meeting of the Board to fill the unex­pired term of Mr. Downing.

A total of ~i)l.ht meetingi, haw been held from July c.,[ 1954 to April 12, 1955. An a,·erage oi 14 of the 16 111emhc1·s were present at c.;eh meeting. Board meetings arc normally held trom 3 P. M. until 9: 30 or latu. Each ,;ommittee m<'ds from one to four hours prior to each Board meeting to prepare the necessary recommendations for the Board's action. The vnrious i,om­miltecs of the Board will present !hdr re­ports ta the convention.

Complying with the .-..~u!ativc-,-, the Board. !-oOOn after the Distriet convention, c-lcctPd a DepartmE:<nt of Public Relations. The department will present its rcpot t at the convention. The Beard ,·hose t3 r<'­ele<:t the fonner Architectural Committee to ser\'e for another term. The personnel of the rornmittee is Rev. D. C. Schroeder, rhairman, Mr. C. F. Balgemann. nnd Mr. Ku, t ~chuPt.te.

Acting on the resolution of the last convention rdative I'> the hlanket insur­<1ncc policy. the Board received offers from sevt:'ra.l insurance companie~. It was re­solved to give the business to the Sexton Company of Portland, Oreg. The blanket insur 11nee plan is now in operation. Con­i;,:regations are invited to investigate the advantages of this insurance.

At the NovL•mber 16. 1954. meeting, nf­ter the District Fi.seal Conference h<1d +>stablished the budget for 195.5 and had madt' linanclal provisions in that burl)l.et for the of!ico:, of Coun~dnr in Stt>wardship :mrl Education ior the District, th<:! Board initiated th<' procc.ss of ,·alling a man to this office. The call was twice extended to Re\'. E. R. Schramm o{ Bremt!rton, Wash .. but he found it nc-ccissary to de­cline. At its April meeting the Board cullcu the Rev. Emil J nech of Seattle, Wa,ah.

In line wi!h the District resolution, the Board also elected a committee to investi­gate the po~sihility and practicability of a District hnndbook. That committee will present its rE>port to the convention.

We co111111cnd to your prayers the work of the Boal d of Dire<'t,ors ,,s it seek,-. fo aid the District in liringinl( the Gospel of i;al­vatinn throuuh the m·m:ined and risen Christ to the unclmrchcd masses in our District and to furthe r the cause of His kingdom in all the world.

Action of the convention: The re-port was ac/opled ,,,il/1. a comme.ndati,m 11/ the Donrrl of D!recto·rs for t!wir di!i!le111•e m,d Jai1ltful11ess.

CON VEN'l'ION ESSAY "The Proper Relationship Between Pas­

tor and Congregation'' was the subje<:t of the essay p1·escnted hy the Rev. A. W. S,·h .. lp. Pa»lor of Zion Congregation, Ta­coma, Wabh, The divi_,;lons of his paper were:

I. Sin. the Cause of Spoiled Human Re­lationships.

II. Maintainin~ lk!-!Ject for the Local Christian Congregation

III. The Pastor in His Divinely Or­dained Office.

IV. Some Practical Applications for the Upbuilding of the Master·" Klni:dom.

Ac·tinn of the <·onv1mtion: It wa.s 1·e­.,01ved t11 t/1ank Pustnr A. lV. Schelp for his .,ple11did present/Ilion of the euay a.nd to co1111,1,•wl him for pmt>idino C'omplete copies of llie e.smu for !t,e assembled dele­gates.

TIIE MISSION COMMl'l''J'EE Another year of l,Jcs~ings and joys from

our gracious heavenly Father has passed into histo1y since w e 1,,,-t r...,ported lo you. AgHin our precious Lord and Savior has k<l llis people to preach the Gospel in our Northwest District. The report given on tli<: following i•al.(<>s will dc·monstratc the ti utl1 that the Lord is giving us the land. May we not foil to possess it.

Betore presenting a summary of our fields we should likP to bring- to your at­tention the responsiLilities which God has gh·en us who, in thi~ year of our Lord, 1955, live in the Notthwest corm·r of the United Statc-s and in the Tenitory of Alask;,. About midyear 19.54, the Associ­ated P rt!SS reported that sirn·P 1B50 the nation had a populat ion gain o f 6.3 per cent. Du,:-in!( that p.,riod of time the AJ,.~ka population ~11in was 72,000. Idaho

gain 23,000, Ore!,lon 116,000, and Washing­ton 142,000. Since April of 1950 tl,erc has bePn added to the population of our Dis­' rict a city almost the size of Portlond, Oreg. The communicant m~·mbcrship of onr District durin~ that period of time lu1.~ lncn:"a!:ied l>y -1,420.

lt has been lorcihly brou~lit to our at~ tention a,:ain that all around us arc hea­then. On both the urban and rural !eve! the unchurchcd popul;ition of our District continues to be among the highest in the n,,tion. These vast numbe1·s of uncliun·hed ueighbor;, are our n•spunsibility. 1( is good for us tu <1sk how wt• ;,re meeting tbe chal­lenge which th<' Lord has pl,ieed beforl' us in this vast mission field.

Ac.:cordin1-: to the 1955 statistics we have 176 stations in our District, not including the work: amon.11; the d<?af. The1Je stations la~t year had a total dCl'<·~si<Jn of 3,!,18() communicants. We i::onflrmcd 1,085 adults and 882 juniors. for a total of l ,H67. Forty­seven stations confinne<l no adults, 42 sta­tions connrmed no t·hildren, and at 29 sta­tions no aduJts and no childn,n were con­firmed. A goodly number of congrega­tions confirmed fewer than riv .. adults. It is wdl for us to ask ourselves wh<.·the,· w<. arc making efforts to win the unchurched. Are we con'!cious of our mission obliga­tions? Are we helping our people win souls for Jesu~?

The Evangelism lh·p:ntml'llt of the Board o! Home !.lissions is presently de­velopinl! an E,·an,!l'lisn1 program, Pt1.stor Omar Stuenkel has been appointed as our Ev><nKdtsrn Contact Man. We p1·ay that his Evangeli~m l'florts will reach into our congregati0115 an<l aid ns to see the fields wbite lo harv,•st dnd to gather in tlie sheaves for our Lord.

We arc di.cply aware of the respon~ibil­iti~ which you and our Lord ha\'c given us as a Mission Committee. He has !(rant­ed ~ many bl('ssings. May He forgive us where we have failed.

Parish \\'orkl·1·,-: Durinj1: the µast year one lady parish worker, Miss Beverley Harri,;on, hus been servin!l our District at a nwnber of places For reasons of health she was ordered by her doctor in last March to J.iscontinue I.bis type of ~·ork. She completed her wol'I< with our District on April l. In March of 1!155 Mr. Chaun­cey HicharJ~on bel(an ~erving the District on a week-to-week b><~is a.s parish worker•.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

H<' has mude surveys in several area.s in Oregon and Wa.shinl{ton.

Gencnl Item~: We take this opportu­nity to thank the Lntheran Ladies' Mission­ary Society Q{ Seattle for its i;upport of in,titutio11al mi~sions in Sc,llt]e. Pasto,· Weiss received -I ~1·eat de,,l ot finannal ht-Ip from these iiood ladies.

We also thank the Lutheran \\1omen's Mbsionary L,·aguc. which ha.s sup1iort<:,d the nrn;sion proj<-1ets in various ways. The parish wnrkPr·s support wax di~continuccl in 195-1, but groups of ladie-s or zone~ have as-istt-d in the work. The grou))s in Idaho have helped with the fm·nishing of sev<'ral chap1:ls.

Mav v-1c· ask all nwrnbei:s of the conven­tion t~- bi, on the akrt for mission oppor­tunities and to notify the District ()!rice of any fiPlds which give indii:.ition of dcvel­orrnent. We would like to encourai::e con­grl'gations and pastorill conferences or rni~sion conferences, working with the Board, l.o make tbP initiation of mission eliorl~ in their areas a part of the program.

We cotJlnu:,nd the efforts of the Portland Int<c'r-Pansh Council .ond the Spok.inc

- -===- -=-=--=- ===- ===

Dr. Martin J, Neeb, pres­Jdcnt of the ne"' ~uior

College, "·bo pr<'ad1cd al

the (.'"n~ordi11 Colle,:~ All· nh·er"iary Sc-r\'ite which

opened the con\ cntrnn

Mission Council for the fine pro~ress lhcy have made in evangelism. undertakings. The beginning of at least two new mis­sions can be lral·ed to the worlc of these groups. In Spokane. Portland, Seattle, ,md Everett, mcml,ers of our church have can­vassed new are><s to begin mjssions.

Each member of our committee plans to spend two Sundays a year at a mission station to help us bemmc better acquaint­ed with the fields and to counsel the mis­sion cun~rcgations and pastors. The com­mittec js planning to attPnd tbe voters' meetings of our congregations, as tlme will allow, to confer with the eongre.>(atious on matters of suLsidy reductions. self-sup­port, and support of District ;,nd Synod.

SVl\'ll\lAR 1·

At the preS('nt time 74 stations and 49 workers arc the responsibility of our Board.

gtathms

Alull.a 2 Idaho . __ ---~-- __ 14 Oregon ·- ....... _ ... ., __ , ........ 22 Wa.,llln'1011, _ -· _ --· 2:1

Total

Circuit Hi<kr Stt,dent ra~tor _ Jnstit11tio11al \\1orkcrs i-:~foniar, L.ah·tan __ _ Pnri<1i1b \\'or)HJts

Grand Total

61

G I 2 2 4

76

Vacan-W ciTt.rrs dts

l l 7 3

15 4 IS

41

2 2 l 2

1

49

8

s

Soul,

150 l ,D8,1 2,798 3.285

7.316

352

8,01~

C<Jmmu­nica.nlt.

64 524

1.438 l.414

3,440

109 GI

266

3.876

S\l.botd.y

S 8,340 l 6,062 40.772 46,162

~111,338

10.800 ~ ~00

10.000 6.150

38.000

$14R,lR6

3

It is also in our plans to place added <.•mphas1.~ on e\'angeli,,m efforts of our cun­gre~ations and finally to restudy the rural­life- ~ituations in our District.

May the Lord of the churc·h. in whose name and to whose !-:lory alone v,,e serve, use us in these la.st hour/5 of cartt1 w UJ·ln,t<

the Gospel to many. Actinn: Adopted with ,;-perial note talc­

e,i of ihe fine proflre1ts made '" ...any are4--

HE.PORT OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETAl?Y

Since the ·work of the: Exe-c.:utive Secre­tary is s0 dosdy asso.:ial<•d with the work of the Boa1 d of Directors, and more sped­fically with the ;\1Jssions, Stewardship. «nd Church Extension Commitlces. mu.rh of the work of this office is included in the reports of these committl'es ;ind need not he rt-peated here-.

During the year 1954 the Executive Secretary ml'! with 37 pastors in the field, held 48 confPrcnl'es with workern in the oflkc, ;,ttt-ndcd 38 meetin~s of ,;0111,:rega­tions. 11 circuit meetings. 13 pastoral con­fet'ences. an<l ,19 meetin~s with organiza­tions and l"On~rei,;ations m the intcr..,st o1 building the Kin~rlom. All of this required 150 da.)'s in the fie Id.

A ircat deal of time has been sp('nt lo the ollke to tak.- ca1·e of the business of the Board o{ Diwc-tors, to carry on corrc­~pondc•ncc· with p;:,stors ,md coni.:regations in the District and 11t timPs beyond the Distriet, to look after th" husin.-ss of the Lt1T!lf-RA.~ WlT:n:ss. and to care for the Distri,·l n•cords, <leeds. and other valuahle <locuml·nts. As the membership of the Dis­trict grows (from. 15.056 c·ornmunic::mt~ the year the office was opened to 27,353 in i955). natur<11ly the worlc. increas1•~. and the <luties of the offic,.. are multiplied. Full-lime 8Ccretarial help has sen·ed in tht- oJ!iee for mon· than ten y.-ars. It Le­comes increa~ingly evident that the amount of work h too great for one secretary, and conseq ueut.ly exlt'a seerE'tarial help is re­quired from time to time.

W<' maintain an up-to-date record of the congregations ;rnd a brief biographical sketch of the pastors. For our ··~tcward­ship bu]]{'tin'· mailin~ list we haw a file ot about 800 nanws. We should like to take thi~ o~po1 tunity to thank the pastors for thl•ir assisfant·e in ('arrying out the Di~trict resolution of mamlainint; a list of congrc­galional officers in the Di~trit-t n·cords. With only two or thret- ~xceptions all pas­tors fi,.,.,, ~llpplied the names and ad­drt'sses of the office1·s of their congri,ga­tion~ a.s requested.

Thc District Lurm:RAi.- \VIT~Es~ sub­scription list at the present time numb.,.r~ H,182 and the LtrTFIERA~En :.12.i. We should likt- to announce again at thi;: time that corrections to the LUTHERAN W1rNFss list may be made at any time, und subscrip­tions may also be entert•d al any time.

We rejoice in our fellowship of the Gospel with the urPthr,·n: pastu-s, teach­ers. ~nd laymen, throuJ.(ho11t the Distric-t, and pray that our grncious God may en-

4

able us to abound ye1. more and more in <loin~ His work. We look forward to ever i::reater opportunities for sen·ice and for the continued call from our Lord to brini;: the Gospel to the many thoui;ands who should be led h thP waitinl,l' arms of our blessed Savior. May the Lor<l give us wis­dom. courag:e, ;,nd faith to do Hi" work. May He cnduw u,; with wb<lom to see the opportunities fot ~c·rvice in this area of th<e nation, which should <experience a porulation increase, of 33 ~r cent within th.• decade 1950-191;0_ For the sake of our d~·,u- Savior we rejoice to serve you, and with you. our God,

Action: The report was a,!opted with recognition of the faithfulne~s of Pastor Schmidt and commending him to God's carp i II his future u•ork.

S'fEWAIU>SHIP- FINANCE COMMITTEE

With grateful acknowled!-(ment of God's hle,;~in" your Stewardship-Fin«ncc Com. mittc1.: herewith submits its l!l54 report.

As tl,c name implies. it is the rei;pon­E.1bility of this <'ommittPe to concern itself with (1) SteH·ardsltip, education and pro­motion. and with (2J Fin,mces. both in­come and outgo in our District.

I. Skwarcl.~hip Education

A. Ste,,,ardship Schools

Synod's Department of Stewardship, Mis~iomiry Educat1vn, and Promotion, un­der the able leadership of thc Hev. John E. Herrmann, Synod's Stewardship Coun­selor, conducted two Stewardship Schools. one in 1052, the otl,cr in 195~. at Lake Okoboji, Iowa, to which ret-m,_s(•ntatives of every District were i nvited. Your Distri<-t partkipated in both :;chools.

Tlw purpose of the~c schools was to develop an over-,,11 stewai·dship prog,·am which. under the blessing of God':; Spirit, would help to equip our cougrt-.::wtions and our individual Chrhtians to m,•et the nev­cr-en<lin~ and ever-increasing opportu­nities and responsibilities which God is placin.: before them in His kin!-(<lom. God's bles,-m,'( attended those schoob. An elfec­ti,•c stewardship proi.ram has bcL·n formu­lated and is being presented to our eon­,i;regations in the form of A Stewardship Manual for 01u C'o,.m·eaati.,u.s. The six basic goal.~ of th~ Jlror,ram are:

1. Gredh.•r consecration on the pa1·t of our mcmbcrs to Christ in order that they might serve better as living member~ of His body.

2. A d1.-cp appreciation of the why .and wherefore of Christian congregations, stres~ing especially tht- privilegE::; and duties of membership in a Chri~tian congregation.

3. The planning of solid spiritual pro­grams in our congr~..:ations . ..:enred to meet the spiritual needs of our mem­bers and the community where the church is located.

4. Enlisting and training <JUr m,•mbers for spiJ·itu11I ser\'ice in and through our eongr<.!p:ations.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

5. Fully informin!i our membc-rs of their 101:al conbrregation·s work 11nd its mis­s ionary outreach in District ~nd Synod. Giving our congregations a vision of the world's need of Christ and how they can supply that need.

6. Instruc-ling our peop.1£ in the graa- of propot tionate giving, which will have as its outcome the adequate provision of funds for the work of the Lord at home and abroad.

To advance the cause of this program in our District, a District Stewardship School was conducted in Port'and on Sep­t.ember 30, with the Circuit Visitors, their Fiscal Conference r1>presenlativ,•~. and the members of the District Boa,·d of Direc­tors in atkndanc<'. It is hop<:d that ~imilar schoob will be held on the circuit level under the leadership of the Visitor ;md the Circuit Stewardship Committee. Some of thes,;, circuit schools have already been conducted: others are being pl:mned.

But this steward~hip prograll) will not achieve ib intended purpose until the in­dividual congregations become acquainted witlJ it, adopt it as their own, and turn its su,igestions into practit·e. For that n-a.,;on your Committee should like to urge each congreg-ati0h withm our District to plan " Stewardship School fo1· the benefit of its own members. Your Vi~itor and your Cir­cuit Stcward~hip Committee stand ready to help you in this project.

B. "The Kingdom Plan.,

The promotion of "The Kingdom Plan·' in our District was bei.:un in 195:l. It also represo,nl;s an effort to hdp the rongrega­tioas of our Dblrict imi,1'.:mcnt an ,-ff,-ctive program o( Christian Stewardship in their pari~h. Six pastors ,-e kcted by the Dis­fricl Board of Directors and trnined by the author of the Kingdom Plan. Dr. A. Bru­stat of Scarsdale, N . Y .. have gone into con­gregations, wherever invited. and in a series of evening meetings have- 11ssisted them iu working up a parish plan for J,(reater parti<:ipa1.iun and better co-ordin­a tion in the general work of the church. W1. should like to li~t the names of these men so that congregation, can avail them­selves of their services.

Rev. Norh.-rt Dey, s,.,,dy. Oreg. Rev. Thro. Dorpat, Spokane. Wash .Re\·. Harold John.son T~~uma, \Vu .. -.h Re\J, floJancl Koch, Po;,ntdlo, Idaho Rev. Donald Larsen. Spokane, Wash , Re\'. Edwh1 Wiebe!. Seattle. Wash,

''The Kingdom Plan" was presented to the following congregation.<; in 19:.4:

Zion, N:011,pa Redeemer. Dayt-0n Zion, .t\5h1on St, Juhn·s, Vancouver Beacon. ~•·attl.- Hope, Ver,1dale Hope, Seattle Holy Cros&, Se:.ltle Zion, Burky Gruce, Caldwell

Calw1ry, J\o•filtcm•Fl Poe\\'ate:·

Wt: pray that the program of steward­ship education developed within our church on the basis of God's Word. and now bein,i.: promoted in our circles, may be studied an<l put into action in every congregation within our Distril-1. and that the Holy Spirit will .i:raclously continue to add His blessing.

II. Our Di~tricl 195-! Budget

When the good Trca~urer of our North­west Di~trict, Mr. A. K. Engel. closed his books for 1954, he found that the Chris tians uf our various congreg.-.t ions had brought the Lord of the Court .in olkring of S267,5j8 for the promotion of His work .... as it is e:irried out thmu~h the nu~~ionary program of our beloved Synod and Dis­trict. That is a sizable offering, aud vet it foll ;.hurt of the $281.000 goal, whi,j, we had hoped to reach. by the amount of ~ $13.442, This is not a i;ireat sum, but it did keep us from doinJ,( some of the thin,l!s we wanted to do and really should have done.

As a result of this shortage our District was able to give only $1J2.465.50 to Synod fur the cause of Chris t in a ll the World instead of $140,000 as we had promised . ..__ Our District Cliurch Extensio1, Fund, used for the building of diurches and par­.scma~es. received $1.250 instead ot S5.000; uu1· Cou,·ordict CollC'!/C' in Portland. only Sl,116 instead of $2,500; our Distrirt Car Fu11d, only Sl.250 instead of $3.000: and our C011t11\!]Pnt Reserve Fund for emer­!!i"""i"~· o,ily $717.00 instead of $2,1:;o.

We an, .sure tnat (.'VL't} Chri.-,tian in our District will r<:gret this very much. V,i,. all love to sec the work of our blessed and be­loved Lord go fOiward unhamper~d by financial shortages.

However. there is much about 011r Dis­trict's 1954 financial l'eport !or whi<•h wc want to thank our !!rncious h"avenl~· Fa­ther. First of all, our Christians in the Northwest District brought almost S~.000 mor<' in 19.\4 for the work of the cliurch in our District an<l in all the world than in !!l.53. Secondly, a larger number of our congregations reached their minimum fair share ($11.25\ per communic~nt in 1954 than in 19:;3_ Thirdly. mor,. of our con­gregations sent .a re!{ufar monthly o1foring for lhe Lord's work: in Synod and Dblrict to om· District Treasurer.

Ill. Further Figures and Fact .. In the F-inancilll Pi<"turt'

Besides the oflerin)(s for the work of Synod and District, in 1954 the 27,353 communicants in our District hi-ought the Lord their gifts a!~o for special out.side causes, such as Val1nr1u~o Uni\-ersitv, Bethesda Lutheran Hom<'. Mc~ and f~r the maintenance of their own coni,:rega­tional programs. Here, too. there are ~i~ns of increased love and zeal for the Savior an.d His cause. The tables of comparative figures on page 5, will J,livt• !{taphic evi­dence of this fact.

The comparative i,:ift figure~ bespenk steadv progn•.ss in the stewardship life of our Christians. Behind thi>m we sei, 1hc m:.gnificent mercy of our Goel who i,; granting to our "kin~s·• and "priests .. con­tinued growth in faith, love, and joy in t h'-' Lord, which i~ cventuatini:: in a greater awarcness of Ills missionary command an<l in a larger outpouring of gifts for the Savior and Hh. cause. Their missionary zeal and gifts <1re increasin,: from year to year because their spiritual life is in~ creasing through the ministration of ..,

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

Comparative Reccipb for Kingdom 1'ccds 1953 19,3 19S~

Total for Outside Pufll05es _ $ SJ7,-i4:) S Z92.-4J8 Total for All PurptJses 1,R61,.;25 1,816,362

S 484.6Z4 1,987,204

( The figures for 19:;2 incl udt> the special "Cr,nqueol for Christ" ol!erinp,)

Avernl{e Gift. per C'ommunit·~nt

For Synod and District For Outside Purposes For Home Purposes Jt'or All Purposes

195~

$ 7.5:l 21.69 jJ.42 75.ll

19~3

$ 8.37 11.20 58.JS 69.58

lkio4

S 9.82 19 10 55,27 15.00

Our Christians Gave for Our Uistrid Budllct

1~52 1 ~5:l 19;,4

Christ's redeeminll love in Word and Sacram-,nt. All glory to Hill holy name!

Such ~rov.•th and pro~ess is not only demanded by God (2 Peter 3: 18) and nec­eSS11r)' for our own spiritual welfare, but it is imperati\ e if we .ire to meet the steadily J,?rowing oµportunitiies and n,­

sponsihilities which the Lord of the church i,, continuously plating before us in our Synod and District as well as in our resptl'liVP con):!regations We find the~c enlarged opportunities and rcsponi;ibilitics r~Aet'led ln the constantly risin~ budget of District and Synod.

s_,·nc,0'$ Dbtr1ct Yl!'ar D\!dgt"t U11d~et

1948 $3,!HlU,000 S 711,000 rn49 4.000,000 99,400 19511 4.~~-o.ooo 10,,:;oo 19~1 •l,7:,0.0011 106,WO 1952 5,no,ooo 117,550 1953 6 500.000 127,050 J 954 8,100,000 141.000

May God .rive to the peopl<! of our District the faith, love, vision, and conse­cration nccessarv to fulfill the trust which He h:.s so gruc\ously placed in them to meet the ever-widening opportunities which pr~sent themselves in our District for the proclarnatiou of the mcs.sai,:e of our 1,recious Redcemec

IV. Student Aid in l!l.~4

The shortal(e of full-time professional workers in our Synod continues. The rapid gro"'th of our church will call for increasing numbers of pastors and hmch­ers in the yeaJ'5 ahead. Now is the timc when we must recruit youn~ men and women for future servic-e in our church. If there are consecrated and capable youni,: people "'ho dt.'sire to sludy in one of our prepnratory ~chool~ but whose parents an, unahle to assume the full rc~ponsib.ility of payin~ for their ednc11tion, our Student Aid Fund is designed to help th~·se stu­dents. In 19,j4, sievent,,en students were assi,lt,d in varying amounts. depending upon thc•ir need. The total amount used for this purpose w.is $2.400.

V, Ou,· Di,lrict 1!155 Bud~l'I

The l!J54 Fiscal Conference of the Northwest Dbtrict was heir! in Zion Lo­therun Church, Portland, Oreg., S<'ptem­ber 29, 1954. At !his confrr;,nce the fol­lowing budget was adopted for Hl5:i:

Dudgrt 0• a.l

$200,000 235,000 281,000

Budgtt R<H-h,~d

$1R2,613 218,366 267,55!1

Per C~nt Ra1•ed 91.3 ,,, 92.9 <; 95 2"

For Synod's \\"orld :Mis-..ions For D1:\tr·1ct ~lis~iuns For S11bsidi~ing Parochial Schonl• For Adntinistrution For ··Luthe1m1 \\' ,tness.' ~·Lu­

tht:rttner'" For Stud<"nl Aid For Church Extension 1-'und

\Sp~cial Offering of $2011.000 in "Building for Christ'')

1'~oc· Cuncord1a Cnl!eg~ Fc,r Cur Fund For C<>ntin,:ent Reser\.'e

Total

$1 :;7 ,500 96,000 Jfl,000 29.000

, l7,9a0 3,000

2,500 3,000 3,500

8323,~00

Our 1955 budr,:et represents an increase of $42.000. or ahout 15 per cent over that of 19:i-l. To reach our budget this year, we shall have to avcra)le a minimum of $1:!.25 per communicant memlil·r in <'Very con ~re,l(ation. In acldition to the ollerings

Rn. F. A. Hert,.ig, u. U.,

Fourth \'it·e.Pn,ldent of

Tiu, Lutheran l'hureh -

Mis.ouri Synod, "·ho de­llv,,red the "•rmon at the

(."om.munion ser\.·lee: and

ra•µortr•d on n1u.lter"i of

gent-r.al synndkal inte.rest

which will be hrought by our Christians in the North.,.,•est District to reach our budi:et requirements. our beloved Synod has promised to subsidize our work in the amount of $61,a:,00 in 1955 plus $1 !'i,000 fol' missionary l'xpansion.

\"J. Synod"i. Budi:l'I for rn:,:;

The Lord h<1s commissioned us to carry on His work not only within the, borders of our NorthwPst District but in all the world. To carry out this mjunction, we are nnited with 1,250,000 c·ommunic:rnt m~mbers in what we eall "Synod," The Lutheran Chui·ch-- Missouri Synod. The great and varied pro1?r>1m of Synod for 1955 looks ~omething likl' this:

Missions, Nation~l and For~1..:n r-.:ducation, of P..l.1:-.tors. Teachers S1lppnr1 anf1 Pensjons P,lrish F..dw,:.1tioo Public Rel;itions Depal'tment Board for Youn~ Peo1,Je's Worlc: Snc,al \\"elfar,. Ste-\va,·dship, l\fisc;.i tinary Educ.ti mn

.am.i Pr01notim1 .Adm111btrat1011 Standing au<l Special Comuutkes (°l)nlingent li:e-se1 ve

Total

$3.7!!7,2~0 2,8till.00(1 1.2:,0.000

130 000 50.001\ 1'!..1.100 :10.IJOO

1!J:J ,i00 3., 1,020 •I 1,500

~71.2Jll

$~. 100,000

Our Northwci,l District has pledged to send $157 ,50lJ ( 41 '7o of our total District budget) to help reach Synod's 1955 budR­et. This is $21.302.3n short of what we ought to send ii' we ,,,ere to give Synod our proportionatl, share per communicant ($6 89) .

This is a matter that should r"st heav­ily upon our souls. God in His 2race ill openin~ many doors for our Synod; it is only as each District assumes its propor­tionate share of Synod's budget that we can enter th\IBe doors and fulfi 11 our mill­sion as the church of the Lord .Jcsu5 Chri,st, in ,,ll the world! God speed thl' day Vihen the Northwest District can as­,;ume it~ full oliligation toward Synod's wodd-v. id~ missionary program.

\'II. A Word of Gratitud<·

Your Committee wishes lo thank all pa,;tors and coni;:reg;otlons for their help­ful co-oper;;tion. We arc espeC'i,,11~· grate­ful to the Ctrcuit Visitors and their com­mittees: tl11• District Executiv~• SPcl'etary, the Rev. Amos A. Schmidt: and the King­dom workers for their willin~ness in pro­motin~ the muse of Christian stewardship in our District.

VIII. Recommendation~

Your Cornmitee, in keeping with the riesolutions of Synod at its last convention ( Report~ a"d Memorials, 11153, pp. 482 and 483) would like 1.o make the following rec­onwndation.s.

A. We urge all the t:oni;regations of our Di,;trit'l seriou~ly lo study the newly launched Synod-wide steward~hip pro­gram with the view in mind of adopting and adapting it to their o"'·n peculiar needs ;;nd cu·cuIT1>t;inces.

0. We UT.le the observnncc of two mis­sion fe5tivals, one in th" ti rst half, the oth­er in the se~ond half of the year. If the mission of the Lhurch is mis:;i,ms, our peo­pll' must be inforrn~d and in.spired mol'e frequ~ntly.

C. We :,;uggrst that our conJa:reg,,tions strive tow:i.r.f th., minimum goal of giving one dollar for missions to every two for home purpose~.

D. Whereas the pro1:r .. rn and purpo.~es of our large corporation, known its The Luthcl'an Chul'Ch - Missl/uri Synod. are not too well fixed in thc minds and hearts ol a J(oo:ily number of our people; and whereas Synodical Sunday provides a splendid opportunity to hring lo our peo­ple the auvanta1scs and responsibilities wh.ich are their;; as members of Syno:i, therefore we urge th~, congre~ations of our District lo observe Synodical Sundl\y an­nually,

E. Wh•·n·as the pro:;ram of our chureh i~ a eireat and varied one; ,.n::l. wr.c:r~as ou.­P<·'.Jpk' need to be informed of the work of their ehureh in all of its phases: aud wher[•as Synod's Dep;.rtment of Sl<'ward­ship, Mis~ionary Education ,md Promotiun has produC'ed many very excel lent medi­ums of information in the form of mission-

ry .films, stewardship tracts. etc., we urRC ur congregations to avail themselves of hese helps.

F. Whereas the proclamation of the ~ospel in all the world is as much a part 1f the Savior's Missionary Command to ;!is Christians as is the witnt.'SS of His Nord in tit,- lm:al c,mg,ega.tion nud com­niunit.y; and whereas the missionary pro­lrram of District and Synod is as much a iny-for-day. month-f~r- montb financial lbligation a,- is that ot the local congrega­tion, therefore we, >,trongly ur~c that our ~ongregations inake rey11lar monthly re­p11ttances to the Distl'ict treasury for the promotion und expansion of the Savior's kint(dom Jn the mission field~ of our Dis­trict and in all the world.

G. Wher~as the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. loved us with an infinitt> love; and whereas He is °'the Propitiation for our 5ins, and not for oun; only, but also for the sin~ of the whole world" (1 John 2: 2 ) : and whereas our love of Chrbl must embrace also the Jost world for whom Chris t died: and whereas our Lord Jesus Christ, in these fateful years, is challengi u,I{ our be­loved Svnod and District with great and marvclo"...s opportuniti .. s for Kingdom service >1nd missiom11·y expansion; anrl whereal! the command of om· Savior to His church is to "go'' forward anJ not to re­cede or even stand still, therefore we ear­nestlv urge all of our congre.1:ations to mak; it th11ir prayerful and pl,umcd de­t~rmination, with the hdp of God, to bring at least their minimum fair share (~12.25 per communicant) for the rnission;-iry pro­gram of their Synod and District in 1955.

Action: The repo-rt of the cmnmittec, inrl1tdi11g the recom1ne11dalions of the committ.re co,.tai?1ed tl,crein . was ..rlopteil: those congregations ,.,hkh have ndoptPd tlie Kinydom Plan 1vere commender!; and it t"as w·ged that other congrega tlons ltn I'<'

th.r plan presented in their ntidBt.

TIIE l'AH,ISII EDUCATlOK CO;\IMlTTEE

During the past y ,mr of grace the Lord o( our church has blessed the congregations o( our Northwest District with evident progress in all areas of Christian educa­tion. In quit., a num~r of inst..mcl/'5, ron­gregations have increasingly al)plied the truth that Christian education in our midst is a definite and important part o[ th~ Gr_.at Commission. We thank God for this progress and pTay that in all areas of out District the Holy Spirit will continul! to move our pllstors, teachers, and congret(a­t1ons to use every opportunity for growing in the knowledJ!c of our Lo1·d and Savior Jesus Christ. This is not to say. however. that we h11.ve attained our iiools in the variou~ al'c;;s of Christian P<lucation. The following r(•port will reveal that there is room for much improvement in some local­ities, and we trust that God will move all of our congreiiations to even greater con­secration in the future

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

During the past year your Committee on Parish Education experienced quit!! a turnover. In addition to tht> three mem­bers o( the Distn ct Board ot Directors serving on our committeP, two of whom are servin,: their lirst term, Pastor H. Treit of Beave rton. Ore,:., and Teacher M. S. Pohl of Kennewick . Wash., WE'rc appointed, with the approval of the Board, as auxili­ary m embers. Teacher Pohl was rt>aJJ­p~inkd. Your Committee has tried to carry on its work as faithfully as possible. realizin~ the huge responsibility that it has to our Lord and to the Christians of our District. Wherein we have failed. we ask your p.trdon and patience, pleuding at the hamc t ime for your prayers in behalf of the work we have been ,1,~igncd to 1;1ro-mote.

During the yee.r your Committt·<- met regul;,rly , with very fow ah. .. ente<-s. to study the opportunities and challenges that came before us. During recent month!; the Youth Committee also met with the Parish Educat ion Committee, since there ~cemed to be a natural tie-in ,i,,•ith re1-:ard to the work o( these committees. Individual mem­bers of the Committee appeared b,·[ore pastor s' and teachers' conferences and at circuit rncctiugs to pre.sent the cc1use of Christian education. and visited most of the schools of the District as well. Teacher Pohl represented our District at Synod's Educational Conference in St. Loui~ last July, nnd Pastor R. A. Frantz attended the Supo,rintendents' Conference at River For­est, Ill.. in December.

Your CommiUE'e herewith asks all pas­tors, teachers, and congreg.itiona1 leaders to continue to ljive serious considern tion especially to carrying on and promotinR svskmatic Dibh_, study in our District. There are seve-ral areas where fine Bible institutE's could be conducted, and your Committee is ready to help with SU'!!;es­tion.s. During the latter part of 1955 Synod i,., t-mphasiiing the Family Life Plan, and we sugge~t that every ron~regation con­sider th~ plan, as more information reac:h~K us from time to time,

In carrying on its work, your Commit­tee has observed the following division of dutic~:

Hev. R. A. Frantz, Olympia, Wash., chairman - Adult Educalion.

Mr. W. R. Kamprath, Seattle. Wash .. teacher and com mi !tee :-ccretary - Paro­chial Schools.

Mr. Paul Lippold, Portland, OreR .. lay­man -- Sunday Schools.

Rev. H. Treit, Beaverton, Oreg. - Adult Education.

Mr. M. S. Pohl, Kennewick, Washing­ton, teacher - Part-Tim., Agencies.

May our Lord's abundant bkssin~.:; and the fulfillment of llis wonderful promises accompony the Christians of ou,· District as they coutinue to feed Chn~f s sheep and Jambs with the Word of Life, and may wis­dom nnd guidance be given your Com­mittee to carry on its important tasks.

PAJ{OCHIAL SCHOOLS The parochial school ccmtiuucs to offer

the most e/lc-ctive me.ins of providing a sound pro~ram of Christian education. in doctrination, and training. Children at­tending our schools have the daily oppor­t unity of growing in the knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. as well as receiving ,. thornuirh Christ- centered :-;ecular educution, in a Christian environ­ment and under Christi,m auspices,

Publie ,-chool su perintendents and tt"achers have repeatedly said that our Lu­theran schools hold a distinct advanla~c:. In such schools th.- common branches of learning art' cnril'h.:•d by a distinctly Bib-1,rn! point of 1•iew in all thin~s. and gen­Pn,l education is employed a~ a means of Christian training. God is kept in the cen­ter. and the child is k ept conscious of the fact that ·'u/ Hi m a11d tl>rough Him nncl to ffou are aft rlungs." and that all of lifo is God-rev<'ali11a and Goel-glorifying.

We have 21 such pa.rochirtl schools in our District, The enrolJment in these schools is 1.5~-l. which is a gah1 of 141 irinc-e ottr lnsr rt>P<l11.

Tl1c following m·e a fe-w other facts about our schools: 1. 16 ,-chools operat.c through Grades 1-8

1 school operates a kiuder!(arkn and Grades 1-8

2 schools operate Grades 1-9 2 schools at present have only a kin­

derga rt~n but hope to expand their program shortly.

2. Seventeen schools ore operated by in­dividual congrei,:ations, whilE- three are union .:chools, operated by ~roup~ of t·ongregntions. One school, 11hrtin Lu­ther of Portland, i~ operated hy an a5-sociation of individuals and congrega­tions.

3. The teaching staff number 48. a gain of 2 since our last report.

4. Concordiu School, Tacoma, and Mem­orial School. Twin Falls, opened a fifth and sixth classroom respectively.

We call attention .1gain to Synod's goal of having 50 per ct·nt of its sc•hool-a~~· children enrolled in parnchial schools hy 1972. Our District a lso coucuned in this resolution ond obligated itseli to help Synod reach this goal. It this is to be tht> ciise. we must open more schools in our Di5trict. We have not 1,:..,pt pace with oth­ers of our rnpidly-gruwing coastal Districts tn the numbers of n ew schools opened.

Our progress since 1941 in th" openin~ of schools hlls been as follows:

A.. Sd10oh Opened:

Jd;iho: .Buhl, St. John's, 1946 Idaho Falls. St. John'~ HG~ , re-cslab­

li~hec:h Oregon :

Portland, Martin Luther, 1951 1Calvary, Our Savior. St, Michael'•• Holy Cross, Holy Sacrarnen~ 1

\\',Lshinilon · sc~ll\e. Concordin. 19:;1

Messiah Mount Olive Our Savio r Trinity , had a school'}

Spokane. Redeemer, 1950 Spokane, Central School, 1~48

Holy Cross Pilgrim St. John's i had a .school)

Tot,,l number o{ schools opened: 8 Congregations gaining school facilities: 14

B. Sdwols C'loSctl: Cornelius, Oreg., St. Peter's Everett. Wash., lrnn1anucl Kirklancl. Wash .. St. Paul's NC't gain in nun·1ber of schools since 1944: S

At its Houston convention two years ai;o, Synod very positively reaffirmed its belief in its system of parochial schools. A special grant for school promotion throughout Synod was made by the Board of Di1=ectors out of '"Conquest for Chl'ist" funds. I.foney from this grant made possi­ble the special school-promotion effort oC Mr. Wm. A. Kramer, Assistant Secretary of Schools. Mr. Krnmer. after serving as essayist at our Teachers' Conference in Snohomish, spent approximately ten da~·s visiting congregations, groups o{ congrega­tions, and pastors. promoting the cause of our schools.

May the Shepherd of tender youth add His abundant blessings to the efforts of Mr. Kramer and to all the efforts of those who seek to expand the program o( uur schools throughout our District. May the ucxt years provide distinct gains in the number of our schools and in the enroll men ts of <'xisting schools!

Family Life Committee Rl'l)Ort As a result o( a meeting held in Feli­

ruary by the Board for Parish Education in St. Louis, nine regions will have Family Life wo,·kshops. The area which will in­clude the Northwest District will also in­clude the A. B. C. and Montana Districts. This meeting will be hold in Tacoma, Wash. In a far-fiung field as the Northwest District it seemed advisable to have at least 10 to 16 persons trained for this work.

Detail,; have not. at this writing. been formulated. Th" St. Louis office b prepar­ing a well-formulated program. More will be said and written in Adv ance Magazine.

The home~ and the family are not ac­ddents of human custom nor the .result of a legal decree. They were established by God and made for God. God must be in them and must be made part of them. This is the basic problem involving homes through Christian faith and Christian lives. Our Christi«n homes are surrounded by manv evils. which have a tremendous im­paet · upon the lives of our people. Upon the inoperative homes our civiliz,:1tion of social ills is built. In the environment of these spiritually empty homes we develop moI'e and more moral midgets. Since the atmosphere breathed iu the home. the principles established there, and the Christian faith cncourai;ed there become part of the structure of every individual who lives in that home, it is very apparent that nu other agency or organization can eumpletely- barring a miracle of God -make up for the failure of the totterin): home - save the Christian home. It is not the home or the institution which is at

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

fault in this disintegrating process but the individuals who constitute it.

During 1955 and 1956 a well-balanced program which will reach down into every congregation is the aim of the Parbh Edu­cation Committee. This will necessitate:

1. The training of a number of workers in the District.

2. Conducting various workshops in the District.

3. Conducting circuit or area Family Life institutes.

4. Introducing one or more phases of Fam­ily Life education into the local parish program from year to year.

Congregations, pastors, and parents ,ir<' all concerned with tlw subject: Family Life. To assist in reaching ou1· ohjcctive, the following subjects should he carefully studied: · 1. When is the Family Christian?

2. What Is Right and Wrong with the Family?

3. Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage.

4. Marriage in Distress.

5. Causes of the Family Crisis.

6. Authority and the Home.

7. Premarital Counseling.

8. Helping the Family Worship.

!l. How Can We Educate Parents?

10. Problems Related to Children.

11. Know Your Adolescents? Do you?

12. The lnt\uence of 1.hc Christian Home.

How are we going to meet the great needs of our people? Through a good and adequate Family Life program.

Sunday Schools At the close of l!l54 there were 22.497

children enrolled in the Sundny schools of our District. This was a gain of 2,564 pu­pils over the enrollment of 1953. and ac­cording to latest estimates 22 per cent, or 4,950 pupils, of this group came from nou­Lnthoran homes. We thank aud praise God that He has given this increase, and pray that every con,gregation wilJ be ~iv1cn the zeal, consi,cration. and det<~rmination to win more souls for the kingdom of Christ through this very dkctive agency, the Sunday school.

Herc in the fast-i-:rowing Pacitic North­west, where our mission opportunities are multiplied evc1·y day, we must see to it that an evangelistic spirit permeates our Sunday school program. Our teachers must be well trained, and an adequate pro,:ram of follow-up on delinquents and a visita­tion of prospects should become a natur:al part of their work. Our children, too, can be effective missionaries and should be en­<;ouraged to join in this work for their Savior.

Your DL5trict Committee wishes to give assistance wherever possible to do so in this field of Sunday school work, and with that thought in mind we requested infor­mation from the pastors of our District in regard to their teachers meetin~s. teaeher

7

institutes, and Sunday $Choo) associations. We are happy to state that we received a very prompt reply from 9.5 of our pastors. A brief tabulation of some of this informa­tion is as follows:

88 - Reported that they heh.I regular S. S. teachers' rneelin~.~.

7 - Report:ed that they clid not condu~t S. S. tenchers' n1eetings.

17 - Reported meetings held every week. 18 Reported me<>tings held every two weeks. .19 -- Reported meetings held twice a month. 13 - Heporten meetings held once a month.

l - Report.-d meetin,.;s held every threP u1onth!>.

46 Reported that they belong to a S. S. ns..so­ciation, most of them being ocganized within the- circuits.

49 - Reported that they did not belon~ to a S. S. association, but 26 of these reported thAt 1here were S.S. tcac-hcrs' institutes ln the area, which their frachers attended.

There were a number of areas within the District without Sundny school a~~o­eiations or teacher$ institutes, and it is the hope <Jf your District Committee that we shall be able to sponsor some teacher­training programs within these areas be­fore the end of the year.

Vacation Bible Schools As one of our Lord's greatest <"Ont­

mands deals with the education of the young. the District Board for Padsh Edu­cation has strongly encouraged those con­gregations and their pastors who have not had a vacation Bible school to do so.

With this agency it i£ very possible to reach children in all walks of life. Some J1ear of th.,ir Savior and the way of salva­tion for the firtit timc. Others have this opportunity to grow in knowledge, whcre­hy their own faith will be stren~tbened, thereby in turn gaining others.

As valuable as this ageucy is, it is sur­prising to note that approximately 40 con­gregations in our District did not avail themselves of this soul-winnin~ and ~oul­saving phase of Christian edu1:atiou. Some re;,sons for failing in this respect are. of course. legitimate, but many could and .should re-evaluate their "exc:uses." From all reports nt our disposal, each vacation Bible school has been a real success. first of ;,ll spiritually, as well as financially.

We take this opportunity to commend those congregations who have had a sum­mer vacation Bible school and encourage those who have not, to study their indivi­dual easa again and see if it could possibly be done.

Action: The report was adopted u,ith a con111tendation of the Parish Education Comrnittee for the fine work it has do,14'. It was stressed tl,at each congregation should contiJme to promote systematic: Hible .s11,rl,J, especially in the areq of acl1tlt Bible cl.asses. cond·uct Billie in,tiwtes where po.s.,-ible, consider the Fami.ly Life Plan, adopt a S1111day School Tea .. hers' 1'ruildng P1·ogram, conduct regula,· Sunday sc1wol teacl,er.s' nieetiHgs, e.slllblish and foster Smiday school instiwtes, s·upport the 1•ac11tio11 Bible school (in which field only three-fourth.~ of our congregations are now active). ,md give serio1i.., consideration to the este1lilishment of a parochial s('hool.

8

In which /i.eld uur progress is neg!ioib!e in attninin11 Synod',5 aoal of 50 per cent of ""r childre1t in a parochial 1<chool b11 the wear 1972.

YOU1'11 COMMITTEE Your District Youth Comtnittce, which

was elected last June, is happy to report tha1 in spite of the many tensions of mod­ern life, an<:I with many of our young men uwa:v from home in the servkc of our country, the Youth Program of Synotl hits Ileen going forwartl in a <lefinit<' upswing of spirit and a<:tivity.

Mon' and more. it seem~, our congre­gations are rN:ognitm~ that the yonng people ;,re nut just the church of tomor­row, but a definite part of the church to­day and should therefor.-· b<, included in the 1:hurch'R planning and progr.im. More congregHlions arc therefore including vouth work as a part of theit budge•!. and providing leaders ond spon~ors for youth groups in th.., ,r midst, who will work clo8ely with the young p,eople in their pro­gram.

More of our young people arc· al50 availing themsclv"s of the inspiration and instruction availal,le- to them m L, S. V. schools. rallies. conventiom;, talent festi­vals, anti tl,e new Youth Workers' Confer­ence:;.

Yet we must report thnt in spite of the cllorts of the Walther League and th1;: en­co,n-at5~•ment of pastors, teachers, and Synod. there are still far too many con­grc:gations who have not yet adopttd the program of the Walther i4-ague, .:md far too many of our young people who are not Walther Leaguers m con,1,1regations where the uague uoes exist. Look at these figures as of Dccem ber 31. 1!)54:

3,782 oq;aniz~d _ Walther League societies. Senior and Junior arP 1nixed

5,872 congregations 111 Synod 210.000 young people in Syr,od o( Leag\tP age

f 16 ' 2 c; of conun. 1uem1Jers1 7~. 132 rnen,ber s in the Walther Lco11u~

!41.79',, are Seniors, SR.21 , are Juniorsi

30,000 ~ounia: lJ<><>JJk arc confinned annually tn nnr Synod

15,000 enrolled in ~ccular collc!(es ar>d univcr­•.,atit•s annually

6.500 enrolled in ('hUrch coHe-'(es. semlnaries1

university 25,000 m the Arm~d Forces 93,000 young people at home, not In the Wol­

th~• Leal(\.!<'

40.200 young peoµlc not Ll"airuers who could be

This should make it clear that we have yet a eonsidernble w:iy to go before we rnn rest on our laurels. w., slrnuld not be sat­isfied until every one of our young people is aetiv,; either in th" Walther Leai;ue pro­gram or in sometlunj.'. as ~ood.

This becomes all the more urg..,nt wl1<:n """ unde1·stand that tlw number o[ onr yowig petiplc will im:rca~e sharply within tht• next 10-15 year~. when the postwar baby croµ beC'ornes of Leagu,, a~c. It is e>q:,eclt'd thHt the Wnllh<'r Le:igue will it­self doublP in the coming 10 -15 years. This shoul.1 alert us to p!au now for that time so thi,,t we will have <1n active pro­gram fum·tionin,: for those young people. And if we have no League prognm1. it

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

should be an added incentive to begin one now.

The situ;;ition in small eongr.,glltion, with only a few youth presents a problem, p;ui1cularly in our Northw<.>st District. with its larize percentage o[ smal1. youn,: con~regcltions. In some an·as this problem mii,(ht bi, i.olved by for111ini; a joint society with anoth,,r nearby congreg:ition. Thi.~ hHs alr..,ady been done succ<'~sfully in n number of localities.

We al'e also faced with the fact that the Walther uaguc is steadily becomin~ a younger group. With su many of our young men away at military duty, so many ot our youn~ .,,omen findini;: jnbs away from home. and so many eadiPr nwrriages. the percentage of Simiors has been stcadilv declining ill favor of ,Tunior~ (un<ler 18 years). Some pastors are t'><perimentin~ with org<1ni7alions of a preconfirnrntion age. Hn<i som<.' ('Jlroll the pupils of the cnn­Jirmntion class in the Walther League. It is ,. problen, \li•hich w<.· ought to recogni,:c ;,n,l face rcHlistfrally.

Because of the innease<l ••rnpha~is on n,bsions and personal evangelisn,. many societies enroll unchurehed and prospec­tive church members in tlw L('agues. Here li•·s ,l gH·at opportunity for winning young­people for Christ and His diurch.

Somi• pa~tol's r<c'porl difficulty in keep­ing a Sl·nior so(•iety go~. bt'Cause of the older Leaguers having to Ko to college, be­caus" of the military scrvicc, ;,,nd marria~e. We ha\·e nut succe~-<led too well in provid­ing fellowship and a pro!;ram of worth­while acth-it,v for the5€: •·~raduates" of the Walther League. In mc>bt of our eongrega­tions this a~e group is the most neglected in the d1url'h. Perhaps Wl' ought to con­sider [ormiag a special group for these ··young adults." a Couple,; Club, or Wal­ther League Alumni. or Social Leagu@. Perhaps we can use some of tht>m us coun­selors for the younger groups, lo kl'Cp this agt- group busy and active in the impor­tant work or the church.

In vie-.w of these matkrs which are of vital concern to the future of our church, we re<:ommcnd:

1. That the cong-rcgations take advan­tage of the L. S. V. schools, in which our young people are led to think and produce for Christ, to dev~lop the Christian per­sonality. and to l'xpcrience the joys of service (or Chri~t. We ur·ge that congreg,1-tions consider sub~idi1in1; the attendance of their young people at L. S. V .. to make it possible for more of our youth to h;:we this "xeellent trainins,:.

2. That congre1;ations eonsidci· sending their pastor, U•acher, or youth leader to one of tbe four Youth Workers' Conicr­ences being hdd this summer for the spt'­cial lraming of adult youth workl'l's.

3. That .:ill con~regations be encourn.l(c<i to intensify their efforts in beh,ilf of uur young people, that they set a~ide time in their l.>nsiness m'-'<'tings to eon!Jdl'f the needs of the cl1urch's youth, and that they be ready and .,.i!ling to provide financial help when! ne(>dc-d.

Action: The Teport wa., adopted. Spe­cial t'ntpliasi., is tu be !Ii''"'" to 11outh "'urk in the Distrirt ,·1111r1•!!tion in 19:i7. To that e11,l the essa11 fur th.e Distl·irt conl'ention in. l!JS7 t.s to be "T/i,, Clwn·h 1111-etrng tl<r• Socia! Pro!J!em., of <>u·r A9r," with major etl!phasis on (rl) Tl,e Youth; (I,) Human Relat,<ms; ( c) Labor Relatfo11s. Thee essay is to l,e pre~ented by Prof. Wrilt<'r Wol­brecht, E.rncuri,·r S•'necar)J of Higlrer f;d­uratio11,, ur Dr. Martin H. Sdrnrl<'mann of St. Lcmis.

TR.USTE.E AND CHURCH EXTENSION COMl\'IIT1'EE

We are happy to report that, with God',; blessing, durin~ the pHst year we were able to assist in the advance o[ onr Dis­tnct mis~ion prol,(ram w1lh a 1:onsiderable number of subst:intial loans to congJ'cga­tiorn anrl mission stations. J',fost of them were madt' for the con~truction of churchEs. Some wer<'.' made for down pay­ment on parsonage~ to dccrtcase ever­mounting rental costs to out mission trtas­ury. Through the cenerou~ gifts for our fund, through loanb to 11sc, repayment.~ on present loans. anti Gcn<?n,l Board funds, we loaned $Hl3,390.32 to congreg,itions, a larger arnount lo,.mi.,d than in any prt-vious sunilar period.

Repayments on loans amounted to $0i,258.57. including i11tcrest, which wa~ a major help in making loal'lS to congn•ga­tions. V;'c w,~h to 1expn,s~ our appn•cia­tion to those who helped lo bring in th.is ~ubst<1ntial amount. We urge congrPga­tions to continnc with substantial m~nthly rcJJclyments so that the b, t'lhn·n who do not have a place of worship may b,, as­si~ted with a loan.

Our Churdl Exknsion was again gen­l·rously remembered with bequests and donMions, We wish to th,mk .ill who so generously gave to help in the buildin;( program of our mission.,. We wish to give specinl , ecognition to the ~ift of prop••rly with a store building at. Kennewick, ·wash .. and we wish to take coi.:nir.ance o( thb substantial ,gi(t.

We are a~ain able to innense our bor­rowe<l moneys, from which .source came the major an,ount loaned to mission sta­tions. Especi«lly do we appredate tht> loans from individuals. who invcsteu $(;8,545.8,1 to St'e the work of buildini; chur<:-hf:s progrL'SS in our Northwest.

Our Net Worth £>njoyed an increase of $29,141.15, the major part coming from don,itions and h,_,quesl.s. We are hoppy i11 t.hi~ increas<?, since any increase in the net worth gives us an opportunity to bor­row un additional .1111ot1nt to the extent of tlw increase.

Th,s year w.:: carried over a substantial c;;sh bahnce: however. commitments to the extent of $!12,141.00 had been made on which huil<im,g operations 111ere pending, and by District dirt•ctive we must carry a reserve of 10~, of the borrowed mnneys fi om individuab and coni.weµations.

Since the last conn·ntion your Commit­tee put into effect thl· Dbtrkt r esolution on blanket insurance for propertit•s in

which the District has an investment. The Trustees considered the proposition of two insurance fil'ms in ;,,ddition to that made hy Sexton & Comp;,,ny of Portland (as re­ported last year). It met with ;,, represent­ative of one other firm. After careful con­sid,m1tion it believed that the best interest

- of the District would be served by placing our business with Sexton & Company.

At the beginning of this year ,ill con­gregations were provided with a poster

~ and literature inviting our peoplt> lo invest their savings, large or small, with the Dis­trict Church Extension. A double pocket ;,,ttached to the folder displayed envelope application forms for writinK such loans with the general fund of Synod and with the; District fund. We urge the convention to help promote this program.

Although large amounts of money were loaned to assist .our congregations and mi&sion stations, yet, as we look over our Northwest with its vast expanding popu­l:ation, it did not meet all of the demands. We are faced with a number of locations where ground is av;,,i[able and the breth­ren are hopefully waiting the time when a church will be erected to the glory of Goil, where they may worship Him. Surely the "Building for Christ .. program will help in this. We are hopeful that everyone has seen and will seC' the golden opportu­nity to assist our fellow Christians. There is further opportunity to deposit your sav-

- ings with the District Church Extension. Thus thC' gifts that God has so generously poured ont on our people will be working to advance God·s kingdom in our midst.

Action: The report was adopted with the following resolt,tions:

Resol1,ed, Tl,at this c0Hventio11 ac<'ept the report of the Trustee and Church Ex­tension C,m,mittee. with 11,anks to God for the grat·ifying advance of the District"s Mission Program refleeted by the report; and be it

Resolved, That congreyntions enjoying tl,e U8e of Church E.1,tension Fiou!s and reµayi119 their loans w I ten dite. or before <lmi. be commended for .such action, am/ that ,·,mgregatioT1s wli ic/1 hat,e l"'''n remiss in this matter be ('arnest!y enccmraged to follow tl,is good e:t·ample of their brethren; and be it

Resolved, That grateful recognition be taken by thi.~ convention of the generous beq1.wsts and tlonation., reeei1'ed for Clnircli Exte11sion d-uri.ng the JJast year, notably also for the ".subst,mtial gift of property with a store buil.cling at K,mne­rnfrl<, '\'.' a.~hington ., ; and be it

Resolved. Tl1c1.t more of our members be e11coun1.g<'d to follow the co-m111endcible exmnple of those who made c/111r('h exten­sion funds av ailable on a loan basis, aT1d that to this end (Ill congregations be re­minded to publicize the need for such fnnds and hat>e on hand a s11pply of "ap­plication forms for writing such loans"; and be it

Resolved, That the Churi:li Extension Committee be encom•aged to seek invitci­

' tions from the congregations for the pur-

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

pose of presenting the c·n11se nf (·h11rch ex­tension and soliciting loans; and he it

Resolved, Tn ext,md a vote of th,mks to the Trustee and Church Exte11sion Com­m'ittee for i.ts wise and careful stewardsld)l in the administration of tlte business com­mitted to its care and for the many hours of application th<'rein conswmed; and be it {inlllil}

Resolved, That, since the Lnrd con­tinue.~ to place man·y opport1mities and open doors Lefore us in 011r District and bids us in His name to possess the land, we enconrage one ariother fa-ithfully to pro­nwte the work of clmreh extension with ever-increasiT1g zeal. to tl,e glory of the Savior's ,.ame anrl the salt,ntion of ;m-111ortal souls purchased 1.cith Ilis precious blood. .

"Uuilding for Christ" - Church Extension Campaign

It was early in 1954 that the District Board of Directors resolved to have an offering throughout the Northwest District for the Church Extension Fund, to receive the funds of our people in cash as a per­manent investment in new chapels and other needs for the many promising mis­sion fields, present and future. The offerinK was to be added to the "net worth" of the Church Extension Fund, which means it would l'emain in this fund permanently and be loaned out. The sum set down as a goal by the Board was $300,000, the of­ferings to be gathered in l!J55.

Sometime between this Board decision and the June 1954 District. convention our Synod came forth with full plans for the Synod-wide ''Building for Christ .. o/Iering. The nation-wide goal was $5,000,000. It was to help our war-stricken Christians coming to our shores, build a de;,,coness building in the Middle West. put into op­eration the Mill Ncclc, N. Y .. School for the Deaf under S~·nod's auspices, supply the sorely needed additional buildings at our Watertown, Wis., Home for the Mcm­tally Retarded at Bethesda, and assist our V.:ilparaiso University with ~cvcral new buildings t.o aecommodate the accelerated enrollment on our Luthe1·an campus in In­diana.

The District Board of Dil'cctol'S then referred the matter of these two offerings to the District convention in June 1954 for its final decision. Obviously it would be difficult to have two separate offerings in our District for these two causes, both of which warranted our Juli support. The District convention committee studied the comple,c problem for some hours and fin­ally brought the recnmmPndation to the convention. which was adopted on the floor, that the District Church Extension goal be reduced from S300,000 to $200,000 and that tbe District add another $100,000 to its District goal, which would be ch;,n­ntc>led into Synod's "Building for Christ" drive. The date for this offering was set for March 20, 1955, Synod's date for its "Bu ii ding for Christ" offering.

9

In the lh·st meeting of the Board of Directors following the convention of June 1954, a committee was set up and began to function. Each of our fourteen Visitation circuits was requested to name its commit­tees, which was done. Then the various congregations were contacted. with the suggestion that a local committee be estab­lished to carry out the necessary plans to have a successful offering, which would include a house-to-house canvass for gifts and pledges. The entire year of 1955 was set aside to redPem the pledges, thie books remaining open until De<:ember 31. 1955.

Various articles were printed in the District Supplcm,;nt of th,;, l.,UTHERA~ Wrr­NESS. Lette1·s wC're printed and mailed to our pastors, for distribution in every home in the District, one during the Epiphany season in January 1955. one during the days just prior to Lent in Fe bruary. and the l;,,st letter during Lent. Brnchtll'es were also prepared and sent to every home. Four meetings of the committee were held in Portland. The District Hoard of Direc­tors and the fourteen Visitors of the Dis­trict gave your Committee excellent assist­ance throughout the campaign. Your Com­mittee is also ),(ratef ul for having received the help of ou,· rnany pastors and teachers in our three states and Alaska, for without them lhC' campaign would not have been as successful as it was.

Ai this June 1955 convention, your Committee presented an oral report on the floor of sessions. At this time it is possible to bring our convention a more up-to-date picture of the success of this campaign for a $300.000 offering, That would he impos­sible: in mid-April, when this report was being prepared, since some hundred con­g,·egations have not yet reported, at this date.

May your committe" also remind all our men at the convention that these re­minders may be in order:

a. Pfoa,l' make every effort to follow thr(mi,:h on pledges hy December 31, 1!1:ia.

b. Please tile alI nccebsar.Y n·ports with your Distritt and with Synod's fom• mittcc.

c. Do c\'crything )'OU <·an, und(:r God. to bring ALL rour people into this offer• ing sometime in 19:i5.

d. Comidcr the ad\'isabilit~· of setting aside some festival olkring this {all to improve yonr parish olierini:-.

e. (.'ontinuc to pxay for thl• ~Uf<"CbS of thi~ campaii.;11.

Whether the campaign is less or more than the goal of $300,000. th(, total amount raised will be fairly allocat ed, one third of the moneys raised being sent to St. Louis for the '·Building for Chrisf' offering on the national scale, and two thirds remain­ing in our own District as the permanent assets of the District Church Extension Fund.

Your Committee is aware of the fact that here and there some <:ongrcgation may have committed itself to a local build-

10

inc- ~fTnrt. with rlrfinite con11nitme nts in cash and pledges. In Synod at large. 30°7, of moneys raised in lo,:al congregations is channeled into local building funds. l.3cing realistic, your Committee understands that such circumstances will alter cases and thai we will not be uncharitable purely on the basis of a table of statistics, when this otfering is finaUy completed. W e will leave the campaign itself in the hearts of our g:iod Chrbtian people. We will take it for granted that your love for Jesus and His kingdom will bring all our Christians to make a good offering in this campaign , in the measure of their ability and in the light of local parish circurnst.anccs. How­ever, whether your gift is small or l::u·gc, we do ask you for your prayers. your sin­cere, earnest prayers that the good Lord "will c-~ta.blbb the wud'- u! vv.•· h.-suU~ upvu

us"; and we do ask that you DO take part, and we know that our Savior will bkbs the mite of the widow as well as the larger gift of others.

To our Lord Jesus, the risen Lord and the King, be all ~Jory!

Action: The report was adopted ·with a vote of thanks e.r:ten ded to the cu-chair­men rrnd rnembers of tlie committee, «s wel! as to all other.s on District. circa.it. and ron17rer,atio11al leuds u;ho prayed mid la­lwred and ttre still pra!Jing and. {aborin[J Jor the good succes.~ of 1/te r·ampa iyn. It wn., resolved to inform all congregational "Buildi"!J for Christ'' commit.tees rnncc!rn­h1g tl,e reminders listed in this report and to u.rge them to follow thro1tgh with suit­able action; it was fiirther result,eri that the congregations which for one reason or another hat'e not yet participated in the "Building for Christ" Church E.rtension effort be 1nost earnestly enco11raged. to strive for an early and. conse,·rated cam­paign in their respe<'til'e ureas, motinaterl bv their fope of their bretl,ren and felluw men hi need. motit-ated above al! b11 their !01.'e of Him ' 'who first lm_•ed us anrl ynv e Himself for tu."

BOARD OF SUPPORT AND PENSIONS

Sometimes a great undertakin!'( attains blessed and outstanding success and yet, because it does its work in a quii;t, unas­suming manner, but few know of it and apprcdat_. what has been done. Sud1 is the case, we believe, with Synod's Board of Support and Pensions - or shal I we say, "Synod's Service of Love.'' Sµeakin la( last February in St. Louis to the District Chairmen of the Board, Mr. Geo. A. Hug­gins of Philadelphia, Actuary Consultant for practicaUy all Protestant P ension agencies, said, "There is no record of any paralle l of your Synod's liberality." We sincerely believe that our Synod is offering the very best in the pension field and we believe, too, that all eligible in our midst should avail themselves of the services it offers.

In 1954 in our Northwest District $14.194.25 was paid out as follows:

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

5 Old Age Beneficiaries 1 Disability Pensioner 8 Widows' Pensions 1 Annuities Only 2 Support Cases. Widows

17 Total

We are happy to report. that those in our District who are members of the Pen­sion Family arc viewing Social Security in its proper light - not as a snllstitute for Pe1,sio1, Pla.n, b11t as something to be used in <1ddi.tion to the Pension Plan. if the worker so desires and is able to do so.

We take this opportunity to ask the delegates to this convention to carry home with them the information to the treasur­ers of their congregations that. they will heh, the St. Louis office much if th,-,y will make their payments to the fund on time and also supply al I thu information askecl for on the r emittance slip.

Eighty-six per cent of the workers in our Northwest District participate in the Pension Pl,m. This is 1 ¼~ per cent below the synodical average. Ninety-five per cent of our congre~ations in the North­west Distl"iet arc members. This is 2 per cent above Synod's average.

Inasmuch as Synod in 1953 decided (see p. 672, Resolution 6) "that workers in Synod who are not participating 1m,mhers of Synod's Pension Plan forfe it all claims to Support benefits." we plead with those in our 1nidst who arc not yet members to make every effort to join.

Action: The report was adopted with the following re.solutions:

Reso!ved. That all conaregtltions and µastors as well as other eligible irorkers who c,re not yet p,,rticipating in. S11nori' .~ Pen.sion Plan l,e earnestly encmn aged, or encouraged agai.n , lo become par t i.cipating members and that they bea.r in mind a resolution adopted by Synod in 1953 uJhich states "that workers in Synod who are not participating m<'m b e 1·.s of Synod's Pellsion Plan forfeit all claims to S'llppo'rt benefits'' ; and be it fu,-ther

Resolved, Tliat al! treasnrers remitting 1,aymenls tr) Sy,wd's Pension Fund be re­minded. in the interests of a.I! concerned, to make snch pamnents on or be/ore tlw date they cire dii e and also to supply all imfonnat-ion requested nn the remittance forms; an d be it fim,Uy

Re.~olv ed, That, since Social Security is now av ailable to the clergy, and i nasmuch as mauy w ill wish to avail themselves of its benefits, or have done so. they be strongly 11rgi,d not to abandon Synod's Pension Plm1. in favor of Socia! Security, but to regard the !titter. and to i,se it if they so wish and l'an afford it, as a sup­plement to the former.

D.EP AR,Ti\'IENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Shortly after appoin tment by the Board of Directors, the members of the Depal't­rnent met to organize. It was felt, how­ev er, that two additional members wer e

needed to promote the more specialized fields of civil defense and social welfare, and the Board subsequently appointed these. The department then arranged it,.. ::wlf as follows: Pastor Edward May, chairman; Mrs. Earl Muck:, secretary; Pas­tor Carl Nitz, archivist (again assisted by Mrs. Frieda Froemke ancl Mrs. Bernett ' Heils): Pastor A. J. Bueltmann. periodical secretary: Mr. George Nickles. radio sec­retary; Mr. Erwin Dobberfuhl. newspaper secretary; Pastor Donald Larsen. civil de- ' fense secretary; Mr. Robert Lillie, social problems secrdary; and Pastor Amos Schmidt. adviser. Later Mr. Dobbe rfuhl found it necessary to resign. Dr. Eugene Wengert again consented to serve as legis­lative consultant, and Mr. Carl Downing as radio consultant.

i\ t tlic.- initiol n1.cct,ing it Wi;li3 dcc..:ideJ. to ....._

issue a bulletin period_ically, the same to contain sample press releases and to offer seasonal suggestions and other pertinent information by the department secretaries. Three such bulletins were sent throughout the Dis trict, directly to congregational rep­r esentatives where we had the names and addresses. One hundred ten pastors sent reply cards to our letters asking for these names.

In October, Pastor May was one of the six D. P.R. men nationally called to Oma-ha for a two-day institute. whereupon he was assigned to meet with tbe Southern California District and the California and ...._ Nevada District for an intensive one-day "briefing" with their rcsµective depart­ments. Pastor Robert Menzel of California was sent to Portland for a one-day meet.­in-"', and 16 circuit representatives and de­pa-rtmcnt members were able to attend. The purpose of this meeting of February 14 was to inform circuit representatives of their responsibilities in the field of parish relations and to equip them to meet these responsi bi Ii ties.

Besides reviewing parish. circuit. and District duties at the aforementioneJ meeting, papers were presented hy the re­spective secretaries on social probk·ms and civil defense. Mr. Lillie's opetiing remarks were: "Christian social action is the effort of the church to extend the rule of Christ as Savior and Lord in the allairs of men and nations. . . . Wherever a wrong or a need exists. Christians are confronted with an obligation to do what they can to right the wrong or to meet the need." Pastor Larsen stated: "Every communit.y is in­volvcJ in civil defense, whether it lik<'s it or not.'' He stressed in particular the need for the clergy to registe r with their local board.

At thjs time the following arc serving as circuit r epresentatives: Pastors Paul Frank, Joseph Frenz, Ric:hard Graef, Don­ald Larsen, Edward May, Benjamin Schuldhcisz. Jolm Sternberg, Herbert Strcufert, Edwin Wiebe! ; Teachers Merlin Pohl and Merel Radke; Messrs. Arthur Newman and Edwin Sahnow.

The Department sends letters of wel­come ta all pastors and missionaries com­ing into the District, and furnishes them

with pef1lonnel records to be sent, with a picture, to the editor of the District Edi­tion of tl!e LUTMERAN WJTNESS. Thereaft<'t' the rC'cords are filed in the iltChiV<'S.

The work of th;,, entire dPpartn1e11t w>1s surnmarized by Postor Amos A. Schmidt in his sel'monc-t Rt the institute-; ''We are not merely b get news, to put up a hont, bnt our underlying purpose and chief aim is p,imarily to bring to men the mes;;age of peacP. through Christ.''

Action: The r.-port was adopted ll'ith. a <'t1mmendation of the committee for its activities during the pa.st uear; all mn~re­gt1tions and JJ(lston of the Di.rtrirt were urged to <·a-operate u·ith the department.

CHURCH ARCffiTEC'l'URE CO MMIT'fEE

During tl,e past y"ar. June 195-1 to June 1955, tlw Committee on Church Architec­ture has continued to function in .kePping with the rc_gulations set up for it by the Northwest Di,:triet. Its purpose has been to l'"'t'#'-n-.o,t,· a:1.>Hn..-l c-on

7•:truction n.ncl

churchly architecture in ket•pin~ with a con~regation's needs and il« fin:.ncial lim­it>1thns. Sinc,e Di,-trid or Synod's fund:; an: u~ually invoh'crl, the committee ha~ abo wr,rketl to 1>n11note synod1c,il interests.

By virtue of the complex1on of the Northwe&t Dfatrid the committee has had its g-reot,•st ac!ivity in assisting subsidized con;:rei.:ations in L'rt·cting chapels with District Church Extension moneys. Con­µn:gatinns ~o nssii,t.-d or still hcing assistt:,d an: Oracc. Port Townsend, Wash.; Good Shq>herd. B01st•. Idaho: St. Luke, Oak­rid~<>. Orc_g.; Faitl1. ThL· Dal!c•s, On,~.: Mt>ssial1, Prosser, Wash,; South Hill Mis­~ion, Spokane, Wash.; Our Savior, Dingen­Wh1tf' Salmon, Wash.; Holy Sacranwnts. Porth,nd. Orei;.: Conco1·di>1. Pullman., Wash.: Grnce. Moses Lake. Wash.; Mis,,ion, Edmonds. Wash,; Soutlwa~t Mission, Purt­iand. Ore~.: Trinity, Cotfagl' Grove, Oreg. Pa1:;onag,, pbns for McMicken Ht~., Sclit­tlc, W"sh.; South Hill Mission. Spok.inc, Wash.: >1nd Ephrata Mission, Ephrata, Wash., also hrw" been c>r are bein~ pro­cc-ssed. Sunw $300.000 to $350,000 in moneys h;,s lwen 1nv0Jv.,..d in thesP projects. Three &t•lt-supportin~ congret;ations have con­su!ttad the An:hitect\Jre Commitke rdative to th,;ir loc::il church planning.

Memb<:>t·ship of the An:hitecturc Com­mittee has not 1:hanget! sin,:e the !.,st con­vention, sincl• the n<"W District Doard a~kl'd tl,e undcr~igned to continue to serve during the triennium. Committe,, met'tings kw,· usuallv been held on Mond,w eve­nings 1mrm:diately befon· TuPsday District BoArd mcetinis.

At tliis time the Committee on Archi­tecture wishes t-J note with. favor th.c wcognition on the part o! mun, and more con)!rcgation~ in the District that compe­tent an:hite\-tual help is vitnl to goorl ,·hurd1 buildm;:. Too, the committee wishes to exp1·e~s its illJPtPcintion to those congre­gations th:it s ... nt pcl'sonal delegations to the committee's rnec·tings. Much corre­sponcll'Tll'C' was ;aliminakd. matters were '-'Xpedited; proj.-cts moved ahead fost.,r.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

Otlwr buildinl( committees are urg<.od 1o do likewise in the future.

Two rcquesb which the rommittec would like to nrnki· are that more cone:re­galions whose plan.,;; lrnve been g,v,m final npprova! ket•p tl,e Architecture Cornrniltcc• fully inlormed by mail or otherwise as c-on~truction pro~rPs~es ancl is complt-t,•d. Tl,ose conl(r,·gntions that have Jone tbb are ,·ommcncled. The othc•r request is that co11gregations whose building projects are cornplete.1 supply th.- committee with photoj:l.tnphs. dedication booklets, and sim­ila1· matPrials of value for the committee's fllPS.

Membe,s of tile committe,· consider their work a n,al challenge iI1sofor as the Lord i,; so I'ichly ble~~ing the Dis tric·t's outreach for Him. thus calling for the ereetjo11 ot so many new chapels. and also iusofor as hi~h buildin(! and l.ibor co,;ts ruuplcd with limited funds havL made ior a unique building situation.

Artiun: The mport was adopted with a rero111memlntion thm congregations of the Ui..sfrit•l 1u"utl Ou:m.~l:'l u~s uf OH." l".rperl ...

ence "f tl,e committee at1d co-operate u-ith the com111itt<>e to the fullest e:rtent.

CONCORDlA COLl,EGE The past year has been an epoeh"l one

in the history of our Portl.ind Conco1dia. During thi~ year Concordia ob.,ervC'd its fiftieth ;,inniversary with a seril-s oI special events, b,·ginning with a corn·ocation on February l.'i anrl i:ulminatln..: m a jubilel' SPrvicP. which was held on tlw first eve­nin)! of the current District <.'.onvention. We ar" thankful to God that He has su!'­tain"'d ,md prospered Concordia during its hnlf ecntmy of ~Nvke and that Ht· has tnadc it an increa,aini:(ly di1>ctive .gency in tr:iining work,•r~ for His kin~dom.

During the past year, moreover. co­etlu, ational tcac.:hc1· tramm)! was intro­duc(•d into Concordia's Co!le).!e <lep«rt­mc,nt. Thi~ program. whiC'h was initiated in order to !,elr, reli,;•ve the ct·iti,·al ~hort-0l(e of women t .. aclwr~ "''ithin Synod, has enjoyed a very fa,·urablt> response. Six­teen girls were enrolled in the first y,•ar's \(rour, and (bb numbPr will likely be doubled tl1is fall. with the .J<ldition o( a ~econd class ot girls.

After the• dislocations cau~ed hy the Portlnnd Experiment -- whidi ir1volvec:I the dropping oi the Freshman high school year - the cnl'ollment showed an increase fost year. tmrl this upward trend ls expt,cted to continu<'.

The completion of Guild Hall , the new commons buildin!,!. has contributed ~rt·atly to the <•x pansion and ellectiveness of our campus program. The only remaining need >1t ti,e present tim" in our campus hu,l<ling p1·ogram is for a girls' dormitory. We !,ope that this nlHY bt1 included in tl1e next Synod-wide building project.

Additions to tile (>1culty durin~ th.e p,u,t yc;,r included Miss 1.-,b H.,mclorf, df:an of girls: Mr. Paul Thielo, dormitory counselor: anci Prof. Richard Reinisch, who suc<·eed<·d Prof. Walter G. Doss when the latkr ac­cepted a call into the pi!rish ministry.

11

We arc 11ratcful to the Board of Control for the dili~ent anci consecrntcd service­which these men have 1·endered in behalf of Concordia. Prcs .. nt members of the Board include: Mr. G .. orge Udy. chairman: tlie Hev. Edward C. May. ~e<·r1etai·y ; Dis­trict Pr.,sidcnt Carl H. Benscne; Mr. Hich­arci Brandon, vke-chairman; and .!\lr. Gor­don Jon.-s. Mr. Edw>1rd Mi;i,>r servC's as hcasurn of the colle1'e,

It is significant to not<• that sonw 80 pet· cent of Concordia's total student body-• and 100 per cent of the ~tudents on the college !eve I - are pre pa rin~ for the pro­f ess1onal service of the, c·hurd1. It is there­fore dear that Concordia is fulfHling its primal'y objective as ll training ~chool of the church.

W,, bcsµeak the continued vrayers, in­terest. and ~upport of t.ht: congregations of th<> Northwest Di~trict ~s Concordia em­barks UJ.lon it~ second half century in the Lord's service.

Action; The report wa.t1 adopted with a comniendation of tltc admi1ti,'l'tralion of rJle cullege f= tt~ ll'mll-rslllp wil/1 vislOn.

GUU,S' DOUIUITORY AT PORTLA .. ~D CONCORDIA The following report and rewlutions

were adopted:

WllEl\£AS, TIie Board for Higher Ed.uca­tio11 ltas grant('d permission jor co-ed1tca­tio11 at Concordia. Portla11d. on the college leuel for profe.~sional ;curlcers; and

WHF.BE>\S, The blessin!Js of God hat>e bee,. el'ident. after th,s de<'i.sion, u.•ith an e"­r1Jl111umt of 16 girl$ the first uear and an autidp(1ted enrol/111ent of 30 girfa begin­ning i11 S,•rte,nber, 1955; and

Wm;R.MS, Huu.si.ng the co-ed po1mlatio1t at Cu>1cordia ha..• bet•ome a1, emeryrtH''!J me,1sur<' d11e to .~tringen~ enforcement of Portland'.~ fire code, uihich has resulted in r·on.deurnotio,i of ti,,. •'Amt<' r-·• a~ a i,111lti-1'le housi1t9 unit; and

WHEREAS, The Jumsi11g of sWde11ts off the ca111p11s would b,, impractical; and

W1n:REIIS, Goo<l -ie•t'aTd81tip rlemands lhat 11wnc11 1,e 1n.l'P~ted in JIE"rfflttnent de­VPlupnw11t ratheT titan i11 repairing nged <1nd inurlPq,tat" jacihiies, whid1. at best 1,-nu!,J '""'" orilu 2 11ears; and

Wirn . .liBAS. Th<' Doard for H,9/ier Educa­tion lws imlicllted that it ici/1 <lo o!I it1 its power to procure M!JtlOdi, al ftrnd~ 10 be matched by the District funds; therefore bC' it

Re.•oh'r•d. That tl<is cmil'<mtion auihur­i~e the ra,si1i9 of S5U,UOO toward the con­strll<'IIO>< of the girls' dormitory: a-nd Le it f11rthn

Reso/11pd, That tlte Hoard uf Di,·ectors of our Dist net h1ifo1te the solid ta.timi of Junds from individ1111ls ll1'1d <.'rmgr1?ga1io11.~.

J)JS'fRlCT HANDBOOK SURYEV COt\fMITTEE

In llCCord with Overture 13 of 1he last Disti·id convention. the Boord of Direc~ tor~ appointe<l the undersigned "to con-

12

sider the po!l.sibility of compiling a District Handbook, and, if 1·cndering a favorable report, to sug~est RUidelines for ~uch com­pilation."

A survey questionnaire was addressed to all Distl"it-t Presidents in Synod. About one fifth of the Districts have compiled and published handbooks: a number o[ tho:m have a limited amount of mimt•o~raphed ~uiddines. All District Presidents were un:mimous in the opinion that such a handbook is needcd.

Your Committee g:av1c Home i<tudy to a nurnb~·r of handbook~ now in use in our District~. It also reviewed the many areas of work in our own District in which readily available rcg:ulative,; would 1lE' hdpf\il for better ndministration and ac­complishment.

Such a handbook. to be ui;eful in our District, might contain the following: I. Articles of ineorporation of Northwest

District ,md supplC'ments thereto.

2. Synodical rcf,(ulationi. i.:ove,·n in~ Dis­tricts and bylaw:, of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod P"rt:-tinin~ thereto.

3. Regulatives for thC' Board of Directon; of the Northwest District.

4. Outline o[ duties and authority of; a. Mission Committei, b. Stewnrdship and Finance Committ<.'t' c. Trustel:s and Church Exten~ion

Committee d. Parish Education Committe(.• e. Young People's Committee f, Editor of the District LurnERA:l

W1TNP.Ss Supplement

5. Gencn,t guidelines for mission congre­gations and sub~idizcd workPrs.

ll. Regulations governing th.., District Fis­cal Conference.

7. Committee appointments by Boar<.! of Directors and/or President. a. Public Relations b. Archih,ctural c. Archivist. etc.

8. Guidelines for full-time District work­ers.

9. Election procedure at Di8trict conven­tions.

10. Regulations >(overning Vi~ito1·s and circuit.s.

11. Rel(ulations govc-rning pastoral an<l teachers' conferenc<.•s.

12. Regulations go11l!rnini,: District-spon­sored conventions, institute.s, rallie~. de.

13. Representation at general synodical convt-ntions.

Your Committee recoinmend~:

1. That the Northwest Di~trict anthorizc the cornpilation and publication of a Diistrict Handbook.

2. That the District Doard of Din•ctors be instructed to appoint a standing hand­book committee, whose duty it i;hall be: a. To compile the matcri&ls necessary

to initiate the project. b. To receive sul'(gestcd change~ iu reg-

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

ulations from the various officers nnd boards in the District.

c. To introduct: to future District con­ventions such needed change~ iu regulations anu to maintain a hand­book that is up to date.

3. That present full-time workers and members of tht- various boar<ls and committees in the District draw up an outline of Jutie~. responsibilities, an<l authoritie~ as they now understand them, as sug,:estions for the handbook committee.

4. That the handbook committee freely avail itself o[ the best in oq:~un,z.ation deriv..,d fron1 handbook~ of oth..,r Di~­tricts «nd suggest such changes in ~ur organization and administration as it d1.:ems advisable, ~-itb the idea that these chan~es he pointed out and acted on .separately where ndvi;,ab]e, at the next District couvention.

5. That the handbook <·onm1itlee, while compiling the regulahoru;. report regu­larly to the District Boaru of DirPctors and consult with it in nrntters that nrny m:e<l darification.

6. That the materiali< and rl:'gulalions to be contained in this handbook be sub­mitted to a future Distl'iC't convention before publication.

Action: The recommendatio,is oJ the rommittee were adopted with an e.rpres­sion of tho,ilcs to the c:,m~mittee for the de­tailed exec-tJtion oi its assignment.

Establishment of West Coast Seminary

Jn response to overtures fron1 the In­hmcl Empire Pastoral Confcn,nec and th.., faculties of Concordia College, Oakland, and Conco!'dia College, Portland, lt was RESOLVl!:D il,at 1oe urge the ,-espectit•e Boa.-ds of Director.~ of 11,e Nortl11t•est Dis­rric-t. the Ca.Hfomia-Netia<la Di.ftrict. a11d rltP So1ttl,en1 California Distri<·t to recom­mend to the Buartl for Higher Edut'atian that early 11tten1it,,1 be gh•en to the pro­posal to eHtal,lish a. theological -~emi11ar11 011 tlw West Coast: and it wus FURTHER RESOLVED that -u:e nfjer to the Do<trd for Highe>· Ed11cotion c•t?ery possible assistaHce in carryinp out thi.~ study.

District Elections

In order to try to improve (at least on a trial basis) the pmcedures to be followed in the nomination and election of the Distdct Presid"nt and the Vicc­Presidcnt. the following re~oh1tiuns were 11dopted:

1. That the District rescind the 1954 <·o>< v£>11tion resul,,tion c-nncerning District ,,lectiom, anti «stablish the fnllo111ing pro­t·etl u re for th,, election year of 195i for the election of a, President and a Vice­Pre.sident:

2. That the Distl'ict Nomiuations Corn­uti ttc<" iti the election year rail for ,iomina­lio,11< fronr the congregations of the District for the o/Jice of P.-e . .,-ident a11d Vke-Pres-

ident: these 11omina.tio>18 to be made by March 1;

3. That the Nominations Comrnirtee eo1npile a slate of 111! nominees proposed by th,, ccmyr<>gations with their q11alifira­tio11~ ( ar,e, year of ordination, ltmytl1 of service in the Di.strict, experience in .seri,~ ice, etc. ):

-I. That the slate of 11mninee.• ,dth the;r l)tta!ifications be i1tclrtded in th" District Con1,enti<m Handbook for tJw. infnrmation nf the delegates;

5. Thut from the 1mblithed slate of nominees proposed l,v the congregations no fewer than {i1•e b,1 du)sen in a p>"imaq, 1,allot os candidates for tl>e office of Pres­ident;

6. That aJter the election of the Pres­tde>it, c·,mdidates for the ofji,ce of Vice­Pn•side1>t be chos!'n by a further primary /,allot from the remaini1111 11omi11ees pro­po.sed by the congregations ( candidates for cite offic,, of President): the electinn ballot sl,al.l contain three tinte., as many names ns there are Vice-Pre.sidents to be elected.

7. That the baltotirtg procer/ure for the clrctimi of Vice•Pr<'sid<>nrs and tht>ir ro.nk­iH!) b,i the proc.,d1,re defil?t!d in the Sy,1 -odical II,mdbook 2.137;

8. Tl,at in the el1ent the u.mgregations of tl,e Diatrict fuH to nominate at least three times the 111nnb{'r of officer:; to be selected, the Di~·trict No111i11t1tio11~ Cum-111ittee :;/ml! be aut/wri:ecl to nomhtate at lea,,t as m1111y a.~ m.ay he required to bring the totu1 noniillations up to the minimum.

James P. Mail'r Matter The follouiing resoltnio11s 11.•ere adopted:

RF:SOLV.E.'D, That tne com•e111iorr grant the request of Pastors WamPck au<I Brackma11n aHd ProfPs:<or Brandt (who since 1945 hart> sert·ed as tl,e Di.~trict Committee) ond "rPl<'a11e them of fnrtlter responsibility i,i tlte matter."

RESOLVED, That Pnstm- J. P. Maier he gi,:en 1m opport,mit!I to present his docrri11al position to tl,e Visitor~ of the Northu-e.~t Districl {e;1•r-l11si1.1e of Pastor lVarnef'k, who senied on the fonne,· 194/i Distrkt com mittPe: also e.rchr.ske of Pas­tor W·m. B. Maier. 1d10 is 11 hrMher of tl1 e purq, (•once med), wl,o are lte,-einid, a11thorized to hold specinl meetings for rlwt p111·po~e in. tile immediate J11ture, <Hid ti.al the Visirors imnH.>diately ofter their sessio11s with PusCor Maie.- .-eport their finrlin!J.f to rite President of 01,r Distril-t for any immediote action. and thot tlw Visitor& bri11g tm equally full report to o"r 1957 convention for final di.,position of the cnse.

(To be contim.1ed)

NOTICE The Eclitor•~ new addresti is:

Ur. E. A. Maler 613 ~- 92<1

'facuma H, W1Mh.

T~~ WITNESS

Published in two Part 2

VoL LXXIII

NORTHWEST lt DIS T RIC T

EDITION ST. LOUIS, MO., SEPTfu'\IDER H, 1954 No.19

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NORTHWEST DISTRICT CON VENTION

Beyer, T. E. Dorpat, Victor L. Meyer. and A. Eichmann, who have scrve<l for thirty­five years; Pastors Harry H. Young, Theo. Brackmann. John C. Westendorf, R. A. Tschirley, and 0. Blcssin for thirty years; and Pastors C. J. Krueger, H. Wameck, 0. J. Wendling, Edward H. Lntz, G. W. Mathiasen, and J. Meissinger, who have served for twenty-five years.

CONCORDIA COLLEGE I Continued from August 31 Jssue)

In the two years that have elapsed since the last report to the Northwest District, there have been significant developments at Concordia. This has been a period of continued activity in the building program, so that Concordia now enjoys a complete and modern complex of buildings.

The "Conquest for Christ" ollering made possible the erection o{ the new commons building, Guild Hall, dedicated on May 30 of this year, and the completion of the chapel-library wing of Luther Hall. Synod also authorized a new president's residence through an appropriation from the synodical Building and Loan Fund.

Concordia has reached another mile­stonl! with the introduction of coeduca­tional training on the college level. Young women will be enrollecl for the first time in the fall of this year.

The ''Portland experiment," which has involved the dropping of the freshman high school year, has brought special problems in the area of recruitment The ensuing efforts in the area of public rela­tions have, we feel, brou~ht Concordia's program to the attention of more people in our District than ever before.

We wish gratefully to acknowledge the continued loyal and generous support of

• the Concordia Guild, the Lutheran Edu­cation Society, and the Alumni Associa­tion. We have also been greatly heartened by the sympathetic and constructive atti­tude of our pastors and teachers, whose co-operation is so impot·tant in the realiza­tion of Concordia's objectives.

We solicit the continuecl prayers of all the members of the Northwest District clergy and laity alike, as Concordia strive~ to render ever more effective service to the Church and to the Church's Lord.

THOMAS COATES, President

MISCELLANEA It was resolved that the topic of the

essay for the District convention in 1955 be: ''The Proper Relationship Between Pastor and Congregation," by the Rev. A. W. Schelp; alternate topic: 'The Church Meeting the Social Problems of Our Age (a. Juvenile Delinquency; b. Race Rela­tions: c. Labor RE"lations) ," by Professor Walter Wolbrecht.

A letter of welcome from Mr. Fred L. Peterson, mayor of the city of Portland., was read to the convention.

Since a change was necessary in the constitution of Holy Sacraments Congre­gation of Portland, as recommended by our Committee on Constitutions, it was resolved that the request of the congre­gation for membership in Synod be tabled until the constitution be changed to com­ply with synodical regulations.

The revisions in the constitutions of the following congregations have been ex­amined and approved: Memorial, Bremer­ton, Wash.; Zion, Portland; Hope, Seattle; Clover, Trinity, Buhl, Idaho; St. John's, Buhl, Idaho; Mount Olive, Shelton, Wash.; and St. John's, Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Mr. Al. Eilers of Seattle addressed the convention briefly in hehalf of the work of the Lutheran Laymen's League.

An interesting pantomime and tableaux depicting the various phases of the com­plete program of Christian education and how it functions was presented by the District Board of Parish Education.

The Lutheran Education Society, which has as its chief objective the support of ou1· Portland Concordia held its annnal dinner meeting and election on Monday evening. Mr. G. C. Hilken was re-elected as president of the organization.

The following were elected as dele­gates to the convention of the Synodical Conference scheduled to meet in Detroit, Mich., August 10-13, 1954: Pastors Theo. Brackmann, Theo. Dorpat, A. W. Schelp, and E. W. Hinrichs, with Mr. Paul Neils as first alternate and Pastor N. E. Dey as second alternate.

In a special service the Rev. Hugo Gurney of Grants Pass, Oreg., o/Tcred felicitations to twenty-seven jubilarians, namely, Teachers M. C. Kosche and Rich­ard Kuhnau, who have been privileged to serve for fifty year,, as teachers in the Christian day school, to Teacher Arthur Buescher. who has served for forty years; to Teachers E. H. Knittel and 0. Schnee­wind. who have served for twenty-five years; to Pastor H. Tyler, who has been privileged to serve for fifty-five yea1·s in the ministry; to Pastors Hy. C. Schulze, P. H. Schaus, H. A. Kahle. Joseph Frenz, and Martin A. Russert, who have served for forty years; Pastors K. J. Durdcl, J.

Pastor Paul Schnlze addressed the con­vention briefly in behalf of the Americim Lutheran Publicity Bnreau.

In the presence of the assembled con­vention, President Carl Bcnsene offered congratulations to Dr. F. W. J. Sylwester, professor emeritus of our Concordia Col­lege. Portland, npon receiving the Doctor of Divinity degree from Concordia Semi­nary, St. Louis.

It was resolved to reqnest Dr. Harms, synodical representative, to encourage the Board of Directors of Synod to continue to make efforts so that Pension funds may be made available as loans to the Church Extension treasnry.

In reply to a request that the District review its proceedings in thP case of James P. Maier, it was resolved that the con­vention docs not recommend a review of the proceedings o{ the District in the case of James P. Maier at this time, but re­minds him of the an•nucs open to ~ettle his case in a God-pleasing manner.

It was resolved that the President of the District appoint a committee to invest­J!(ate the possibilities of formulating an insurance plan whereby our synodl(.•.il congregations might set up an arrange­ment to insure their own church proper­ties; and that this committee report its findings to the next convention.

In response to the request that our Dis­trict co-operate with the California Dis­tricl-; in the publication of a ccntt•nnial volume on the founding of Lutheranism on the Pacific Coast, it was resolved, that we do not discourage the California D1~­tricts from proceeding with such a project, but feel that we are unable to join in the publication of such a historv under the plan submitted. ·

A special recommendation calling for a re-evaluation of all bud~et items for our Fiscal Conference was referred to the Fiscal Conference for further study, wllh the stipulation that they report their findings to the next convention.

It was resolved that the Northwt~t District recognize with gratitude the serv­ices of all who have served so faithfully

on the Board of Directors; particularly, of Mr. George N ickles, who served for twelve years on the Board of Directors and previously for many years on the Board of Christian Education; and that we hereby assure them of our prayers for continued blessings in their efforts toward the furtherance of the Savior's cause.

The newly elected officers of the Dis­trict and the Visitors were install~-d into office in a <.-eremony conducted by the Rev. R. G. Messerli of Oregon City.

The reports of the committees ap­pointed to examine the minutes of the re­spective pastors' and teachers' conferences were adopted.

The audit of the books of the respectiv(' treasurers of the District, the Mission Committee, Church Extension, and of the Mileage Secretary !ihowed these records to be in order.

The recommendation from the Visitors' Conference that the date of the Northwest District convention remain as is, was adopted.

Iu order to encourage the Family Altar, it was resolved that our congregations be urged to make special efforts to have each of their families supplied with appropriate devotional aids through any method suita­ble to their local circumstances.

The request of Bethany Lutheran Church of Port Orchard, Wash.. for a transfer from Circuit No. 13 to Circuit No. 14 was tabled because of the pastoral vacancy.

The request of Grace Congregation, Port Townsend, Wash., for a transfer from Circuit No. 13 to Circuit No. 12 was granted.

It was resolved to extend an appropriate vote of thanks to Concordia College, to St. Michael's Congregation, to the congre­gations of the Portland area and to all who helped make the convention a success.

These proceedings of the thirty-seventh convention of the N01·thwest District were prepared by the District Secretary, Pastor Victor A. Schulze.

CONCORDIA DAY COMING The 17th annual Concordia Day to be

held at Concordia College in Portland on September 29 will follow a theme in keep­ing with Concordia's anniversary year. The theme is "Fifty Years for Christ." The Concordia Guild, which sponsors the event. usually assembles in numbers approximately 350 on this day. The day is spent in inspirational, informative, and business meetings with a festive lunch at noon. The Guild endorses and supports projects contributing to the good of Con­cordia which are not supplic<l by other funds. Funds for these projects are sent in by ladhis' groups throughout the Dis­trict and are gathered also on Coucordia Day. Projects completed in recent years include: the purchase of a master clock system, automatic washers for student use. chairs for classrooms and dining room and auditorium. choir gowns, a contribution

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

toward the office secretary's salary, land­scaping, a student manual arts room. equipment for dark room, drapes for stage. office equipment, athletic fund contribu­tion, typewriters, mimeograph, bleachers, gym fund, piano, sewing machine, and equipment for new infirmary and lounge. Other annual projects include a banquet for the gr:idu ating class.

The Guild Board asks that suggestions for projects for the coming year be sent to the secretary, Mrs. Paul Nolan. 234 N. E. South Shore Rd., Portland 11, Oreg., by September 15. Projects not submittc<l to the Prnjects Committee in advance of meeting date will not be considered in the sessions this year. Inquiries of any nature concerning the Guild or Concordia Day may be addressed to the Guild president, Mrs. Richard Moeller, Cornelius, Oreg. Please be sure to mark all Concordia Guild contributions which are sent to Concordia ColleP,e.

CALLS Call, Accepted: Pastor A. T. Lewis,

Hope, Tonasket, Wash., to Bethany, Port Orchard, Wash.; Pastor G. W. Mathiason , Trinity, Sh eridan, Oreg., to the Toledo­Newport (Oreg.) parish.

Call Declined: Pastor Benj. W. Schuld­heisz, Zion, Scheffiin, Oreg., to Grass Valley-Chicago Park, Calif.

Call-; Rtteived : Pastor Martin Yauk, St. John's, Seward, Nebr .. to Zion, Grand Coulee, Wash.; Pastor C. J. Krueger, Trinity, Grangeville. Idaho, to Hope, Tonasket, Wash.: Pastor Lester E. Muhly, Calvary, Aberdeen. Wash., to Grass Valley-Chicago Park, Calif.

RALLY PLANNED The annual Lutheran Hour rally, spon­

sored by the Columbia Zone o( the Lutheran Laymen's League, will be held on Sunday. September 26, at the Benson Auditorium, Portland, Oreg. T he Rev. Robert F. Gussick, missionary in Guate­mala, Central America, will be the rally speaker.

SYNOD GROUPS SPONSOR ROAD MARKER CONTEST A $150 cash award is the first prize in

a contest now being conducted by the Walther League and Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, to secure a new design for the Lutheran church road markers that are being used extensively through­out the country.

The contest was prompted by frequent requests for a new an<l distinctive marker that can be read easily by passing motorists.

In addition to the $150 first prize. a second prize of $50 and three $10 awards will be offered for the best entries.

Here are the rules: 1. Submit sketch on an 8 1~ Xll-inch

sheet. 2. Indicate color combinations, size, and

shape. The words "Lutheran Church" must be displayed prominently.

3. Include method of erecting the 5ign. 4. Allow space for the Jocal imprint. 5. Mail entries to: ~

Concordia Publishing House Ecclesiastical Al'ts Dcpartmcnt 3558 S. Jefferson Ave. St. Louis 18, Mo.

6. Entries must be postmarked no later than midnight, October 31.

7. All entries become the property of Concordia Publishing House.

8. The decision of the judges will be final.

:MISSION ADVANCE The Bench Miss1ou. Boise, Idaho. broke

ground for its new chapel on June 24. The building is being built by volunteer labor and should be in use by September.

Pastor Mervin Kellermann of the Bench Mission, is also serving the McCall. Idaho, area. Services nre held the seQond and fourth Fridays of the month. For the past two years this field was served by Vicar Martin K aijia.

At the first service of the Mission in Pasco, Wash., on August 1. 47 we1·e in attendance. The Sunday school was begun on August 8.

On July 11, Pastor Charles A. Reichert baptized six adults and six children at the Northwest Mission in Spokane, Wash. Four generations were represented in this group. At the same service a total of 2:l adults including nine from the adult mem­bership class were received into membcr­shiµ. This was the first group to be re­ceived since the opening of the mission on April 4. The average attendance at worship services has been 37. The Sunday school enrollment is 75.

Ten children were baptized at Myrtle Point, Oreg., at a service in June. Pastor Heins states that this is µrohably the largest number of children ever baptized ,1t one time in this <.-ongregation.

CORRECTlON Your editor made a ''hoo-boo" in the

August 17 issue. In connection with a re­port of a child being ooptized with water from the Jordan River, he wrote, "the word of God and faith make a Baptism." This is incorrect, of course, and you!:' edi­tor knows better. Away back in Winfield days he wrote in his interleaved cate­chism: "Augustinus dixit: Accc<lat verbum ad elemcntum ct fit sacramentum." which. £reely translated. i~: "Au,l.fustiue says. 'When the word is joined to the clement or natural substance, it becomes a sacra­ment.'" (See "Baptism" in Luthei's Large Catechism.) What your editor had in mind was the catechism question "How can water do such great things?" and jt;;

answer, "It is not the water ... but the word of God which is in and with the w,1ter, and faith. which trusts such word oC God in the water,'' etc.

Send news Items nnd ·bulletin~ tn Rev. J\ J. Bucltmann, 1':ditor. ;,10!1 S. Lawrence St .. Tacoma, Wash. Send ~haures ot add:r-ess and ,ubscriptions to Lutheran District Office, 28ll N. E. Holman, Porilar,d 11 , Ottg.