# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S970
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

‘ MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS 389

Government. Relations

The times in which we live are fraught with much danger
to the Church, It is of the utmost importance that the Church
keep in touch with what is happening in the State.

Here again the Lord has opened doors to our Church which
have turned out to the advantage of the preaching of the Gospel.
Soon after the organization of the Office of Civilian Defense the
executive director of our Council was asked to serve in an ad-
‘ visory capacity on the OCD. In this capacity many opportunities
presented themselves to bear witness to a keener line of demarca-

_ tion between Church and State. We were suc-
Christian cessful in keeping every meeting which we at-
Citizenship _ tended a purely civic meeting. We were further-
more instrumental in bringing about a policy on
the part of the housing directors in large defense areas which
would give all church bodies the same rights and privileges in
the use of existing Government facilities in those communities,
We believe that many Government officials today have a clearer
understanding of why we Lutherans cannot and will not join
hands with the Federal Council of Churches. At one of these
meetings where this was discussed in detail and we insisted on
the right to close Communion because it was a matter of con-
science with us, and where we were vehemently opposed by
some members of other protestant bodies, a Government official
closed the discussion with the words “That’s one of the things
we are fighting for” — that is, the right to worship God according
to the dictates of our conscience.

The secretary of our Council, at the invitation of the Gov-
ernment, is also an advisory member of the United Nations
Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, the Government Youth
Committee of the OCD, and the General Religious Advisory
Committee of the Government. , .

The Council also wishes to express its appreciation to the
Rev. E. T. Bernthal, who was appointed by Dr. J. W. Behnken as

associate government representative with
Rev. E.T. Bernthal Dr. F. Wenchel in Washington, D.C.,
oo, for the emergency. Rev. Bernthal has
tendered valuable service to the church at large in presenting our
Church to the Government as loyal Amerivan. citizens. He has
rendered a special service to our Council by helping to secure
building priorities for very. necessary church buildings, espe-.
cially in defense areas, ,