# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S971
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

888 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

congregation, which heeded our plea to grant us his services
for a period of six months, terminating May 1, 1944. As field
secretary for the Lutheran Commission for Prisoners of War Rev.
Seltz rendered valuable services to our Church in visiting more
than a score of prison camps and consulting with our civilian
pastors. In P.O. W. work our civilian pastors meet with many
problems which do not come up in the ordinary work and life
of a civilian pastor.

Missouri Synod and the National Lutheran Council

In certain instances our commission found it advisable and
- possible to co-ordinate our efforts with those of other Lutheran
bodies, This can best be illustrated by telling the story of Lu-
theran work in Washington,

Co-operation with Other D.C. According to a survey
Lutheran Bodies in Externals there have migrated to
Washington, D.C., in the

past years 30,000 Lutherans, A Government figure states that in
1943 there was a turnover of employees in Washington amount-
ing to almost 80 per cent. In one Government housing area there
live 12,000 girls. Among these are scores and scores of Lu-
therans from all branches of the Lutheran Church in America.

It would not be wise stewardship, nor would the govern-
ment allow it, if every Lutheran group in America were to send
its own canvasser into this Government housing project to seek
out the members of its own Church. Good stewardship de-
manded that the Lutherans get together, appoint one canvasser
who would ferret out the various Lutherans in that housing
project and then refer them to their own Lutheran church,

Thus if our Missouri Synod worker found an Augustana
girl, she would refer this girl to the Augustana church in Wash-
ington. And if the Augustana worker working ina different part
-of the city found a Missouri Synod girl, she would refer her to
one of our Missouri Synod churches. A Lutheran civilian service
center has been opened up.in Washington, D. C., jointly by the
Missouri Synod and the National Lutheran Council. Of the
30,000 Lutherans who have migrated to Washington, only 17,000
have maintained their church connections. The job of our staff
in Washington ‘is to seek out and keep with the Church the
other 13,000. .