# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1947_S652
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

652 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

estant churches of Germany, they immediately recognized our
obligation to help preserve the Lutheran Church in Germany and
threw their full support behind Bishop Meiser and his endeavor to
strengthen the Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Deutschland.

The various Lutheran church bodies of Germany (Landes-
kirchen) represent all shades of Lutheranism. Some of them are
very liberal; some of them are very conservative. We do not
have, as our immediate goal, the development of an Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Germany with which our Missouri Synod can
have pulpit and altar fellowship. That is an ideal which we strive
for but do not expect to attain in our generation.

However, we do believe that it is our obligation to help by
every means possible to make this struggling Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Germany as Christ-centered and as confessionally Lu-
theran as possible. In the attainment of this objective, the Lord
has given His blessings. Through the large amount of gifts, both
spiritual and physical, the Missouri Synod has become known to
hundreds upon hundreds of Lutheran pastors and to tens upon tens
of thousands of Lutheran families as a friend in need. It is our
firm conviction that in the measure in which the Lord blesses the
help which we have been able to extend to the Lutheran leaders
of the churches of Germany, in that same measure will confessiénal
Lutheranism in Germany survive.

Poland :

Extensive help has also been given to the Lutheran Church of

Poland. Working chiefly through the Polish Committee in London,

our Council has been able to provide moneys, food, and clothing on
a large scale for direct help in Poland proper.

Bibles

Nazi restriction on Bible societies, reduction of staffs in print-
ing concerns and paper mills have deprived the German people
of Bibles for many years. To counteract such neglect of the pure
Word as quickly as possible, we allocated on May 9, 1945, $150,000
to the American Bible Society for German Bibles. Later grants
to the same society have been of various amounts so that other
countries, such as Japan, Finland, and Norway, might again read
the saving Word. In all, we have spent over $171,000 for Bibles and
New Testaments to be distributed in many lands.

Christian Literature
Some 400 cases of books (prayer books, sermon books, hymnals),
totaling 60,000 volumes, were shipped to Europe. These were dis-
tributed free of charge to Lutheran pastors and schools. The work