# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1953_S1109
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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MISSIONS 427
solved, That we recommend to the Board for European
that they continue to do all within their power under
x circumstances to serve our brethren in Denmark as far

(Our Synod has been interested in, and identified with, the
5 of the Free Church in Finland for about half a century. The
#@85< Church began with seven pastors and 500 lay members who
‘yparated from a Gospel society of the State Church to establish
a5Lutheran Free Church of Finland. Their numbers dwindled,
‘Be at the present time the Lutheran Free Church of Finland is
*gamposed of three pastors, 344 souls, and 242 communicants. There
“are seven congregations and a total of 128 families scattered over
482 communities and 31 preaching places. Nominal membership of
the Finnish people in the State Church and non-recognition of the
‘Free Church on the part of the government make the work of our
-brethren also here extremely difficult. .
- “Qur brethren in Finland courageously undertook the con-
struction of a building in Lahti, which serves as a chapel, a meet-
ing house, and a parsonage. This is really the only locale our
brethren in Finland have which is representative of their work
and which establishes them as a working group within their coun-
‘try. A debt of approximately $16,500, on which they must pay 10%
‘interest, still rests on this structure. Our brethren had hoped so
.to multiply the value of the support moneys received from our
Synod by engaging in certain legitimate business ventures as to
be enabled to show a handsome profit wherewith to wipe out their
building fund debt. A change in the laws of the country, however,
interfered with this program, leaving them in the precarious situa-
tion of having a mortgage on their property which they know not
‘how to pay. They addressed a petition to Synod, which by the
convention in 1950 was given over to our committee for further
investigation and a report to Synod’s Board of Directors, which
was authorized to act in this matter.
“The three pastors presently serving the Finnish Free Church
are no longer young. The problem of finding successors who have
had the proper theological training is, because of the language,

very difficult of solution for us.

“B. Recommendations.

“The Commission recommends

“1, That our Synod should extend an interest-free loan to our
brethren in Finland wherewith to pay the debt still resting upon