# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1953_S702 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 702 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS service also marked the close of our observ: versary of the Institute. snes of the 25th anni The building program created renewed interest thro Synod so that many valuable items have been added to our ; lection. One of the more significant accessions during th col triennium was a valuable collection of coins and medals rele to the Lutheran Church. This collection was a gift of Mr E Schumm, Oak Park, IIL, who became interested in the wor - the Institute through our exhibit at the Milwaukee Conventi of We are happy to note that we are receiving important items from the libraries and personal effects of our leaders who have been called to their heavenly home. Thus we have received inval ble materials from the Polack, Graebner, Sommer, Dallmann, . i Sieck families. In some instances, synodical and District ‘ont mittees which have been dissolved, have sent their records to the patitute. ra these was the Army-Navy Commission of World ar 1 and the Board for European Missi i of their records to our archives MMssions, which transferred al While not all the accessions can be headlined is remind the delegates that we. are interested in receiving ere item which in some way bears on the history of the Lutheran Church in America, on the various areas where the Church is active, or on particular congregations and individuals who have made contributions to the Church. Breaking this down, then we are interested in receiving the following congregational materials: minutes; orders of services of ground breaking, cornerstone laying dedication, installation, and anniversaries; histories of congrega- tions, pictures of church and school buildings. May we remind pastors who have in their possession the minutes and records of congregations and conferences that are now defunct to transfer these documents to the Institute to safeguard against their even- tual loss. - Now that adequate facilities have been made available and the staff has been incteased, we will be in a position to offer even greater service to the Church. The work of the Institute is divided into three major areas: archives, library, and museum. Each area offers rich historical lore both to the specialist and to the casual visitor. . Because of its official position as the historical i Synod the Institute is ready at all times to assist in soertalzing historical facts and data, in tracing trends and developments, and in creating and stimulating interest in the background history and work of the Lutheran Church. By way of illustration we point to the book by Dr. Walter O. Forster, Zion on the Mississippi. which was recently published by Concordia Publishing House. ughout MISCELLANEOUS . MATTERS 703 With our beautiful museum room, we are prepared to depict y the growth of Synod from a small seedling into a large rld-wide body. The Waltke Memorial Room serves as an excel- t educational facility, where our Synod’s mission program, con- Entrating in turn on the various fields, becomes meaningful and alive. .. Congregations and pastors who wish to publish the history of 4 Rheir local church or community have found the Institute a real oon in their work. Factual information, both of a biographical ™and congregational nature, is available to the researcher either inrough our lending library by written request, or directly in our earch room. Students of our seminaries and colleges who are preparing heses and research papers have found in the Institute’s collec- tion materials otherwise unobtainable. Bibliographical and other references on Lutheranism in America will be cheerfully furnished #to anyone working on such special studies. 5£ Perhaps one of the greatest services the Institute renders is “ethrough its Quarterly, the only Lutheran periodical of its kind in “America. Through its pages interesting and scholarly articles have