# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S26 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 26 MISSIONS talking books are also being added annually to the Library for the Blind at Concordia Publishing House. b. Coordination of Work Among the Blind. Two resolutions concerning ministry to the blind were passed at the New York convention. The first (Res. 1-20) com- mended the Lutheran Braille Workers, Inc., for their production and distribution of specialized materials for the visually handicapped. The second resolution (1-21) recognized the need for correlation of effort between the Synod’s ministry to the blind and Lutheran Braille Workers, Inc., and directed “the Board for Missions through its staff to seek coordination of the work through joint planning, sharing materials, utilization of volun- teer efforts, and mutual support for an expanding ministry.” In accordance with Resolution 1-21 a meeting was held in Phoenix, Ariz., in February 1968, involving rep- resentatives of the board of directors of Lutheran Braille Workers, Inc., and representatives of the staff of the Board for Missions and its Transcription Committee. The problems of duplication and overlapping were thoroughly discussed. The following areas of agree- ment were reached: 1) Center and Clearinghouse. It was agreed that the Lutheran Library for the Blind at Concordia Pub- lishing House would serve as the established center and clearinghouse for information on both Braille and Sight-Saving material. 2) Print. Working distinctions between enlarged print and Sight-Saving print were established. It was determined that all Sight-Saving material should be registered with the Lutheran Library. 3) Books. The Transcription Committee has tran- scribed two copies of various religious books (novels, doctrinal works, ete.) and placed them into the Lutheran Library to be used on a lending basis; they also tran- scribe books for special requests. The Lutheran Braille Workers mass-produce books using zinc plates as master copies; they also produce a number of hand-transcribed books to fill special requests. The LBW will send the Lutheran Library two copies of all their mass-produced books to be used on a lending basis. Both groups will keep each other informed on books planned for tran- scription into Braille, either by hand or on zine plates, and so avoid any wasted effort. Talking books will continue to be the responsibility of the Lutheran Library for the Blind. Lutheran Braille Workers, Inc., does not plan to enter this field. 4) Periodicals and Monthly Mailings. Periodicals put out by the Lutheran Library and monthly materials put out by the Lutheran Braille Workers do not overlap. Lutheran Braille Workers will continue producing Lutheran Hour materials. 5) Sunday School Lessons. Because the Transcription Committee and the Lutheran Braille Workers send material to different individuals, it was decided that both should continue producing CPH Sunday school lessons on the present basis. But the two groups agreed to explore the possibility of coordinating this phase of the work in the future. 6) Responsibilities of the Staff. The role of the staff of the Board for Missions is to encourage Districts (or neighboring congregations) to contact institutions for the blind in an effort to increase distribution of the available materials and to establish personal contact with the blind wherever possible. c. The One Inter-Lutheran Library for the Blind. The growth of the Missouri Synod Library for the Blind has been so phenomenal that the Lutheran Church in America and the American Lutheran Church have officially designated it as the agency which is to serve their churches also. An intersynodical committee has been formed. At the last joint meeting two representa- tives of the Wisconsin Synod attended as observers, and from their reaction it appears that we will also be privileged to serve the blind in the Wisconsin Synod. Financial support has been given to our library by both the ALC and the LCA. The Lutheran Braille Evangelism Association of St. Paul, Minn., has turned over its entire library to us. This rapid growth necessitated added space for the library, which Concordia Publishing House graciously provided. The Missouri Synod Library for the Blind has now become the one library for the blind to serve the entire Lutheran Church in the U.S. and Canada. To acquaint pastors with the services of the library, more than 15,000 brochures have been sent out to clergy of the three Lutheran bodies. 3. Campus Ministry: Each in His Own Tongue a. Across the Generation Gap. In its report to the 1967 convention the Board for Missions listed the church’s mission to young adults as one of its major concerns. The report highlighted three reasons for increased attention to college-age youth: young people 25 years or younger will soon or already do constitute a majority of the population in most of the major countries in the world; young people are a “new kind of generation” —much more assertive and independent; the alienation between young people and adults is more pronounced today than ever before. The events of the past 2 years have dramatically underscored the validity of this concern: student riots in the streets of Paris, in Mexico City, and on Michigan Avenue, Chicago; campus sit-ins and protests that occur not only at Berkeley or Columbia but at small quiet Midwestern colleges! There is more than a communica- tions or generation gap; for the most radical student leaders there is a complete communications breakdown. They seem to have lost faith in all institutions — govern- ment, university, and church. The church, above all, must seek to keep the lines of communication open with the youth subculture throughout the world: to listen to them, to learn from them when they so passionately point out our failure to be what we are meant to be, and, it is hoped, to truly demonstrate to them “the more excellent way” of love.