# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S358 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 358 PARISH EDUCATION AND SERVICES governed by middle-class values and customs. Curriculum materials avoid terms, phrases, illustrations, activities, photos, and artwork that judge or degrade people on the basis of race or culture. Such curriculum materials are needed for all agencies in every congregation. Educators in urban congregations report that curriculum materials that meet the standards described above are also appro- priate for urban and inner-city use. Providing appropriate curricula is an arduous task. It means critically examining extant materials and pro- viding adequate revisions. It means setting and following adequate guidelines for new publications. Accomplishing this task requires time, money, and appropriate skills. This task involves many people. Writers, editors, and artists all need guidelines and appropriate skills. All Board of Parish Education staff members are involved in dealing positively with urban issues. Never- theless, the board’s work is seriously hampered because no full-time person is available to provide leadership and direction. The New York convention authorized the Board of Parish Education “to appoint an editor-con- sultant in urban education who is to prepare and edit teaching and resource materials and provide field ser- vices to Districts and parishes”: it further resolved, “‘That the Synod reassess the priorities given to the allocation of funds in order to give high priority to this concern.” To date financial difficulties have made it impossible for the Board of Directors to grant the board authority to fill this necessary position. 6. Research in Christian Education The synodical Handbook under the subheading “func- tions” of the Board of Parish Education, p. 154, item 7.25 ff., instructs the board to “initiate and direct research activities necessary to promote and improve parish edu- cation.” Yet the research project the board presented to Synod in 1965 and 1967 was not approved and the board has not been able to engage in the basic kinds of re- search that would provide empirical data on which it could build programs and develop effective materials. It has had neither manpower nor funds. What is needed is (1) a trained educational researcher attached to the staff of the Board of Parish Education to advise, design, and direct projects, (2) the funds to cover the cost of such projects. It is assumed that the technical aspects of data gathering and processing would be through the Research Department of the Synod; however, this department has neither the manpower nor the funds to do the educational research that is needed. If it is true that it is difficult to distinguish between the educational effectiveness of Christian and general education, some effort should be made to determine why. This will take time and money, neither of which have been available to the board. While no comprehensive research was undertaken, some brief surveys were made. One study attempted to assess the actual attendance in Sunday school as compared to enrollment. It also inquired into the extent of multiple enrollments and the extent to which multiple-enrolled students accounted for the ‘“‘best’’ attendances. The data supported the thesis that the students enrolled in more than one agency also were on the average more faithful in Sunday school attendance. The study also supported the thesis that we tend to emphasize instruction at the preconfirmation level. There is little multiple enrollment at the primary level and even less at the postconfirmation level. We seem to hold some kind of “once a Christian always a Christian” theory which makes Christian education after confirmation purely nonessential. Further research will be needed to determine the kind of educational program needed to develop different attitudes to the problems. A survey inquiring into the observance of Lutheran Education Month in the congregations of the Synod indicated that approximately one half of the congrega- tions of the Synod had a special emphasis on Christian education in the regular Sunday services, apparently by observing Rally Day. Less than 5 percent indicated an educational emphasis in the regular Sunday service apart from the Rally Day observance. About 20 percent of the respondents had used the discussion topic from Advance magazine. A similar number used the occasion to evaluate their Christian education program. About 15 percent prepared a report on Christian education to the congregation. The only other area yielding measure- able results was the distribution of tracts on Christian education by about 35 percent of the parishes. If the 300 congregations who replied were representative, and they seem to be, we have data on what might be called a min- imal promotional thrust for Christian education in The Lutheran Church-— Missouri Synod. In an effort to rescue the possibilities of minimal research for the Board of Parish Education, an ad hoc committee of the board recommended the appointment of a research coordinator for the staff who can serve as resource person for the staff as well as liaison with Synod’s Research Department. Guidelines for action are being developed. The urgency with which the Synod must look at and provide for educational research was emphasized by the educational executives in a special meeting April 10, 1968. They called for a ‘‘deliberate plan of serious re- search activity involving current and future educational activities of the church. This includes a look at ourselves, listening to the consumer, and developing innovative and experimental approaches.”’ The convention is again asked to authorize basic research for the Synod’s teaching tasks in a special report. Research is the modern tool for progress. Our fathers were not so reluctant to use modern tools when they established Concordia Publishing House 100 years ago — began publishing the oldest educational journal in the United States more than 100 years ago, established a radio station nearly 50 years ago, and entered television programing 20 years ago. We have waited too long already.