# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S432
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

432 SPECIAL MINISTRIES AND SUNDRY MATTERS

(11-03)

Report of Department of Archives and History,
Concordia Historical Institute

THE EDIFYING WORD IN HISTORY

Without a lot of hoopla or expense Concordia His-
torical Institute, the Department of Archives and His-
tory of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, this
year has completed 122 years of service to the Synod,
its officers, board, commissions, committees, and mem-
bers. Its services, however, extend far beyond the
limitations of synodical membership, since it is the
richest mine of historical data on America’s Lutherans
in existence anywhere in the world. For this reason
scholars, researchers, pastors, teachers, congregations,
genealogists, and a host of others have come to the
Institute to consult its collections and to mine the rich
nuggets of historical information. In refined form this
raw data gathered through the archives, historical
library, and museum of the Institute has appeared in
doctoral dissertations, master’s theses, monographs, con-
gregational histories, biographical, contemporary studies,
and even obituaries. Thus the “Edifying Word” as
printed, written, spoken, and used through the century
is a matter of record in the Institute.

Agencies such as the Institute, especially in the
church, often go through stages of development. The
earliest traces of the synodical archives go back to the
1847 organizing convention, when the synodical secre-
tary was responsible to serve as “synodical archivist.”
The first secretary and his successors served faithfully
until the structure and form of the secretary's office was
revised in 1917. Concordia Historical Institute was sub-
sequently created as a separately incorporated agency
operated under a Board of Governors and responsible
and accountable to the Synod for all its transactions
and decisions,

Collections

This arrangement certainly has proved to be highly
effective and advantageous to the Synod and its mem-
bership. Because of its unique role, the Institute is also
rendering services to other communions, to the academic
world, and to the archival-historical profession from
the federal to the local levels. The primary commodities
of the Institute are its massive historical resources con-
sisting of 2,325,000 archival and manuscript materials:
55,000 books, pamphlets, serials, and tracts; 109,000 feet
of microfilm and photoduplicated resources: thousands
of photographs, pictures, paintings, and museum objects.
Such data is used regularly by over 10,000 per year.
A collection of such proportions and volume requires
a second valuable commodity — a professional reference
and research staff. It is a fortunate combination to have
available such valuable resources and a staff which ser-
vices them. The total number of services rendered, in-
cidentally, approximates 28,000 per year when one
includes also the help and assistance given others on all
levels and all types including archives techn‘ques.

The Institute preserves in its archives the noncurrent
records of the entire Synod. including those of the syn-
odical officers — presidents, vice-presidents, secretaries.
treasurers — the convention records themselves, and the
records of its boards. commissions, and committees, even
those of an ad hoc nature. It further preserves the
manuscripts of the leaders of the Synod and of many
faculty members. Such materials comprise the very
heart and lifeblood of the total synodical work. The
historical library contains the publications issued by
the same groups, in the form of books, pamphlets, tracts,
including also all Concordia Publishing House pro-
ductions.

Its museum department contains the special gifts,
mementos, and awards which have been given to the
Synod itself and to its various members by foreign
countries, organizations. federal and state governments,
etc. There is, for example, the “Finnish Loving Cup”
which was given to the Synod at the centennial of the
Saxon Immigration in 1939, and the many awards and
mementos given to Dr. John W. Behnken. Included also
are other gifts, such as the “Synodical Gavel” used at
every convention of the Synod since 1911, and the Wal-
ther coffee urn presented to the Walthers on their 25th
wedding anniversary in 1866. Contemporary materials
often find their way into the collection quickly, such as
the John of Beverly Award presented to Dr. John L.
Salvner only a few years ago.

Close liaison is maintained with the Districts through
the District archivists. This establishes a division of
labor, and obviously achieves superior collections with
a central and several decentralized depositories. It also
materially cuts down the costs of maintaining such his-
torical collections by spreading costs. If it were not for
the District archivists-historians, the Institute’s work
would be vastly enlarged. In turn, however, the Insti-
tute staff is serving the Districts in a very direct way by
assisting them in filling their collections and in methods
and procedures. Incidentally, the Institute is the only
place in the world where the complete set of all District
Proceedings (since 1854) may be found. District pub-
lications such as the District editions of the Lutheran
Witness, and other District periodicals. are also de-
posited centrally. Constitutions and bylaws. Articles of
Incorporation, and District officers newsletters basically
complete the District holdings at the Institute.

Liaison and rapport with the local congregations,
pastors, and individual people is further maintained on
an ongoing basis. The staff of the Institute is constantly
serving individuals, local congregations, pastors, and
teachers in providing historical data for congregational
histories, in the observance of anniversaries, providing
information on pastors and teachers, etc. On the other
hand, the Institute receives from these sources such
printed literature as congregational histories, biographi-
cal materials, orders of service, and other local re-
sources.

Receipts of gratis materials have been overwhelm-
ingly large. It is. indeed, a most encouraging sign that
every year almost 1,200 individuals, agencies, boards,