# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1911_S189
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

13th Delegate Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States, 1911. 189

"We take the liberty, first, of recommending to the Synod that it
decline to answer this question, for the following reasons: a. Answering
this question involves a number of purely political matters that do
not belong before the forum of the Synod. b. Insofar as God's Word
and our Christian faith come into consideration here, we believe it
would take a great deal of time to lay out clearly and precisely the
principles of the Socialist Party in question here and to examine
them in the light of God's Word, which would nevertheless have to
be done in order to put every member of the Synod in a position to
render a competent judgment on this question.

"Since the questioner gives as a reason for submitting his question
to the Synod that it has been publicly said and written that 'a
Christian cannot be a Socialist,' we recommend, second, that the
Synod advise him to get in touch with these brethren, as well as
with his conference, in order to discuss the matter with them further
in a brotherly way.

"Then, third, we would like to recommend to the Synod that it
express the wish that socialism and what is connected with it
continue, as before, to be discussed as needed in our periodicals and
examined in the light of God's Word, since this phenomenon of the
times is coming ever more to the fore."

This committee report was adopted.

The Deaconess Matter.

Committee No. 19 also had before it the memorial [Eingabe] found
on page 131f. of the printed memorials, concerning the "establishment
of a Lutheran deaconess home." This memorial informed the Synod
that the "Conference of the Hospital, Children's Friend, and City
Mission Societies at Red Wing, Minn." had resolved to establish a
deaconess home. The plan for such a home is briefly set forth, along
with the assurance that everything would be conducted in the right
spirit and in accordance with the Word of God, and the reasons are
also given that speak for establishing the deaconess institution
[*Diakonissenwesen*, the office of deaconess] in our Synod. To be
sure, the memorial itself did not state why the matter was being
submitted to the Synod; it contained no questions or requests at all;
"however," as the committee reported, "Pastor Herzberger informed
us, in response to our inquiry, that it is not the conference's desire
to obtain any financial help from the Synod, either now or later, but
only that the Synod express itself on this matter, new among us, and
possibly approve and endorse it.

"We take the liberty of making the following recommendations to
the Synod:

"1. The Synod should not itself take the deaconess institution in
hand.