# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1911_S301
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 87 —

let such an opportunity, one that God fairly forced upon us, pass by!
So much in haste. With cordial greetings, I remain

Yours, bound together in the Lord,
                                                            P. Rösener.

Report of the Commission for the General Church Building Fund.

In submitting to the Reverend Synod our report on the
administration of the General Church Building Fund during the past
triennium, we may confess with praise and thanks to God that the
Lord has, in these past three years too, made many hearts and hands
of His Christians willing to remember this fund with their prayers
and gifts, so that we have gratifying progress to report and were
therefore able once again to grant support to a good many mission
congregations in their church building. As a result, the glorious
mission work in such places was able to make its unhindered and
blessed progress. The money that flows into this fund is lent to
congregations in need of help against good security — indeed, only
interest-free — and then flows back into this fund over the course of
a few years, so that other congregations can be served by it in turn.
What a blessed institution this is for our dear Synod! Unfortunately
the great importance of this fund does not yet seem to be sufficiently
known to all members of our Synod; otherwise, following the appeal the
commission issued to the congregations at the time, the gifts would
surely have flowed still more abundantly — instead of about $4000.00,
considerably more would probably have come in. We hope in God,
however, that in this very year, in which we shall celebrate, to
God's honor, the hundredth birthday of the blessed Dr. Walther, our
dear Christians will bring a special thank-offering for the "Walther
Fund" of our General Church Building Fund as well, and we ask the
Reverend Synod to pass appropriate resolutions to this effect, in
keeping with the recommendations of our Western District.

If the sects already collect so zealously for their church building
funds, and some already have large sums at their disposal — for
example, the Presbyterians and Congregationalists each command over
five million dollars — then we Lutherans ought to be zealous for this
cause all the more, namely out of gratitude that the Lord has given
us the treasure of the pure doctrine.

It is regrettable that, for lack of funds, we had to turn down so
many petitions, and that it was therefore also not possible for us to
take over the $2000.00 mortgage resting on the church property of the
Polish Christ congregation in Baltimore, because there were always
more applications than we could satisfy, and your commission felt
obligated to act according to the regulations of the Reverend Synod,
under which it is to assist such needy congregations