# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S80
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

78 Proceedings of the tenth convention

II. A Complaint of Pastor Döscher and His Congregation.

All the submitted records of this complaint were first handed to a committee for examination and review. It then reported to the Conference as follows:

The undersigned committee has examined and reviewed the documents handed to it and has found that the matter set forth in them does not belong before the forum of the venerable Synodical Conference [*Synodalconferenz*].

Respectfully,
R. Adelberg. F. Kügele.
C. J. Albrecht. A. F. Hoppe.

This was generally approved and further grounded with the point that the Synodical Conference, according to its constitution, is to have and wishes to have no ecclesiastical jurisdiction whatever over the individual synods belonging to it, or their members and congregations. Each synod is to remain completely sovereign and to order its own affairs. Only then can we work together in blessing. All such complaints of individual members are therefore always to be referred back by the Conference to the synod concerned. The Conference has always acted so in all such cases earlier too. Compare the 3rd Synodal Report of the year 1874, p. 51. — 5th Synodal Report of the year 1876, pp. 57, 58. — 6th Synodal Report of the year 1877, p. 51. —

Thereupon the committee report was adopted unanimously.

III. Negro Mission.

Professor Pieper first read the following report of the Mission Commission:

Fourth Report of the Mission Commission of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America, covering the period from October 1882 to August 1884.

The Mission Commission takes the liberty of submitting to the Venerable Synodical Conference the following report on the state and progress of the *Negermission* [mission among African Americans; the period's term "Negro Mission"]. We report first on the individual stations.

1. Little Rock, Ark.

At this station Missionary E. Meiländer has worked for two years. Before his arrival work had been done here only by way of temporary help, and the station therefore found itself, despite the faithful labour of the temporary helper, in rather disordered conditions. It