# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1941_S140
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

138 Elementary Education

secular. The proper solution of this problem is to establish paro-
chial schools. Where that is actually impossible, the need is more
and better instruction by means of our other agencies. The Sun-
day~school alone, even the best, cannot meet the needs of our
children.

We believe it of interest to note here that, while our parochial
schools train only 27.94 per cent. of the children of elementary
school age, they furnish 62.2 per cent. of the students for our pre-
theological colleges, according to a study of Dr. W. H. Wente, Win-
field, Kans. (Lutheran School Journal, Vol. 74, 1938—39, p. 209.)

The Board’s Work

The Board has endeavored to study the many and complicated
problems of Christian education in regular monthly meetings, two
of which were also attended annually by the representatives of our
teachers’ colleges and theological seminaries. With deep regret
your Board accepted the resignation of the Rev. Paul Koenig, who
served as chairman of the Sunday-school Board from 1923 to 1929,
of the Sunday-school Committee from 1929 to 1932, and of the joint
board from 1932 to 1938. Pastor Koenig was forced to take this
step after he became President of the Western District. Your
Board is greatly indebted to Pastor Koenig for the sacrifices of time
and energy which he brought and for the services he rendered in
directing the activities of the Board during these fifteen years.
He was succeeded by Prof. E.J.Friedrich, who soon accepted a
position at the Wheat Ridge Sanatorium. President C. T. Spitz
served as chairman pro tempore until the undersigned * assumed
office last May. While your Board carried out the resolutions of
the last synodical convention, it was unable to operate the School
Fund, inaugurate a research program, or call an Executive Secre-
tary, owing to lack of funds. It is thought advisable now to wait
with the calling of an Executive Secretary until the committee for
the revision of the Handbook has made its report to Synod and
Synod has taken action on it, in order to determine more clearly the
sphere of activity and the duties of such an official. The Board also
studied the plan of coordinating the various educational efforts
within Synod (Proceedings, 1938, p. 97), but recommended that
action be deferred.

The work of the Board and of the personnel in the office is
reflected more extensively in the following report on the various
agencies of Christian education.

The Parochial School
By the grace of God our Synod has the most extensive
parochial-school system of any Protestant denomination, a system
for which we are envied by other Protestant church denominations

* Prof. F. E. Mayer.