Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1969 · 48th Convention › Page 404
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 404

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

404 CHURCH LITERATURE AND PUBLICATIONS; PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS

member), plant manager, Rohm and Haas Co., Louis-
ville, Ky.; Dr. Carl Dauten (board member), executive
vice-chancellor, Washington University, St. Louis; Fred
Kuhlmann (board member), general counsel, An-
heuser-Busch Inc., St. Louis; Dr. Otto A. Dorn, Treas-
urer and General Manager, CPH; Ralph F. Mueller
(vice-president), director, General Metals Products Co.,
St. Louis; Theodore Gassner (asst. secretary), formerly
teacher, Hope Lutheran School, St. Louis; Richard Bock
(board member), manager of manufacturing, The Lind-
say Co., St. Paul, Minn.; Paul Krueger (board member),
vice-president and comptroller, Funk Bros. Seed Co.,
Bloomington, IIL; Dr. Milton Carpenter, Treasurer of
the Synod, representative of synodical Board of Direc-
tors at CPH board meetings.

Four board members are up for reelection at this
convention: Rev. Kenneth R. Hoffmann, Mr. Enno
Sauer, Mr. Theodore Gassner, and Mr. Richard Bock.

The unexpired term of the late Edwin Koch of In-
dianapolis has been filled with the appointment of Mr.
Fred Kuhlmann.

Close communication is maintained with the synodi-
cal Board of Directors through regular written reports
and through Dr. Milton Carpenter, Treasurer of the
Synod, who represents the synodical board at meetings
of the CPH board.

Prof. Ralph L. Reinke, 42-year-old educator from the
faculty of River Forest Teachers College, was appointed
Assistant to the General Manager in August 1968. Prior
to coming to Concordia, Professor Reinke had served 10
years as a member of the Synod’s Commission on
Literature.

The CPH board meets monthly to consider matters
of general policy, study financial reports, approve publi-
cations, and discuss future developments.

The board is forward-looking and responsive to the
changing needs and opportunities that confront a de-
nominational publisher who must gear up and plan
wisely for the challenging years ahead. One step in that
direction prompts a memorial to the convention (see
end of this report for text) wherein the board is sug-
gesting a change to clarify the tax-exempt status of
CPH in its Articles of Incorporation.

CPH and the Board of Parish Education

As the publisher of the Synod, CPH maintains a close
working relationship with all the agencies, departments,
and Districts of the Synod. Their projects are given pri-
ority. Of the agencies of the Synod, perhaps the Board
of Parish Education comes into most frequent contact
with the management and staff people of CPH. This
close liaisonship, together with the high editorial stan-
dards of the board and the designing, manufacturing,
production, and distribution skills of CPH, have re-
sulted in the development and publication of educa-
tional material of recognized quality and wide ac-
ceptance.

A glance at the end of this report reveals the scope
and variety of instructional and curricular materials
that have flowed from the cooperative activity of CPH

and the Board of Parish Education during the past bi-
ennium.

Both the Concordia Catechism Series and the Con-
cordia Sex Education Series saw completion during this
period. Both have added new dimensions to Christian
education. Both were the result of extensive field test-
ing and retesting. The latter in particular, because it is
the first graded, comprehensive series from a Christian
point of view, has been well accepted by Christians of
many denominations.

A balanced, progressive art curriculum, kindergarten
through grade 8, for Christian day schools received an
excellent impetus with the publication of the Concordia
Art Education Series.

Another major contribution to the basic music pro-
gram of the day school was the appearance of additional
books in the Concordia Music Education Series.

As one looks back over the years at the total output
of the BPE and CPH, the list of publications is indeed
impressive in its length and particularly in its overall
quality.

But no matter how successful these materials origi-
nally were, we cannot afford to stand still. Obsolescence
takes place even here. Audiences and users today are
different in their mental outlook, more sophisticated in
their tastes, more responsive to a variety of visual
stimuli.

More effective ways are evolving for receiving and
transmitting information and knowledge. Accordingly,
the Board of Parish Education views its task “to blue-
print and construct a coordinated educational program
that can be used to communicate the Word of God to
the people in a variety of settings in the church so that,
by the Spirit’s blessing, God’s people will grow and ma-
ture in Jesus Christ.”

The church’s materials must reflect many of these
new teaching techniques and communications advances.
It is recognized that especially instructional materials
must be reviewed from time to time and brought up to
date. The Board of Directors of CPH has therefore
agreed to continue its close cooperation with the Board
of Parish Education and make available sufficient funds
so that the entire parish education curriculum for all
agencies may be completely revised and coordinated.
The work is to start this summer and should be com-
pleted in 5 years.

Visual Communication

Not only Missouri Synod Lutherans but a growing
number of churches, schools, and libraries look to Con-
cordia Films for new quality films, filmstrips, and pro-
jection and recording equipment.

Concordia Films maintains one of the most extensive
film libraries in the country. Motion pictures and film-
strips are distributed also through denominational film
libraries, selected commercial film libraries, and religous
bookstores in the United States, Canada, and other
countries.

Concordia Publishing House Ltd., London, England,