Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1950, Page 15

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Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1950 15

vision. The response was most gratifying. The new arrangement,
while still in its embryonic stage, has been generally accepted.
Districts are exhibiting a real interest in our Negro congregations.
A fine relationship exists among the brethren, and our work of
winning souls for Christ has received a new impetus. Two Missouri
Synod Districts (Eastern and Southern California) have already
assumed full financial responsibility and have completely embraced
our Negro congregations in their District setup. Two other Districts
(Northern Illinois and Western) are supplying fifty per cent of the
funds needed to conduct missions among the Negroes in their
territory. Other Districts have decided to support the work in full
as soon as possible.
Budget Requirements

Although a few Districts have assumed full or partial financial
responsibility for Negro mission work within their territorial area,
the great majority of Districts receive support for workers in full
or in part, as heretofore, from the Synodical Conference. Districts
that have taken over the supervision are constantly urging the
Missionary Board to raise the salaries of workers in Negro congre-
gations to the level of their own missionaries. The Board has
' repeatedly given attention to salary adjustments commensurate
with budget allocations; however, it was not possible during the
past years to approximate District payments. Nevertheless, great
strides forward have been made in this respect. This accounts in
part for the increase in the proposed budget under “Salary Require-
ments.” Most of our workers are woefully underpaid, and they
find it most difficult to cope with the rise of living costs. This
applies particularly to our workers in the Southern States. Salaries
at our institutions, Greensboro, N.C., and Selma, Ala., are in need
of a revision. We dare not impair the efficiency of our professors
and instructors at these colleges by permitting them to be encum-
bered with financial worries.

Under the expansion program, for which we were given special
grants not listed in the regular budget, the Missionary Board placed
new workers in the field, and these workers are now on our regular
salary list. This, too, accounts for the upward slope in the proposed
budget for the fiscal year 1950—1951. ,

In the new budget we have increased our expansion require-~
ments by ten thousand dollars. The increase is intended for ex-
penses connected with the opening of new mission stations, salaries,
and equipment only.

The budget requests for colleges include necessary repairs and
improvements to the extent of nearly $5,000. These repairs are an
absolute necessity. They are tabulated in detail on the “Explana-
tion Sheet” which is attached to the budget figures.

Expansion

At its convention in 1946 the Synodical Conference urged the
Missionary Board “to enter upon @ nation-wide, intensive, system-
atic, progressive mission-expansion program beginning in the home
churches, going forward to the near-by communities, and extending
to unoccupied territories throughout the country and to make the
necessary provisions to carry on such mission program.” (39th Pro-
ceedings, 1946, page 46.)