Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1950, Page 18

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18 Proceedings of the Forty-First Convention,

forwards these subsidy request blanks to the congregations, with
the instruction that the blanks must be filled in as requested and
forwarded to the District Mission Board’s Executive Secretary.
The District Mission Board then studies the subsidy request forms
and approves and recommends the amounts requested to the
Missionary Board. The Treasurer of the Missionary Board affixes
his signature to the subsidy request forms after they have been
approved by the Board and makes his monthly payments ac-
cordingly. —

B. Mode of Payment

In order to improve the whole financial setup further, the
Missionary Board also changed its mode of payment of the subsidy.
It was customary in the past to forward salary checks directly to
the workers. Under the new plan, checks are mailed directly to
the congregational treasurers, whose names are indicated on the
subsidy request forms. The treasurer of a subsidized congregation
now pays each worker his or her salary with a congregational
check. In this manner the Missionary Board is now subsidizing
the congregation, thus enabling the congregation to pay the worker
the salary which has been stipulated. Such a mode of procedure
makes the congregation more conscious of its obligation over
against the workers and also keeps the congregation better in-
formed with regard to its financial expenditures. In summary, the
congregation is now paying all its bills through its own treasurer,
including the salary of its workers. The monthly subsidy from the
Missionary Board only augments the congregational treasury when
it cannot carry the entire load. The treasurer of the congregation,
in giving his monthly financial report, now finds occasion to en-
courage the congregation to increase its contributions toward the
workers’ salaries and thus decrease the subsidy of the Missionary
Board for this particular purpose.

It may be of interest to note the results of this new financial
setup. Superintendent Ellwanger in his report to the Missionary
Board on the Alabama field writes: “Under the subsidization plan,
recently introduced in the Alabama field, our congregations are
being put on a sounder financial working basis wherein they will
realize in a greater measure than ever before their responsibilities
and hold themselves accountable toward self-support. According
to this plan the congregation is subsidized, not the workers, In
adopting this plari, voters consider more seriously individual
pledges and contributions needed in order to balance the budget.
The treasurer and officers gain a deeper insight into the meaning
of stewardship in the raising and handling of funds for the church.”
Here are some of the results tabulated: “In one of our congre-
gations,” writes Superintendent Ellwanger, “the contributions for
the first three months were increased 70 per cent. Seven Christian
day school teachers, previously supported entirely by the treasury
of the Missionary Board, now are partly supported by the congre-
gations they serve.”

Scholarships

The Plenary Board in its April meeting decided to establish
scholarships for individuals who are desirous of preparing them-
selves for service in the Lutheran Church as pastors and teachers