Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1958, Page 132

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

1382 Proceedings of the Forty-fifth Convention

17. Insurance Reserve — $5,000. According to Synodical Conference
Resolution of 1946, “the sum of $2,000 shall be added each year in our
domestic mission budget for the insurance reserve funds.” This plan
was extended by the Plenary Board in its meeting on January 12, 1956.
At the suggestion of our auditors the sum has now been increased to
$5,000 per year so as to provide more adequate protection in the event
of a fire or tornado loss at one of our institutions.

18. Church Extension Fund—0O. The Synodical Conference Pro-
ceedings of 1948, page 118, provide that $10,000 be added annually to
this fund from budget appropriations. However, since special grants
and the sale of certain properties to Districts within the Missouri and
Wisconsin Synods during the past year have provided a substantial
amount of cash for our Church Extension Fund, the Missionary Board
deemed it advisable to eliminate the item from its current budget.
Because of financial stringency which exists at the present time, no
provision for Capital Investments has been made in the Board’s budget.

19. CFC Loan Amortization — $1,000. This amount is required to
amortize the 1952 loan of $20,000 for Selma, Alabama, on an annual
basis over the next 20 years.

20. Doctrinal Committee — $2,000. Traveling expenses of members
of the Doctrinal Unity Committee and Synodical Conference officials.

21. Pension Benefits — $2,000. Several workers in the South who are
ineligible for Missouri Syned Pension Fund membership have reached
or are approaching retirement age. The Missionary Board desires to
make suitable provision for the payment of benefits to these individuals
in the event of their retirement.

African Missions

1, Salaries — $85,000. The basic rate for married workers is £73.68
($205.32) plus child allowance. Missionaries who return for their sec-
ond and third tours receive a slight increment at the beginning of each
tour. Our American staff presently consists of 32 workers (19 pastors,
5 teachers, 3 doctors, 3 nurses, and 2 laymen.) Of the 32, four are new
workers who are urgently needed to serve as replacements for mission-
aries home on furlough.

2. Cost-of-Living Allowance — $18,000. The personal account of each
missionary in our St. Louis office is credited with $50 per month. These
funds may be used by the worker for meeting certain obligations in this
country, such as payments to widowed parents, insurance premiums, and
the like.

3. Rents While Home on Furlough — $3,000. This item is self-ex-
planatory.

4. Pension, Employer’s Share — $5,000. Payments to Missouri Synod
Pension Fund and to workers of other synods in lieu of employer’s con~
tributions.

5. Travel to and from Africa — $35,000. Our furlough records indi-
cate that a total of six families will be coming home in 1959 and eight
missionaries are expected to return to Africa during the coming year.
Recent experience has shown that the cost of traveling by air is not
much greater than by boat except for the cost of transporting certain
freight shipments. In view of the manpower shortage on the field, the
time saved en route in transporting the missionary and his family by
air far offsets the slight additional cost involved.

6. Parsonages — Permanent — $15,000. Needed buildings and im-
provements embrace the following:

a) Pastor’s house, Umuzeala Nsu (small house for pastor because

bush house can no longer be used)

b) Alterations, rest house, Obot Idim (rest house needs to be

altered to make proper single home)