LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1932, Page 84

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94 Proceedings of Thirty-Fifth Regular Convention

pared literature may be nullified by unprepared teachers

recognized the danger of placing non-Lutheran Sunday-schoo]
ture into the hands of the pupils. The danger of unprepared te,
has not as yet been as fully realized, though we again are g
to report a growing interest in this Tespect. Very much h
done to increase the regular teachers’ meetings and to ma
more effective. Pastors have realized that, since they ar
personally to take over all the instruction, the Sunday-schoo]
meeting becomes one of the most important meetings nex
voters’ meeting itself in the proper nurture of a Lutheran ¢
tion. To what extent lay workers are active in our Sunda.

Synog
litera.
achers
Tatefy)
88 been
ke them
© unable
teachers?

ong: Tega.

; -s
will be seen from the following table: — 7 Schools
1920 1925
Sunday-school Teachers .... 9,553 15,282 20.174
Though the way has been opened through our Correspondence

School, institutes, and training-classes, very much remaing to be d
to develop an army of well-trained lay workers, whose number is being
increased by about one thousand annually, .
Through District boards and school superintendents considerable
progress has been made to clarify the objectives of the Sunday-schoo]
in conferences and circuit associations. Notably in the Western
District circuit associations, with the superintendent and Visitor
taking the initiative, have added very much to the close cooperation
between day-schools and Sunday-schools. There are fine possibilities
still to be realized by many circuits in Synod through these occasional
meetings. One of the foremost duties of the visitor is the guidance
of elementary Christian education in his circuit. These associations
offer him a splendid opportunity ‘to discharge this important duty.
Your Committee has also given special attention to summer-
schools or vacation Bible-schools, which we propose to designate by
the name “Summer Bible-schools.” At first a subcommittee studied
this agency. The committee was then expanded to include two pastors

to assist the secretary in the preparation of a manual for this in-
stitution.
B. The Work of the Secretary.

In 1927 our secretary was called “to fill the position of editor of
the Sunday-school literature together with that of director of the
Correspondence Course and that of acting secretary of the General
Sunday-school Board.” At the formation of the Board of Christian
Education in 1929 he was designated by the Board as “Secretary of
Sunday-schools,” retaining the triple duty of his call.

As secretary he has Prepared the programs for, and kept the
minutes of, our meetings; carried on the official correspondence of
your Committee; planned the directing policies of our work; rep-
resented your Committee and Board in essays, articles, conferences,
and conventions; maintained the necessary contact with other boards

Kv. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. 1932. 95

“and institutions of Synod in such points as the Synod-wide Roll-call,
“pible-study, and educational committees of the Walther League,
“pnified editorial policy for our juvenile church-papers, planning of
the educational program for, and lecturing in, summer camps; lece-

turing in the summer-school for pastors and teachers in St. Louis in
4931 and giving impetus to the summer-school for teachers in River

-Forest in 1932; studying and observing educational trends beyond

our circles; collecting, filing, and indexing a considerable working
library of books and periodicals for present and future use, etc.

As editor most of his time and attention was given to the prepa-
ration and improvement of our Sunday-school literature. Since
January, 1930, when the Junior Bible Student was turned over to
him, all the periodical literature has been under his personal super-
vision. This includes Concordia Primary Leaflets, Junior Lessons,
Intermediate Lessons, Senior Lessons, Junior Bible Student, and
Sunday-school Teachers’ Quarterly. Lesson Helps for the Junior
Bible Student have also been supplied to the Workers Quarterly of
the Walther League. (The Bible Student [for Seniors], also an of-
ficial periodical of our series, is edited by Dr. Theo. Graebner and
published by the Walther League.) In addition to the quarterlies,
Lessons for Beginners were finished and published in 1931.

The publication of these periodicals requires the preparation of
seven pupils’ lessons each week and teachers’ helps for six of these
lessons, or an average of thirfeen lessons.

In addition to the regular periodicals the Lektionsbuch fuer
Schule und Haus was published for German Sunday-schools in 1930.
Christmas, Easter, Reformation, and Rally Day services were either
written or edited. The Catechism Lessons of Dr. GQ. Mezger were
revised in periodical and book form. The periodical form was dis-
continued at the end of 1930. A third edition of the book was pre-
pared in 1981. .

Considerable preliminary work has been done on the following
proposed publications: The Lutheran Sunday-school, a handbook for
pastors, officers, and teachers; teachers’ manual for Lessons for Be-
ginners; an English parallel to Lektionsbuch fuer Schule und Haus,
a pupils’ edition and a teachers’ edition; a manual of Lutheran
summer Bible-schools; lessons for the adult Sunday-school; a study
of week-day religious instruction. .

Pastors K. Kretzschmar, A. OC. Mueller, R. R. Caemmerer, and
L. Braeunig wrote certain quarters of the Junior Bible Student.
Since August 1, 1931, Rev. Braeunig has done much of the editorial
work on the Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Lessons.

As director of the Correspondence School the secretary gave
impetus and direction to the training of Sunday-school teachers
wherever possible. Outlines of Lessons for Correspondence Courses