LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1932, Page 132

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190 Proceedings of Thirty-Fifth Regular Convention,

On January 3, 1930, these brethren, together with your Com
mittee, organized the Joint Committee on Hymnology and Liturgi ;
of the synods comprising the Synodical Conference of North ‘Amerion
Regular quarterly meetings have since been held, and a fine spirit nf
cordial and brotherly cooperation has prevailed throughout. °

The following general guiding principles were adopted: —
1) Hymns: —

a) Must be distinctively Christian in character.

b) Must be of intrinsic value as to form and content.

2) Translations : —
a) Must be a faithful rendering of the original.
b) Must be in fluent, idiomatic English.

3) Tunes: —

a) Must be suited to the text.

b) Must be good church music. (Exceptions may be made in

such cases as have text and tune associated so intimately as to be

almost inseparable.)

Your Committee divided its work and appointed a number of
subcommittees. The following brethren responded to our invitation
and are serving on these: Professors Wm. Burhop, O. Hattstaedt
W. Buszin, E. Backer, M. Lochner, K. Haase, P. E. Kretzmann, D. D °
R. W. Heintze, S. Yivisaker, Ph.D., and Dr. J. H. Ott, as well as
Pastors Wm. Lochner, A. Voss, J. H. Deckman, ©. M. Waller, K.
Ehlers, and Car] Hoffmann. _

Subsequently, as Dr. L. Fuerbringer and Prof. J. Meyer requested
to be relieved of their duties on this committee because of the stress
of other work, your Committee retained them as honorary members
and received, upon their appointment by the respective synodical
Presidents, Prof. A. Zich and the Rev. Wm. Moll as regular members.

The responses to your Committee’s several requests published in
our church-papers were very gratifying, giving evidence of a very
wide-spread interest in our work. All suggestions and recommenda-
tions as well as translations submitted are being duly considered. As
it was manifestly impossible to acknowledge all individual letters be-
cause of lack of time, your Committee wishes to do so now, by this
means, and to thank the brethren, one and all, for their ready coopera-
tion. Your Committee welcomes additional suggestions at all times.

The willing cooperation of Concordia Publishing House, which
is furnishing the necessary hymnals and other books for our work, is
herewith also thankfully acknowledged.

Your Committee also desires to express its appreciation of the

kindly interest in our work shown by brethren of our sister synod in
Australia.

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Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. 1932. 191

Your Committee has up to the time of making this report de-
finitely accepted about sixty hymns. This number will, however, be
materially increased in the near future as the various subcommittees
submit the reports on which they have been working for some time.

Your Committee would like to have an expression from this con-
vention as to whether a partial printed report of recommended hymns
ig desired from time to time or whether a provisional hymnal should
be published, and if so, in what form this is to be done and to whom
the reports are to be sent or the provisional hymnal.

Finally, your Committee hopes to be able, if the Lord grants
grace, to present its completed manuscript at the General Convention
in 1938, when, no doubt, the centennial of the Saxon emigration will
be observed.

Respectfully submitted,
ComMITTEE oN Enciish Hymnoocy anp Liturcics.
W. G. Potack, Chairman.

Committee 17 brought in the following resolution : —

Resolved, That Synod’s Committee on Hymnology and Liturgics
be instructed to keep Synod duly advised with reference to the plans
and the progress of its work on the proposed new hymnal with a view
to obtaining advice and criticism. Correspondents having valuable
suggestions to make anent the work should address the committee
(Prof. W. G. Polack, chairman) of their own initiative.

This resolution was adopted by Synod.

Report of the Literature Board.
. (Memorial 504.)

The report of the Literature Board may again be quite brief.
We have held regular monthly and, occasionally, extra meetings and
have again drawn into consultation numerous competent advisers,
single or in groups; we have delegated special duties to. groups of
specialists. We have again experienced the whole-hearted cooperation
of the Publishing House board and particularly also of the St. Louis
Faculty, which passes on all questions of orthodoxy.

We must not fail to mention the Juvenile Literature Board,
upon whose shoulders there now devolves the entire advisory cen-
sorium with respect to fiction for juvenile and adult readers.

We have not carried out the resolution of Synod to initiate
a series of historical books, practically for the same reasons mentioned
in our report to the last convention, and probably for the additional
reason that under the present business depression it does not seem
advisable to undertake the task. We take it as Synod’s wish, however,
that we shall continue this problem on our docket.