Collection › LCMS Convention Proceedings (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1935 · 36th Convention, Cleveland › Page 90
LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1935, Page 90

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

90 .. Proceedings of Thirty-Sixth Regular Convention,

with regard to the expansion of its parochial school system.: More
over, the full-time workers in our office are working together in sucl
close harmony and cooperation that the Board would much dislike
to disturb the present set-up in the office. -For this reason. we aré
requesting Synod to permit us to postpone: action on. the calling o
an Executive Secretary.

Schools.

It is with 4 sense of humble gratitude to God that we can report
to Synod that our schools have practically not been affected by the
economic stress so far as their numerical strength is concerned. The

following statistics may be enlightening: —
Our Schools during the Depression,

: . 1929 1980 1931 1932. 1938 1984
Number of Schools... 1,371 - 1,339 1,358 1,377 : 1,347 1,360

Enrolment ......,. 81,038 79,956 80,263 79,204 78,596 78681
Teachers ........,, 1,390 1,393 1,416 1,362¢ 1,289¢ 1, 2894
Woman Teachers .. 490 482 469 392 348 330
Pastors Teaching .. 335 326 345 349 341 339
Students Teaching.. 114 134 128 128*. 130* 63
Candidates ........ _ _ —_— 52 173 222

* Including 57 and 53 lay assistants in Brazil.

¢ Add 57 lay teachers (counted here till 1931).

t Add 53 lay teachers (counted here till 1931).

There is cause for thanksgiving in the above figures. When we
consider that the birth-rate affecting the present enrolment has de-
clined to such an extent that the slight decrease in the present enrol-
ment is more than accounted for; that the receipts for home purposes
in our congregations declined about two and a half million dollars
in the first three years of the depression, almost enough to conduct
our entire school system for a whole year; that the public-school
system during the worst days of the depression suffered tremendous
losses, many schools being closed altogether, while thousands upon
thousands’ were forced to shorten their term; that in the public
schools of our country there are probably 175,000 fewer teaching
positions at the present time because of the depression; that our
Church lost very few schools and teaching positions on account of
financial distress, when we consider all these things, we have reasons
to rejoice. God has kept His protecting hand over our school system
and has made hearts willing to make real sacrifices in behalf of the
Christian education of our children. We refer with a great deal of
satisfaction and true admiration to the’ self-sacrificing spirit and
loyal devotion shown by. many teachers and pastors as well as congre-
gations: in the maintenance of our schools, We still have more than
one half of our communicant members in congregations conducting
parochial schools. 7

On the other hand, when we observe that approximately 48 per