LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 335

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332 CHURCH LITERATURE AND COMMUNICATIONS

10-03

Report of Editorial Commission
for Official Periodicals

Communication is a significant word in our time and
a crucial word for a church engaged in the Lord's mission.
The task of communicating God’s message and the important
news of the church is a key concern for the Synod’s Edi-
torial Commission for Official Periodicals and the staff of
The Lutheran Witness, Reporter, and Lutheraner.

The lives of many are touched through the church’s
periodicals. Articles, special features, and news items help
create an awareness of and sensitivity to our Synod’s re-
solve and determination to share the Gospel. Members of
the editorial commission and the editorial staff recognize the
importance of the communications task. We commit our-
selves to a responsible program of continued excellence in
order that Witness, Reporter, and Lutheraner may be in-
struments that promote the Synod’s work and help to teach
and inform its membership.

Three newly appointed members of the editorial com-
mission took office Jan. 1, 1972: Rev. Eugene Krentz, ad-
ministrative assistant to the president of Concordia Lutheran
College, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Dr. Elmer Kraemer, director of
administrative services for the Lutheran Medical Center,
St. Louis; and William Wagner, executive editor of the San
Antonio Express.

They succeeded Dr. Louis P. Lochner. member of the
editorial commission since its inception in 1951; Rev. Erwin
G. Tieman, pastor emeritus of Trinity Lutheran Church,
Milwaukee; and Howard B. Woods, publisher and editor of
the St. Louis Sentinel.

Reelected as commission officers were chairman Dr.
George W. Wittmer, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church.
St. Louis, and former synodical vice-president; vice-chair-
man Rev. F. A. Niedner, president of the Nebraska District;
and secretary John E. Hoffmeyer, Sherwin-Williams Paints
executive of Cleveland.

Other members of the commission are Dr. John W. Klotz,
academic dean at Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne,
Ind.; William J. Roepke, journalism professor at the Uni-
versity of Wyoming at Laramie; and Barbara Steege, li-
brarian at Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, Ill.

In April 1971 Rev. Eldon Weisheit, pastor of Epiphany
Lutheran Church at Montgomery, Ala., was appointed asso-
ciate editor. Author and contributor to the Witness and
Advance, he joined the editorial staff in July 1971.

Other staff members are Dr. Martin W. Mueller, execu-
tive editor; Rev. Albert W. Galen, managing editor; and Rev.
Frank Starr, associate editor.

Dr. Herman A. Mayer, former synodical mission execu-
tive, continues to edit Der Lutheraner on a part-time basis.
The German publication now appears once every 2 months
and is printed in about 3,400 copies. Most Lutheraner
readers are older people, but immigrants of all ages read
the Missouri Synod’s German church paper. Circulation
losses of older readers through death have been partially
offset by new subscribers.

As authorized by the Milwaukee convention. the edi-
torial commission in cooperation with Concordia Publishing
House in the fall of 1971 published two experimental issues
of the Witness which incorporated news and other features
usually carried in the Reporter tabloid newspaper. Response
to the experimental editions, as well as findings of a reader-
ship survey, indicated approval of the combined publication.

The commission therefore decided. upon submitting its
plans to the Council of Presidents and the synodical Board
of Directors, to publish the Witness magazine with Reporter
news and features once every 3 weeks (tri-weekly) and to
publish the Reporter tabloid newspaper at least four times
a year. The Reporter in 1972 devoted significant space to
reports of the District conventions, first assignments of
graduates of the Synod’s terminal schools, the annual report
of the Synod’s treasurer, names and addresses of the Syn-
od’s overseas missionaries, and 125th-anniversary features.

Concordia Publishing House hosted a meeting of District
edition editors early in 1972 to help them gear to the new
publication schedule. The commission appreciates the co-
operation of the editors, most of whom are parish pastors

and perform their editorial service in addition to parish
work,

Special thanks are due to Rev. Roger Sommer, dean of
the District editors, who retired in 1972 after producing the
English District edition of the Witness for 25 years.

New appointees brought to St. Louis for orientation ses-
sions during the past biennium included the editors of the
recently established New Jersey and New England Districts,
who will edit the 34th and 35th District editions of the
Witness. (At this writing only three North American Dis-
tricts are without Witness District editions.)

The editorial commission is responsible for the editorial
policies of the official periodicals. In commission meetings
the publications are constantly evaluated in the light of
those policies and reviewed in relation to objectives set
forth in statements and resolutions adopted by the Synod in
convention.

The editorial commission is not responsible for the edi-
torial policies of the District editions of the Witness. Resolu-
tion 4-36 of the Denver convention declared that “the au-
tonomy of the editorial structure of each District edition of
the Witness shall be maintained and adequately safe-
guarded.”

An informal readership survey in the late summer of
1972 indicated general satisfaction with the format and
frequency of issue of the Witness and the Reporter. Re-
sponses and comments, however, raised a number of ques-
tions in the minds of commission members.

The magazine format of the Witness drastically limits the
amount of news that can be published and makes it im-
possible to be current with the news because production and
mailing of a magazine proceed at a slower pace than that
of a newspaper. The commission is therefore exploring
alternate publication programs.

The commission takes this opportunity to express its
grateful appreciation to the following:

To Dr. Ralph L. Reinke, president of Concordia Pub-
lishing House, and his staff for their counsel and help in
producing and promoting distribution of the official peri-
odicals;

To District presidents and conventions that welcomed
representatives of the editorial.commission and passed reso-
lutions urging congregations to adopt the every-home plan
by which the Synod’s official periodicals are placed in the
homes of all members:

To Lutheran Brotherhood for its $2,800 grant making it
possible for all retired pastors, professors, and called teachers
to get a free one-year subscription to the official periodicals;

To District business managers and congregational repre-
sentatives who do the paper work for renewals, new sub-
scriptions, and changes of address to insure the wide distri-
bution the official periodicals enjoy.

The fine spirit in which so many members of the Synod
work with us makes our service as commission members a

pleasure. George W. Wittmer, Chairman

John E. Hoffmeyer, Secretary

10-04
Report of Board for Public Relations

The Department of Public Relations continues to strive to
carry forward the purpose. objectives, and functions of the
department as they are set forth in the Handbook of The
Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod. During the period since
the board’s last report at the 1971 convention, however. the
effectiveness of the department has continued to be ham-
pered by limitations of time and staff.

Board and Staff

Deep appreciation is due the following members who
faithfully served on the board during the past biennium:
Rev. Victor C. Rickman (chairman), Chicago, Il.; Mr. Ray
Dankenbring (vice-chairman), St.Louis, Mo.: Mrs. Jean
Garton (secretary), Pittsburgh, Pa.; Dr. George Beto, Hunts-
ville, Tex.; Mr. Herbert Freise, Walla Walla, Wash.: Mr.
Richard Hanneman, Elmhurst, Ill; and Rev. Ewald H.
Mueller, Ridgewood, N. J.

The board particularly recognizes the services of Rev.
Rickman, who directed and helped the three secretaries