LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 379

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PARISH SERVICES 379

and slanted news from only one perspective. This places the
department in a difficult position, especially considering that it
is charged in the synodical bylaws with creating “an image of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod which will engender
confidence in and respect for the church body and acceptance
of its message” and with creating “a mental climate in which
the church can achieve its essential mission to a maximum
degree.”

Throughout the long period of controversy the Department
of Public Relations has always offered information and insight
on developments in the Synod. A review of the department’s
activity in 1974 alone reveals that the fast-breaking events
of that winter and spring placed new and sudden demands on
the staff. This is evidenced by the fact that the department
issued 104 news releases last year, exactly twice as many as
in 1973. A number of press conferences were held when war-
ranted, and many denominational and secular reporters often
turned to the department as their source of information about
the Synod.

As another aid to information sharing, especially for pastors
and members of congregations, the department set up a “fact-
line” telephone service last year that allowed anyone calling
the synodical headquarters to get personal attention to any
inquiry. In the first 3 weeks of this service about 1,500 phone
calls were answered by members of the department.

Then, in October, the department began sending a weekly
compilation of its news releases from the previous week to all
active clergymen and congregational chairpersons in the Synod
to make them aware of synodical developments as soon as possi-
ble, so that they might share the news with their constituencies.
The “Weekly News Update,” well received by almost all, was
regrettably discontinued in February because of budget cut-
backs. However, thanks to the efforts of the Fiscal Review
Commission, “Update” was reinstituted in March, although
on a much reduced and limited basis.

The board recognizes that public relations is a service
function, designed to strengthen the work of all other organiza-
tions of the Synod. The board sees its task as reporting and
interpreting the church’s work to the many different groups with
which the church is involved.

Circumstances during the past 2 years have dictated that the
department’s major function be that of a news bureau. Although
this is an important part of the department's work, the board
feels that the Synod should expect and encourage more intense
application of the interpretive duties of the department. An
aggressive, positive interpretation program would involve em-
phasis on counseling, correlating, training, developing, and
organizing the public relations activities of the church at all
levels. But two conditions, besides insufficient time and staff,
continue to hinder the development of such a program in the
LCMS. As stated in the board’s 1973 convention report, they
were and continue to be “a lack of clarity in the definition of
the mission and message of the church and a lack of correlation
in synodical communications, both internally and externally.”

The board realizes that the first condition (which affects the
work of all, but particularly hinders the interpretive program
of the public relations department) is one which the whole
church must search out with God’s guidance. But already in
1973 concrete steps were taken that could have led to better
correlation of synodical communications.

The board was pleased that the New’ Orleans convention
passed Reolution 10-14A (‘To Correlate Internal and External
Communications of the Synod”). It specified in part that the
synodical Board of Directors design a Board for Communica-
tions through the Committee for Reorganization in consultation
with various communications functions of the church and that
appropriate Bylaw and amendment changes be prepared to
make the administrative structures of the new board operational
for adoption by the Synod at the 1975 convention.

The Board for Public Relations regrets that the Committee
for Reorganization was unable to act on the resolution. Although
the board also recognizes the need for total reorganization, the
board believes after 15 years of study by various committees
and a general agreement on the need for better coordination,
that action should not be delayed any further.

Although the Department of Public Relations continues to
make optimum use of its time and human resources for the good
of the church, it is imperative that all communications arms of
the Synod work together as closely as possible to best carry

out the command which “PR” can also stand for —‘‘Proclaim
the Redeemer.”

Victor C. Rickman, Chairman

Victor W. Bryant, Executive Secretary

7-04

Report of Commission for Services to
the Mentally Retarded

We seek to bring the Savior to mentally retarded persons.
In return they teach us: ‘‘On the Lord cast every care, He is thy
Salvation” (TLH 540). Thus we, the church, minister to them and
their families.

Publishing

Written communication to the membership and to others
continues to be by The Star. the quarterly publication acquaint-
ing the readership with current developments in this field in
education, materials, resources, and specific items for spiritual
uplift. Advance magazine is also utilized to stimulate our mem-
bership, especially during the month of November, known as
Retarded Citizens’ Month. The existing tract We Have a Re-
tarded Child and a new tract, That Retarded Family. are for use
by our parishes, pastors, and teachers for encouragement and
for counseling of the families.

Reaching-Teaching

Training institutes continue to be popular in our various
Districts, and the commission will continue to emphasize this
method for bringing information and instruction to our members.
Lutheran Women’s Missionary Leagues in many different ways
have assisted the commission in maintaining instruction and
training programs. Census figures indicate 331 classes enrolling
2,044 pupils.

Pastoral conferences are another method by which we
attempt to encourage our spiritual leaders to bring the message
of God’s love to families with retarded members. At the same
time an opportunity is afforded for direct conversation to assist
pastors with information for future counseling sessions with
the families.

A filmslip was created and distributed to all parishes in
December 1973 to help each parish by audiovisual means to
learn of the activities and helps available to them from the com-
mission. We thanked God on two different occasions this past
year for help from the Lutheran Laymen’s League and from
Bethesda Lutheran Home. The LLL provided a cassette tape
of conversations with parents who had experienced the adjust-
ment to having a retarded member in the family and the en-
couragement they received from their Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. A booklet was made available through the auspices of
Bethesda, What Do You Say to Parents of a Mentally Retarded
Child? which is of particular help to parents as well as pastors.
In each case the tape or the booklet can be obtained from the
respective source.

Lesson materials continue to be of concern to the commis-
sion in order to help teachers to be better equipped to bring
the knowledge of the Savior to retarded persons. Series II,
The Christian Faith, is a confirmation series for educable adults.
Series III, Stories from the Bible. is the new series for trainable
children. A new series, Basic Teachings of the Bible, is being
developed for trainable youth and adults as a preconfirmation
series of lessons. It will be primarily a help to the pastor or
teacher of that group as they prepare for confirmation and Com-
munion.

Since the last convention a pilot project in vacation Bible
school has been carried on by the commission to determine the
need for such a series to reach retarded persons of the church
or of the neighborhood during the summer months. With the
apparent success of that projee., special lessons for vacation
Bible school are now available and can be ordered from the new
summer catalog of Concordia Publishing House.

Ministering

As per the Handbook instructions, the commission continues
to maintain liaison with various residential facilities — Bethesda
Lutheran Home and Good Shepherd Lutheran Home of the