LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 404

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SPECIAL AND SUNDRY MATTERS 405

15.29 The Military and Veterans in Hospitals
The commission shall —

a. provide for the spiritual needs of members of
the congregations of the Synod and of others who
desire its service in hospitals maintained by the
Armed Forces and Veterans Administration;

; b. secure the services of civilian pastors to min-
ister in hospitals not served by a chaplain of the
Synod;

c. provide hospital chaplains and pastors with

appropriate devotional literature and materials.

15.29 The Military and Veterans in Hospitals

The commission shall —

a. provide for the spiritual needs of members
of the congregations of the Synod and of others
who desire its service in hospitals maintained by
the Armed Forces and Veterans Administration;

b. secure the services of Lutheran visitation pas-
tors to minister in hospitals not served by a chap-
lain of the Synod;

c. provide hospital chaplains and pastors with
appropriate devotional literature and materials.

M. S. Ernstmeyer, Executive Secretary

9-02

Report of Department of Archives
and History
Concordia Historical Institute

A former President of the Synod, Frederich Pfotenhauer,
reminded the church 39 years ago:

Church history teaches that the generations who have inherited
their possession from the fathers do not prize these so highly as the
fathers who fought and labored for them. That the spiritual life has
declined among us is evident from various observations. (Address
delivered at Fiscal-Visitors Conference, River Forest, Ill.. Sept. 3.
1936: Der Lutheraner. Vol. 93. March 2, 1937. p. 71).

Karl Kretzmann in his excellent history of the Atlantic Dis-
trict concluded:
What from the fathers has come down to you, be sure to earn it, that

you might possess it. (Karl Kretzmann, The Atlantic District and Its
Antecedents (Erie Printing Company. 1932], p. 136).

No one in the Synod is in a better position to remind the
church of such matters than the Concordia Historical Institute,
the Synod’s Department of Archives and History.

One can increasingly see the truthfulness of Psalm 103:15-16:
“As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so
he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and
the place thereof shall know it no more.”

But lest we despair. there is also the truthfulness of Isaiah
54:10: ‘The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed,
but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the
covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath
mercy on thee.”

Thus the Institute, too, joins the entire convention in pro-
claiming the theme “Jesus Christ Is Lord’’—the Lord of all
history!

It is the task of the Concordia Historical Institute to assist
the Synod’s entire membership in its historical needs. To this
task, enunciated in Handbook Bylaws 15.41 to 15.51, both the
board of governors and the staff of the Institute are committed.
For the task we have two basic tools: (1) a huge and growing
collection of published literature, manuscripts/archives, non-
print materials, and museum artifacts and (2) people, including
both researchers who daily make use of the collection and the
Institute’s own staff, who regularly respond to telephone, mail,
and personal requests for reference and research services.

Task Force on Self-Study

One of the Institute’s most significant activities, having far-
reaching implications for the Institute’s present and future,
was carried on by a special Task Force on Self-Study. In Decem-
ber 1972 the synodical Board of Directors asked the Institute —

to make a study, including a full statement of costs, for the purpose
of determining at what point in time it can be self-sustaining through
memberships and/or other grants and . . . that necessary funds be
provided for this purpoge if the study justifies it. such funds to be
repaid from the increased income from memberships.

The board of governors of the Institute established the fol-
lowing objectives for the task force:
1. To study the Institute’s short- and long-range future:

2. To study the financial needs of the Institute and recom-
mend whether the Institute can become self-sustaining, and if
so. to present a timetable by which this can be accomplished;

3. To evaluate the Institute goals. objectives, and functions
as outlined in the synodical Handbook and the Institute’s con-
stitution and bylaws:

4. To study the structural relationships of the Institute to
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and/or to other Lu-
theran churches and agencies in America:

5. To survey the provisions for archives-history work con-
ducted by other major American denominations:

6. To engage in study and evaluation in such other matters
relating to these issues as may be required to carry out these
assignments.

The members of the task force were Herbert A. Mueller,
Secretary of the Synod and chairman of the Division of Church
Government: Lando C. Otto, a professional librarian and parish
pastor; Harry L. Smith, senior vice-president of a bank and
Institute treasurer: Victor O. Mennicke, executive director of
The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod Foundation: Aug. R.
Suelflow, Institute director; John Daniel, a District archivist;
Gerhardt Kramer, architect and chairman of the Institute's
board: James M. Weis, seminary professor and church his-
torian; and William A. Kramer, retired Missouri Synod Secre-
tary of Schools. Consultants were H. G. Jones, former president
of the Society of American Archivists and curator of the North
Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina Library,
Chapel Hill: William B. Miller, director of the Presbyterian
Department of Archives and History, Philadelphia, Pa.: and
Lynn E. May Jr.. executive secretary of the historical commis-
sion of the Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, Tenn.

The task force studied all aspects of the Institute’s purposes,
finances, and services. Its final report was adopted in July 1974
and approved by the board of governors the next month. In-
cluded were four cgnclusions:

1. The Purpose and Mission of the Institute: The Institute’s work
and services are an essential and integral part of the Synod’s work.
As the memory of an individual largely determines his life and ac-
tions, so the Synod’s memory functions through its historical re-
sources maintained by the Institute. Therefore the Synod is respon-
sible for the Institute’s basic operation. The “basic operation” in-
cludes provisions for the building. historical collection, and staff
salaries; nevertheless, the Institute can and should aggressively
attempt to acquire additional funds from other sources, though it
is neither feasible nor desirable to achieve self-support.

Unfortunately, the rank and file of the Synod knows little about
its heritage and history and consequently also little about the mission,
purpose, and activities of the Synod and the Institute. Consequently
a greater visibility must be created for the Institute.

2. Adequate Building Facilities and Equipment: The Institute
is desperately in need of a major addition to its present building.
Such an addition will also require specialized equipment for pre-
serving resources and rendering services.

3. Adequate Staff: The Institute is woefully understaffed; con-
sequently the full-time staff is compelled to carry out excessive work
loads that cannot be borne by individuals over an extended period
of time. An urgent need exists for a full-time archivist/librarian and
a director of technical processing. Other positions such as a tech-
nician and a museum curator, although needed at this time. are rec-
ommended to be filled subsequently. replacing some of the part-
time staff.