LUTI1 KUANS. 



Church is estimated at $250. During 1 1" 1 * 

 year- embraced in I lie report, 16ft separate mis- 

 sions were cared for by the board in twenty 

 States and Territories, iso missionaries were em- 

 ployed, serving 214 congregations, 45 new mis- 

 sions were received on the funds, 39 new congre- 

 gations were organized, 45 new churches built 

 or bought, and 18 missions became self-sustain- 

 in IT. The membership of the 155 missions is 

 1 :!.'.' Hi. with -JOO Sunday schools and 19,386 pu- 

 pils. The contributions for salary and local ex- 

 penses of these missions were $272,174.42, and 

 cont ributions for benevolence to $15,958.46. The 

 report of the Board of Church Extension shows 

 total receipts amounting to $107,115.53, an in- 

 crease of $27,260.15 in the past two years. This 

 increase came largely from the synods directly 

 on the apportionment, and $8,255.09 from the 

 woman's missionary societies. Loans, donations, 

 and special appropriations were made to 104 

 congregations amounting to $86,450.11. But 

 this does not by any means tell of all the work 

 done by the board. The assets of the board are 

 $228,381.20. The Western secretary, the Rev. 

 John N. Lenker, presented the work of the board 

 to 25 conventions of district synods, reaching 

 from New York and Pennsylvania to California, 

 often in the day and evening sessions; to con- 

 gregations, woman's conventions, conferences, 

 mission festivals, and educational institutions. 

 The Board of Publication, with headquarters in 

 Philadelphia, presented an interesting report of 

 work done in supplying literature for pastors 

 and people. Its assets are $75,727.73, and its 

 sales for the year ending March 31, 1893, 

 amounted to $73,696.14. The board publishes 7 

 periodicals, the combined monthly circulation 

 of which is 255,500 copies. During the two years 

 included in the report the board published 11 

 new books. 



The thirty-seventh convention of this general 

 body will be'held at Hagerstown, Md., beginning 

 June 5, 1895. 



General Council. This body composed of 

 English. (Jerinan, and Swedish Lutherans held 

 its twenty-fourth convention in the Evangelical 

 Lutheran Church of the Holv Trinity, Fort 

 Wayne, Ind.. Oct. 5-11, 1893. the Rev. Adolph 

 Spaeth, D. D., professor in the Theological Sem- 

 inary at Mount Airy, Philadelphia, delivered 

 the opening sermon. Delegates from 7 of the 

 8 district synods belonging to this body, 

 and a delegate from the English Synod of the 

 Northwest, applying for admission, were present, 

 representing 1,055 ministers, 1,777 congregations, 

 and a communicant membership of 307,523. 

 Representatives were also in attendance from 

 the* German Augsburg Synod, instructed to in- 

 quire into the doctrinal position of the Council, 

 with a view of applying for admission. The fol- 

 lowing officers were elected : President, the Rev. 

 Carl A. Swenson, Ph. D., President of Bethany 

 College, Lindsborg, Kansas ; Kn^lish recording 

 secretary, the Rev. George W. Mechling, Lan- 

 ra-ter, Ohio: German recording secretary, the 

 Rev. John Nicum, D. D., Rochester, N. Y. ; 

 Swedish recording secretary, the Rev. Carl J. 

 Petri, Minneapolis, Minn. ; and treasurer, Wil- 

 liam H. Staake, Esq., Philadelphia. The Com- 

 mittee on Church Book reported on the pub- 

 lication of the new edition of this book, which is 



said to be the most complete liturgical work ever 

 published in the I'nilcd State-. A pulpit edition 

 has also been issued, to whi< h general prayer* 

 were added, with special reference to Church fes- 

 tivals. The committee wa- in-tnui.-d to pub- 

 lish a revised edition of the Sunday-School 

 Book for the Sunday schools of the General 

 Council. The committee also reported that final 

 action had not yet been taketi on the completed 

 revision of the English translation of Luther's 

 Small Catechism, made by a joint commit tee < i 

 all the general bodies and synods in which the 

 English language is largely used. The- transla- 

 tion proposed by the joint committee was pre- 

 sented for examination. The German Editorial 

 Committee was instructed to issue a new edition 

 of the German Sunday-School Book. The 

 Board of Publication was authorized to publish 

 a special edition of the Church Book for the 

 use of missions. The report of the Board of 

 Publication presented a large increase in its busi- 

 ness since tne publication of the new Church 

 Book. The total receipts were $22,578.13, and 

 the expenditures $22.317.19. 



After a protracted discussion concerning its 

 relation to other synods in the Council, the Eng- 

 lish Synod of the Northwest was admitted with- 

 out a dissenting vote. The Rev. William A. 

 Passavant, D. D., presented the report of the 

 directors of the Theological Seminary at Chicago. 

 This institution, formally opened in the autumn 

 of 1891, has 3 professors, 31 regular students, 

 and 39 post-graduate students. Since the last 

 convention of the Council a professor's residence, 

 and a hall for the seminary for the accommoda- 

 tion of students, have been erected. The semi- 

 nary is permanently located on the north side, 

 near Lake Michigan, and is open to all students 

 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church who, hav- 

 ing the proper gifts, give evidence of Christian 

 character and experience. The curriculum of 

 the institution is very comprehensive, embrac- 

 ing 18 different courses, and makes provision 

 for a post-graduate course. The report of the 

 Immigrant Mission in New York city showed 

 that important work has been done among the 

 thousands of Lutherans who annually come to 

 this country. The receipts of the Emigant House 

 for the year ending April 1, 1893, were $17,2!fJ.:'.H. 

 and the expenditures were $15,548.38. With 

 reference to the overture from the General Synod 

 looking toward a union of Lutherans (see above), 

 a committee was appointed to confer with a 

 similar committee of the General Synod as to t he- 

 real object in view, with the understanding that 

 practical co-operation can only be possible on t he- 

 basis of unity in faith and practice, ami the com- 

 mittee was instructed to act always on the basis 

 of the principles of faith of the General Council, 

 and to take no action binding on it. 



The home missionary operations of the Gen- 

 eral Council are much more extensive than ap- 

 pears from the minutes of this body. Kach 

 synod carries on mission work within its own 

 territory, while the large field not thus provided 

 for is intrusted to 8 general boards English. 

 Herman, and Swedish. The entire number of 

 home missions of this general body, as carried on 

 by the 3 boards and the individual district 

 synods, is :{'J1. and the money expended for this 

 work during the past two years amounted to 



