LCMS. Executive Offices Records

The collection comprises two series: Subject Files and General Correspondence. The Subject Files are arranged in alphabetical order by topics, which include organizations (both Lutheran and non-Lutheran), synodical entities, individual names and various issues prominent during this time period.

On the following folder list the main topics in the Subject Files appear in bold with the more exact folder descriptions subsequent. Some topics have see/see also notes next to them in order to lead researchers to related topics.

The Executive Offices maintained subject files according to the synod’s administrative triennia or biennia, and the files’ contents appeared in reverse chronological order. During the arrangement process the folders have been placed in chronological order and broken into smaller groups for ease of use. However, due to the size of the collection, individual items within each folder are still in reverse chronological order.

The bulk of the records consists of correspondence. There are financial documents and miscellaneous reports scattered throughout. The correspondence has been left in the order in which it was maintained: replies to incoming letters appear before those letters (originally stapled). The color of the replies’ carbon paper (e.g. yellow is from the President’s Office) often makes it easy to determine to which executive officer the file belonged despite the occasional lack of closing/signature on the carbons.

Many duplicates and unannotated records have been removed from this collection and have been placed with their appropriate record groups. File copies of various meeting minutes were sent to one or more of the executive officers for two primary reasons: in order to reflect their positions as members of the groups or in order to keep them informed of the groups’ actions. Unlike publications sent to the CHI Library, no notes to researchers have been made to record these removals. For more information on synodical entities discussed in this collection, please consult the records held at Concordia Historical Institute.

The Finance files have been grouped more closely under general headings. Due to the lack of dates and of headings on the documents and on the original files in this section, the materials have been left very much as they were kept by the Executive Offices. The inability to determine to which officer the files belonged also contributed to the decision to leave the files in their original arrangement. Therefore, there are several general files from the same year on one or two topics, such as Fiscal Review Commission and Work Program. Many unannotated duplicates, several of which were Board of Directors meeting docket exhibits from the Controller’s Office, have been removed from this section during the arrangement process.

Folders pertaining to the synod’s higher education institutions are in alphabetical order by the names of the cities in which the schools are located, not by the names of the schools.

The folders concerning the Inter-Lutheran Consultation, 1962-1967, contain correspondence, minutes and reports concerning the establishment of the Lutheran Council in the U. S. A. The LCMS joined The American Lutheran Church (TALC), the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (SELC) in planning the organization that would replace the National Lutheran Council.

The Lutheran Council in the USA (LCUSA) was formed by the Inter-Lutheran Consultation. There are files concerning both groups in this collection. Many materials located in the LCUSA files, such as file copies of various committee meeting agenda and minutes have been removed. The records of LCUSA are available at the Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in Chicago as part of the Helen M. Knubel Archives of Cooperative Lutheranism. Microfilm copies of the LCUSA portion of this collection will eventually be available at Concordia Historical Institute.

The Legal Counsel files contain correspondence and enclosures on a wide variety of topics that required legal advice or assistance. In most cases the topics deal with insurance, investments and property held by the synod. In the years 1972 to 1977 there are references to lawsuits and copies of legal agreements between the synod and other parties. Researchers are urged to consult the rest of the Subject Files series for any additional information on the areas, programs or individuals mentioned in these files.

There is much material about LCMS mission activity. These folders are arranged alphabetically by the names of the boards to reflect the administrative changes that the 1965 convention approved. By 1 February 1966 there was a single Board for Missions with units responsible for the areas formerly overseen by individual boards. As of 1 February 1966 the following boards listed in the 1965 Handbook no longer existed: Board for Missions to the Deaf, Board for Missions to the Blind, Board for European Affairs, Board for World Missions, Board for North American Missions, Commission on College and University Work.

The General Correspondence series is arranged in alphabetical order by the name of the correspondent, the name of the congregation/organization or the topic assigned to the letters (e.g. ecology). The letters are dated from both the Harms and the Preus administrations, dating approximately 1968 to 1978. While most of the letters are to and from the president’s office, some are from the executive officer or the secretary.

This section of the records represents those materials that were maintained as general correspondence files. There are usually fewer than five letters from a single individual or organization. Therefore, separate subject headings appearing here were not placed into the larger subject files series of records, which comprise the Subject Files series of this collection.

Some letters have enclosures or were attached to other letters. To determine where a group of materials begins there is, in most cases, a name or subject written in the upper right-hand corner of the reply or of the incoming letter. This is the same method that was used in the Subject Files series. In both series, large amounts of material are held together as a unit by acid-free paper wrappers within the files.