National Lutheran Council. Division of Welfare.

The National Lutheran Council (NLC) was founded on Septmeber 6, 1918 as a common agency of participating Lutheran church bodies to administer domestic programs, publicize Lutheran activities and beliefs, and provide overseas emergency relief to areas devastated by World War I. By the 1940s, the NLC expanded and reorganized its program through the creation of divisions, departments, commissions, and bureaus. Its Division of Welfare was first established as a Department in 1940 and as a Division in 1946. Under the Division, the Lutheran Resettlement Service was established in 1948 to secure jobs and housing for Displaced persons and to.

Serve as the contact office for American sponsors and Lutheran World Federation staff in coordinating Displaced persons arrival to the U.S. This Service was replaced in 1953 by the Lutheran Refugee Service which was carried out jointly by the NLC and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LC-MS) and brought more than 15,000 refugees to the U.S. In 1960, this program was encompassed by the Lutheran Immigration Service, a joint agency of the NLC and LC-MS designed to provide information on immigration procedures, arrange for the reception of immigrants upon entry into the country, and represent Lutheran churches before the U.S. government.

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