 The Evangelical-Lutheran Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM), which was founded in 1977 as a common organisation for the Churches of Hanover, of Brunswick and of Schaumburg-Lippe, maintains relationships with the overseas partner churches of the Hanoverian regional church.Its history dates back to 1849 when Pastor Ludwig Harms began training the first missionaries.The headquarters of the ELM is in Hermannsburg in the "Südheide".