# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1886_S76
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

76 Proceedings of the eleventh convention

change with their missionaries. Also, as already mentioned,
all the mission places were visited in this time, partly by members of the
Commission itself, partly by pastors commissioned by it.

2. As regards the periodicals which are published in the interest of the Negro Mission
and on behalf of the Synodical Conference [Synodalconferenz], the
"Miſſions⸗Taube" [Mission Dove] has 12005, the "Pioneer" 3800 readers, which compared with the figures communicated
to the Reverend Conference in 1884 shows a decline in the number of readers.
In January 1885 Pastor Otto Hanser, with the assistance of the
former co-editor, Pastor Sappers, took over the editorship of the "Miſſions⸗Taube." — Since these periodicals are intended to promote interest in
our mission in our synods, it will certainly not be
superfluous to speak about the causes of the number of readers, relatively small for our synods,
which moreover seems to be in decline.

3. The wish of the Reverend Synodical Conference that the synods belonging to it
and the individual district synods make the Negro Mission in their annual
sessions an object of their discussion has been fulfilled, in that the Commission has in good time given the presidents
a short report on the inner and outer state of the mission, together with the
treasurer's report, and these communicated them to their synods.
This year's report was even printed by the Reverend Wisconsin Synod in
its synodical organ, "Gemeindeblatt."

4. As concerns the treasurer's report for the last two years,
the Reverend Synodical Conference will have noted with joy the satisfactory state
of our treasury. Whereas two years ago we still had $1492.70
of debt on our property in New Orleans, and even last
year the income from contributions was at times so weak that our
treasurer could often hardly meet the current expenses of the mission,
now, on the contrary, by God's grace our income in the last
year has so risen that not only did no difficulties arise in meeting
the current expenses, although one more missionary is employed,
but also the existing debt was paid off and the $600 for
the newly bought church in Carollton could be paid out at once.
Nevertheless we must not conceal that the present contributions are not sufficient
if we want to spread the mission net further, to which the
blessing of God experienced urgently enough calls us, and if we
want to open a new station in New Orleans, to which our zealous
missionaries, supported by the pastoral conference there, most urgently
advise. When our missionaries were looking around the city for a suitable district
for the opening of our third station, which is now in Carollton, they
found in the middle of the city on Baronne Street
a large Negro population that is not yet provided for spiritually, and