# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1894_S68
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

68 Proceedings of the fifteenth convention

attendance at church is 69. The Sunday school numbers 179 and the weekday school 146 pupils. At the upper class stands Teacher E. Rischow; the lower class has been vacant since the departure of Teacher Schäfer in October 1893. We have not yet succeeded in winning another teacher for this class; also the candidate proposed to us by the assignment committee of the venerable Missouri Synod did not accept our call. The small congregation gave its pastor a gratifying proof of its love and gratitude in that, without his knowledge, it took up a collection among themselves so that he could make a recreation trip to the World's Fair in Chicago, and itself submitted the request to the Commission to grant him the necessary leave. Further, the congregation this year itself paid for a repair of its church that had become necessary.

III. Meherrin, Lunenburg Co., Virginia.

Here Missionary D. Schooff works with blessing. The station has church, school and parsonage. The soul count at the end of June was 99, among them 49 communicant members. In the last two years 18 were baptized, among them 4 adults, and 15 were confirmed. 5 were buried by the church and 2 couples married. The average attendance at the services is 55. Of 100 Sunday school pupils the average number present is 47; the weekday school numbers 66. The prospect of growth is good. In cash only $66.91 has come in, to be sure, but much voluntary work has been done by the members on the mission's property, and much money thereby saved.

In the little town of Keysville, seven miles from Meherrin, the missionary last year, at the request of the people there, set up a branch station, where he preached and also employed a woman teacher. He built a chapel here with the help of his people for $172. The school numbered 45 after a few weeks and 75 pupils after a few months. For over a year the school was in a flourishing condition. The woman teacher, a Negro pastor's widow who had a good reference, conducted the school to the great satisfaction of the missionary; but he saw himself compelled to dismiss her a few months ago, because in her reports she had repeatedly been guilty of knowing falsifications. In general the spirit of lying seems to be very active there. A black lying preacher has so slandered our missionary and our mission that neither our services nor our school are attended any more. To be sure, he will probably not keep it up in the long run, but for now the missionary thinks he must suspend his mission activity in Keysville. On the other hand he reports that a number of German Lutherans have settled in the neighborhood in recent times, who will be very glad to come to a German service in our little church. But who knows whether it will not go with Keysville as it once did with Meherrin, which station we also