# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1916_S85
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1916. 85

number has risen from 127 to 231. Our most populous congregation is St. Paul in New Orleans; it counts at present 330 souls and 170 communicant members.

Our colored congregation members attend diligently, on the whole, to Word and Sacrament, probably more diligently than our white congregation members in the South. A pastor who for a number of years has served white congregations in the South said to the undersigned some time ago that our colored congregations are, compared with the white ones in the South, gold in many respects, especially also with regard to church attendance and attendance at the Lord's Supper. In the month of May, at the visitation service at Spartanburg, there was a poor widow with her four small children who would rather lose her position than miss the service. In spite of her poverty she later declined various positions offered her because it was always said that she could not go to church every Sunday. This poor widow is cheerful in her faith and trust in God. The conduct of our Negro Christians in the service is praiseworthy; there is quiet and decorum, and during the sermon they listen devoutly. Young and old, even those who cannot read, take part in the congregational singing. Their children of school age are sent almost all without exception from early on to the Christian weekday school, and thereby put many white congregation members to shame. That they are heartily thankful to us for the pure Word of God which our missionaries bring to them and their children is shown by the following utterances out of many which we heard on the said trip: "The missionary has brought us the light when we sat in darkness. We cannot say at all how we value the Gospel." "I am grateful to the Lutheran Church and the Mission Commission for everything they have done for me and my ignorant people." "I am very satisfied with the Lutheran Church and its doctrine and very thankful." "We value the fact that the Word of God is told to us and our children. God bless the good Lutherans in the North for it!" "I have belonged to this congregation for eight years and am thankful for our church and school." "I must thank the Lutheran Church for all that it has done for us, and wish the Commission God's blessing." That poor widow said under tears of joy: [Printed in English.] "I can never thank God sufficiently for what He has done for me and my four little children through our pastor in the way of enlightening our hearts and minds. I have learned more in a month here than I learned in years elsewhere. God has given us the light and opened the way; and if my children will follow this light, they can never go wrong." A missionary writes: "One finds in B. appreciation for the work that is being done by the Lutheran Church in their midst. And that cheers one up again and again when courage is about to sink. How often an old little mother or some other member says to me then: 'Pastor, we can't