# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1920_S25
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1920. 25

opened and has served until now, has already been able to baptize 7 souls and confirm 6. Others take a waiting attitude. In the large city of New Orleans there are 6 Lutheran Negro congregations as well as our Luther College. St. Paul (Pastor Miles S. Gebauer) is the largest of these 6 congregations, indeed the largest in our whole mission. It now numbers exactly 333 baptized members. This number would be still larger if a daughter congregation had not been split off. In addition the congregation has had to endure several and rather long vacancies. In the whole territory in Louisiana the number of communicants has risen from 466 to 605 and the number of baptized members from 915 to 1074. In the vicinity of Plaquemine a promising field has opened to us. We are here in the Black Belt of Louisiana. Petitions have reached us from the neighboring places White Chapel and Goula. In the state capital, Baton Rouge, a higher school was offered us free of charge. We would gladly have accepted the gift; but the lack of teachers in particular made it impossible. — In the Louisiana territory we have lost by death a long-serving, faithful, successful worker — Teacher Eugen R. Vix. He entered the service of our Negro Mission on 7 December 1881 as a teacher candidate, namely as teacher at our Mount Zion station in New Orleans, and worked with great skill and blessing in this school until his blessed end. He died on 11 July 1918 after 37 years of teaching. May his memory be blessed! His place has not yet been able to be filled again. All calls were in vain.

The Carolina Field.

This is our second oldest and, indeed, largest mission field. The work was begun in the year 1891. We have 22 congregations here. In Greensboro is the Immanuel College. In the period of four years work has been discontinued at the following three places: Kernersville, Reimerstown and Fayetteville. Kernersville, as became clear to the Commission after a short trial period, was no field for us. There were almost no unchurched Negroes there. From the rural place Reimerstown the exodus was so strong that only a small group remained, and the few were advised to join at Mount Pleasant and Gold Hill. The old chapel was given to the newly founded congregation at Shankletown. This has taken down the building material, brought it the 11 miles to Shankletown, and there erected an Immanuel Chapel again. Fayetteville was no field for us. Church and school, which were indeed placed at our disposal free of charge, stand outside the city. Last September the Commission was advised to begin mission work in the city. An investigation showed, however, that people here would certainly like to have a school, and in fact a high school for