# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1928_S40
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40 Proceedings of the thirty-first convention

a pedestrian and invited him to get in and ride with them. Soon the talk turned
to church matters. The stranger told them that he had attended the service in
our chapel in East Selma a few times. The people near Maplesville, he said, were
weary of the colored Baptist church there and would be glad if they could attend
Lutheran services. He asked them to begin Lutheran services in Maplesville.

When they came back to Selma, Prof. Lynn reported what he had heard to
Superintendent Schmidt. A service was arranged, and on Luther's birthday last
autumn Schmidt and Lynn drove to Maplesville and called on a certain Grant
Lanier, whose daughter attends our college. By Lanier's house stand three large
oak trees. Under these improvised seats had been set up. It was night and the
air cool. So a big wood fire was made. People who were passing by were attracted
by the fire and the assembled audience. Both mission workers preached. Eighteen
adults asked by signing their names for regular ministration. Their request was
of course granted. Lynn, who as president of the institution in Selma and as
professor as well as pastor of the congregation at Kings Landing already had
more than enough work, nevertheless gladly took over the service of the new
station Maplesville. Services are held in a vacant board shack. Twenty-six
persons have already been baptized or confirmed. That has happened in eight
months. The congregation at Maplesville is our twenty-eighth organized
congregation in Alabama, although work in this state was begun only twelve years
ago. Besides the 28 congregations in Alabama we have one congregation in
Pensacola, Fla. These 29 congregations have a membership of 2,135 souls.
Then work is also being done at two other places, namely in the Veterans'
Hospital at Tuskegee and in the Normal School in Montgomery. The services at
both places are attended by 250 persons.

Status of the Individual Congregations.

In earlier reports we presented each congregation individually and reported on
its condition. But since the number of congregations and preaching places has
become large, we must give up this way and group the congregations, and indeed
we will divide them into three groups.

1. Congregations that decreased in number of souls in the past
biennium. 1. Holy Ark., 70 souls (loss 3). 2. Ingomar, Ala., 25 souls (loss 1).
3. Joffre, Ala., 29 souls (loss 13). 4. Longmile, Ala., 55 souls (loss 9).
5. Midway, Ala., 51 souls (loss 19). Total loss in Alabama: 45. — 6. Napoleonville,
La., 11 souls (loss 7). 7. Trinity, New Orleans, La., 51 souls (loss 6). Total
loss in Louisiana: 13. — 8. St. Paul's, Charlotte, N. C., 102 souls (loss 72).
9. Bethel, Charlotte, 25 souls (loss 12). 10. Gold Hill, N. C., 30 souls (loss 2).
11. High Point, N. C., 19 souls (loss 9). 12. Lowerstone, N. C., 40 souls (loss 4).
13. Monroe, N. C., 22 souls (loss 18). 14. Shankletown, N. C., 37 souls (loss 2).
15. Southern Pines, N. C., 34 souls (loss 1). 16. Spartanburg, S. C., 86 souls
(loss 2). Total loss in 9 congregations in the Carolinas: 122. 17. Meherrin, Va.,
139 souls (loss 16). 18. Grace, St. Louis, 75 souls (loss 73; branching off).
Total loss in 18 congregations: 269.