# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1954_S168
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

168 Proceedings of the Forty-Third Convention,

Port Arthur, St. Mark; Vacant bedl

In January, 1953, Pastor John Fey accepted a call to Penn-
sylvania after having served this mission for a period of nine
months. Pastors Krupp, Buvinghausen, and Buntrock served the
mission during the vacancy until Student Theodore Cooper of
Greensboro, N.C., undertook the work here in June, 1953. A very:
successful vacation Bible school was conducted, with an enroll-:
ment of 125. Student Cooper has also instructed six adults in,
preparation for church membership. The attendance at services
has been as high as 44 on some Sundays. Student Cooper will
return to Greensboro this fall in order to complete his studies.
Candidate Quintin Thompson of Greensboro has been engaged to
do the work here for a period of ten months, beginning August 1,
1954. The mission is paying the remaining indebtedness on the
chapel to the Mission Society at Port Arthur. This society, com-
posed of members of our Port Arthur churches, had supplied the
funds for the lot and the chapel and had retired most of the cost
until recently, when the mission undertook to pay off the re-
mainder of the indebtedness. An attic fan and a small electric
organ have also been donated to the mission by members of the
Society. .

Statistics, 1952: Souls — 14; Communicants — 10;
Sunday School — 23
1953: Souls — 25; Communicants — 8; Voters — 6;
Sunday School — 40
Accessions by Baptism, 1952: Children — 4; Adults — 10
1953: Children —6; Adults —0
Accessions by Confirmation, 1952: Children —0; Adults — 0
1953; Children —0; Adults —0
Financial Report, 1952: Offerings for Home Purposes — $476.05;
World Missions — $39.69;
Subsidy — $3,390.08
1953: Offerings for Home Purposes — $470.00; .';
World Missions — $40.00; ,
Subsidy — $1,200.00

THE WESTERN DISTRICT
By the Rev. M. Schaefer, Mission Director

We have eight Negro mission congregations in the Western
District. Five of these have shown little progress in the past
biennium as far as numerical growth is concerned. The other
three have made progress. The work in Nashville, Tenn., was
discontinued because there were but few people that were inter-
ested and because it was difficult to serve the group in Nashville
from far-away Memphis or Chattanooga. Resurrection settlement
mission of the St. Louis City Mission Society was also given up
because most of the people were forced to move out of the neigh-
borhood on account of the construction of a new highway which
necessitated the condemnation and destruction of many houses in
this slum area. The plan to relocate Mercy Mission in St. Louis
and to build a new chapel for this small group has also been
given up. Both the local Ladies’ Aid for Colored Missions and
the Home Missions Committee.of the Western District finally
concluded the cost would be prohibitive under the circumstances.