# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1885_S22 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 22 The Lutheran Pioneer. Se — em Obituary. In the death of Mrs. Mathilde Nicholls the Ey. Luth. Mt. Zion Congregation has lost an active and faithful member. Sister Nicholls was born in South Carolina. When the late unpleasantness between the North and South was happily settled and the Colored people were permitted to go out of the house of bondage she went to Mississippi and lived there for some 15 or 16 years. During the last 6 years of her life she resided with her daughter, Mrs. Lightfoot, in this city. After having been duly instructed in the doctrines of the Christian religion she was baptized and confirmed in the Ey. Luth. Mt. Zion church on the 11th day of February, 1883. The deceased was a pious woman, a devout and attentive hearer of the Word of God and a regular participator in the Lord’s Supper. She was one of those who with the Psalmist of old could truly say: ‘My soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. One day in thy courts is better than a thousand.” When unable on account of sickness, to walk to the house of God she entreated the sisters “that came to see her to help her thither that she might once more in fellowship with them offer up to the Lord her prayers and praises and participate with them in the holy Sacra- ment. But owing to the nature of her disease her wishes: could not be carried out.—The de- ceased was an unassuming member of the king- dom of Christ, ‘‘adorned with that meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price,”” content to learn from the divine Word and to manifest in her daily walk her Jove to and her faith in the blessed Redeemer, “‘Her beauty this, her glorious dress: Jesus, his blood and righteousness.”’ But though of a quiet and retiring dis- position she was well versed in the Word and doctrines of Holy Scripture and could, if need be, give answer to every one that asked a rea- “son for the hope that was in her. Her suffer- ings were at times painful, but not a word of complaint or murmuring escaped her lips; like a true and tried disciple of Christ she patiently bore the cross, silently praising him in her trib- ulation, and looking for the blessed hour of deliverance. After four months sickness that hour came. On the 29th of April she died in Christ, in whom she had trusted while living. - Her fu- neral took place on the day following from the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Lightfoot. The Missionary delivered the funeral discourse based on Psalm 90, 12., to a Jarge assembly who had come to pay the last respects to the deceased who was loved by all that knew her. Her re- ‘mains were then deposited in the Gerod Ceme- tary there to await the resurrection of the just. uae “Her trials and her gricfs are past. A Dlessed end is her’s at last, ~ - Ghrist’s yoke she bore and did His will. Bt ate _ And though she died she liveth still.’” a _ New Orleans, Ia., May 18th, 1885. - = git ; MissionaRy. money to the poor widow. So we went to this man—the widow and I—and the man said he would be happy to help the widow. And he drew out a bill for twenty pounds, and the widow signed it, and I signed it, too. Then he put the signed paper in his desk, and took out the money and gave it to the widow. But the widow, counting it said: ‘Sir, there are only 15 pounds here.’ ‘It is all right,’ said the man; ‘that is the interest I charge.’ And as we had no redress, we came away. But the widow prospered; and she brought the twenty pounds to me, and I took it myself to the office of the man who lent it, and I said to him, ‘Sir, there are the twenty pounds from the widow.’ And he said, ‘Here is the paper you signed, and if you know any other poor widow, I will be happy to help her in the same way.’ I said to him: ‘You help the widow! Sir, you have robbed this widow, and if you repent not you will be damned!’ And, my friends, I kept my eye upon that man; and before six months were over God smote him and he died. Hear the solemn warning of James speaking by the Holy Ghost: ‘Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your gar- ments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be a wit- ness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.’”’ Our Colored Mission in New Orleans. From a correspondence of Zhe Workman we clip the following report of our Mission in New Orleans: The Colored Mission is under the pastoral care of Rev. Bakke, who likewise preaches for the Scandinavian seamen who come to this port. The Colored Mission consists of two congrega- tions. A Parochial School is connected with each congregation. The one congregation al- ready numbers forty-two communicants, with one hundred children in the day school. The other, called the Chapel, has twenty-six com- municants, with eighty in the school. We at- tended services at both the congregations and were pleased with the orderly deportment of the worshippers. We also visited one of the schools and were really surprised at the good order, the eagerness to learn, and the credit- able recitations of hard lessons. From all that we can learn, we are convinced that this beginning, though small as yet, is the commencement of a great work among the de- spised and neglected of this race. The public schools for these colored children are said to be very poor. ‘The teachers are incompetent and the pay insufficient. These two Lutheran Parochial Schools are doing solid work. They are turning out ex- cellent scholars. The pupils are not only in- structed in the ordinary secular branches but they are taught Luther's catechism, Bible his- tory, and our evangelical hymns, which they sing beautifully. ‘The missionary informed us that all over the neighborhood of his two schools he can hear the colored children singing these precious hymns and melodies. These two little schools are already making an impression and are becoming known. The teachers are com- pelled to turn away applicants every week for wantof room. The congregations are growing out of the schools. And we are glad to learn that these colored people, after having been instructed in the catechism, become truthful, honest, pure and consistent Christians. We are glad also to learn that the same Synod ex- pects to send another missionary and another teacher or two to New Orleans by autumn. They also have a colored mission at Little Rock, Arkansas, which is carried on in the same Way. ~ <—_e No Grace Without Means. Some fanatical people have much to say of God, of forgiveness of sins, of divine grace and of the death of Christ. But of the means where- by a man may have Christ and whereby grace comes to a man, so that a man obtains grace and so that grace and sin are brought together, they know nothing; and they tell us that all this is done by the Spirit only, and that the external oral word, baptism and sacrament, can accomplish nothing. And yet they talk of grace as though it was a great treasure. It is like telling a man of some great treasure and speaking very highly of it, but at the same time hiding the key and destroying the bridges whereby the treasure is reached.—Juther. ——— —- oe Fill the Sack. 2 ~ o