# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1891_S36 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) See Te ett beat | “fact in itself of immense significance. to build an opium refuge, saying, “I have 36 The Lutheran Pioneer. The Outlook from the Editor’s Window. following figures on the population of Ireland from a religious standpoint: ‘Census 1881— Protestants, 1,212,943; Roman Catholics, 8,960,891; total, 5,173,834. Census 1891— Protestants, 1,156,306; Roman Catholics, 3,549,856; total, 4,706,162. Although the decrease of the population is to be regretted, it is pleasing to find that in the decade Protestants have gained 14 per cent. over the Roman Catholics. —Tue London Missionary Society has a Polynesian mission with 20 English missionaries, 347 native ordained ministers, and 216 native preachers, 13,663 church members, 40,651 ad- herents, 13,445 in Sunday schools, and as many in day schools. The principle work is done in the Heroey, Samoan and Loyalty groups, and in New Guinea. In Rarotonga a training in- stitution was established as far back as 1839, and in it hundreds of natives have been fitted for preaching and pastoral toil, and from thence have gone out through all the vast region of the South Pacific. —On the island of St. Thomas, there is a Lutheran congregation of 400 members, mostly negroes. An English translation of the Danish liturgy is used at the services. The congrega- tion is usually served by a Danish Lutheran pastor. —Swepish Lapmark, which comprises an eighth of Sweden, is inhabited by 6400 Lap- landers, who lead a wandering life, and are very difficult to reach by the missionaries. The old, the sick and destitute are supported by the State; which has also contributed 2000 crowns to the Lapland mission. —CarisTIAns in Greenland very seldom, if ever, absent themselves from public worship on account of the weather. When it is so cold that their breath freezes and forms icicles on their faces, they go long distances in snow, and ice, and storm, to the house of prayer. Men, women and children go. Through much greater sacrifice, than the Christians of more favored lands, do the poor Greenlanders obey the in- junction: ‘‘Forsake not the assembling of your- selves together, as the manner of some is.’’ —‘T know,” said a -Bengalee woman to a missionary, ‘‘that it is wrong to pray to idols of mud and wood; but if I stopped doing so, what will other people say?”’ —Missionary Horberg (Lutheran), in Per- sia, writes that the pupils of his Bible class, on Saturday afternoons and on Sundays visit the neighboring villages, and speak to the people upon religious matters. About twenty villages have been visited. The missionary recently visited the leper village near Tebris, and |i preached to the unfortunate people, who begged him to come again. —THE owl is considered in India a bird of ill-omen. If it is heard to hoot at night, it is believed to be a harbinger of death. The Hindu believes that the bird waits and watches to do him evil. A child’s name is never men- —Mr. Sraney has recently said: ‘‘At the present time there are over 1000 officials ad- ministering the laws of civilization in the Congo State, where twenty-three years ago there was but one white man. Thirty steamers now ply the waters of the Congo, and innumer- able steam launches now cleave the waters of the great lakes. This year a navy will be placed upon the lakes; railways are now being constructed by the Belgian and German gov- ernments, and an English road has already been completed for a distance of forty miles. Over fifty missionary stations have been estab- lished, that precept and example may not be wanting for the regeneration of Africa. The old continent will never become what the new is, but the new state of Congo will become the nursery of the dark nations.’’ And he speaks of the time when he wrote a letter urging that missionaries be sent, which was published in the London Zelegram, and nearly 400,000 copies of the paper containing the letter were sold, and in a very short time money was subscribed toward equipping the first missionary station in Central Africa. Now there are scores of stations and over six thousand converts after years of ignorance and darkness. — THERE is nothing more significant, says the Missionary Iink, than the steady diffusion among Indian people of the Scriptures, and the increase in their supply. The Bible Society has six auxiliaries, including Ceylon. From the Calcutta centre alone the circulation in 1889 was over 100,000 copies, and this was 27,000 less than those iesued by the latest return from Madras. Lahore follows with about 47,000; Bombay reports 40,000 for 1889, and Bangalore 14,000. As these numbers rep- resent almost entirely genuine sales, they have all the more meaning for the future. Over 7000 copies last year were circulated in the zenanas by the agency of Bible women—a —A BLIND Indian who had become a Christ- jan went to a missionary and said: ‘I want a bell and a hymn-book and a God-book.’’ When asked why he wished them he said: ‘‘I live far away in a heathen village. If I can show the books to my friends they will, perhaps, believe what I tell them they contain and I will ring the bell for them to listen to me.’’ He went away, and after a while the message came from his village asking for a missionary. The blind Christian was dead, but as long as he lived—a year and a half from the time of his visit—he kept tally of the Sundays, and when they came he would go through the village ringing his bell and singing his hymns and telling the ‘old, old story”’ as well as he could. Some of the hearers believed, and they wished to know more of Jesus. _ —A Carnese Christian lady gave her jewels taken Christ for my adornment, and surely that is enough for any Christian woman.’’ tioned at night, lest an owl should hear it, and. —IReELanp.—The British Weekly gives the | the hateful bird repeat it every night, causing: the child to pine away and die. —In Japan there is an idol that is almost covered with little bits of chewed-up paper. People with sores and pains chew up paper and then spit it at that part of the image where their own pain lies. If it strikes and adheres they believe they will ibe Heat BOOK-TABLE. PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND CONVENTION OF THE ENGLIsu Ey. LUTHERAN SyNop of Missouri and other States, held atSt. Louis, Mo., May 20—26, 1891. Price, 15 cts. Address Mr. J. L. Singe- wald, 1408 W. Baltimore Str., Baltimore, Md. This interesting Report of our English Lutheran Synod contains the President’s Opening Address, Doctrinal Discussions on Theses concerning the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper, Reports on business matters, and the Constitution of Synod. The pam- phlet deserves a wide circulation and will, we doubt not, awaken greater interest in our English Lutheran Mission work. ———————— ES Evangelical Lutheran Colored Churches, New ORLEANS, La. EV. LUTH. 8T. PAUL’S CHAPEL. 113 Annette Str., between Claiborne and Dirbigny Divine services at 10 o’clock Sunday morning and at 74. o’clock Wednesday evening. Sunday School from 2 to 4. EV. LUTH. MT. ZION CHURCH. Cor. Franklin and Thalia Strs. paring ne sate coe at 734 Sunday evening and at 7)4 Thursday sunday y School meets at 9 o’clock. Adult catechumen class meets at 734 Tuesday evening. N. J. BAkxe, Misstonary. EV. LUTH. TRINITY CHURCH. Zimple Str., between Monroe and Leonidas. CARROLLTON. Divine services at 3 o’clock Sunday afternoon and 7 o’clock Wednesday evening. Sunday School at 9 o’clock. EV. LUTH. BETHLEHEM CHAPEL. Cor. Washington Avenue and Dryades Str. Divine servicea at 734 o’clock Sunday evening and at 734 ? clos Thursday evening. Sunday School at 9 o’clock. Ava. Bureporr, Miss1oNnaRY. St. Paul’s Colored Lutheran Church, Cor. Rock § 12th Strs., Little Rock, Ark. Divine service Rundarcers evening at 714 o’clock. Sunday School fro: Catechumen class meets fin 71—8 Wednesday evening. Singing-school from S—9 Wednesday evening. Ey. Luth. Holy Trinity Church, Springfield, Ils. Divine services at half past 10 o’clock Sunday morning and at 8 o’clock Sunday evening: Sunday Schosl at 3 o’clock P. Catechumen class meets Monday and Friday evenings. Singing-school Tuesday evening. H. S. Kwanenscuon, Missionary. TERMS: Tae LurHErAN Pionzer is published monthly, payable in advance at the following rates, uded, to-wit: 50 “ Olub rates only allowed if all copies are eto be sent to one address. All business communications to be addressed to “Concordia Publishing House,” St. Louis, Mo. All communications concerning the editorial de- ent to be addressed to Prof. R. A. BisoHorr, cordia College, Fort Wayne, Ind.