# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1898_S24 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 24 The Lutheran Pioneer. The Outlook from the Editor’s Window. —Tue island of Cuba is decidedly Roman Catholic. There is at present only one Prot- estant service maintained on the whole island ; that is a little Protestant Episcopal congre- gation in Hayana. There is a lay reader in charge of it, and the number of worshipers does not exceed twenty. To keep up a serv- ice for this handful of people the American Church Missionary Society, with headquarters in the Church Mission House, New York, pays about $1000 a year. The lay reader in charge is Senor Pena. The rest of the congregation has either been exiled or has exiled itself, and is now in Tampa, Florida. The number of these exiles steadily increases, and to care for them the Congregational Home Missionary Society maintains aservice, both at Tampa and Key West. The remnant of the little Episco- pal effort in Havana has been several times in trouble, and its place of worship has been closed no fewer than five times on some po- litical pretense, such as the lay reader being suddenly wanted, as a citizen to answer some question before some official at exactly the hour appointed for service. — Twenty years ago the Dutch on Sumatra subdued the Batta tribes dwelling on the banks and the island of the great lake Toba, in the mountains of the west side. The Batta pos- sessed a certain degree of civilization, but practised cannibalism and other cruelties. As ‘s00n as the country was pacified the Rhenish missionaries, who since 1861 were laboring among the Batta on the coast and in the val- leys, advanced their posts into the Toba re- gion. Last May a mission festival was held on the banks of the lake, which was attended by nearly 8000 persons. —Tuae oldest Rhenish missionary in Su- matra, Rey. P. H. Johannsen, died in the midst of his Batta students, whom he was preparing for the native ministry in the sem- inary at Pansurnapitu. ‘The society which within the last ten years was able to establish nine stations on the banks of the large Toba lake, high up in the mountains of West Su- matra, and to gather seven thousand Batta into the fold of the church up there, has placed a launch on the lake to facilitate the intercourse between the stations. ' —Tne Finnish missionaries among the Ovambo in S. W. Africa have to suffer a great deal of enmity from the heathen, who - openly accuse them of. having brought an " “eyil wind’? into their country to kill off their ps cattle. The terrible disease among the cattle, "which is devastating South Africa, is greatly _ hindering missionary work, as the missionaries too have lost their oxen, without which trans- is impossible in that region. ‘a wholesome lesson. A Kaffir’s idols 'oxen, and it is hard for him to listen preaching of the Gospel whilst his are with his cattle. But now he has time to listen, and many do it. The reports of the missionaries speak of large accessions which are due to this cause. A native helper among the Hill-Damara wrote to the mission- ary that a whole tribe, including everybody, was preparing for baptism by committing the small catechism to heart. —lIr is only a little over fifty years ago that China was opened to the preaching of the Gospel. Considering the proud and un- progressive character of this nation the prog- ress of Christianity has been remarkable in this land. In 1842 there were six Christian converts. To-day the protestant Churches in China number 90,000. — An Irish priest, Rev. J. Taaffe Finn, in a lengthy letter to his old parishioners, pub- lished in the Record, explains why he has felt compelled to come out from the Roman com- munion. He finds transubstantiation entirely unscriptural. The Romanist cult of the Vir- gin is also unknown to the New Testament and to the primitive Church. Christ, too, is not, as Rome represents, ‘‘a cruel and hard Judge who needs to be appeased. The Scrip- tures represent Him as a loving, sympathizing Saviour and the friend of sinners, ever will- ing to hear the cry of the penitent.’ In con- clusion, he says: ‘‘I never had rest of soul while I remained in the Church. of Rome. There was a feeling of dissatisfaction all along, for the affections of a pious Roman Catholic are divided between the Church, the saints, and other objects of devotion, but I now see that the heart can never find true rest till its affections are centred in One, the Lord Jesus Christ.’” — One of the pioneer Christian missionaries in Beyrout, Syria, died in 1820. He was buried just outside the city, and his co-laborers planted a cypress tree on his grave. It has become a great tree with spreading branches, and its shadow falls upon a large church, a chapel, a girls’ school and a large publishing house. Within a circuit of five miles may be counted 60 boys’ schools, 40 girls’ schools, 4 acade- mies, 17 printing houses, five of which belong to the Protestants, a magnificent hospital in charge of Lutheran deaconesses, an orphans’ home established and maintained by a Prus- sian society, and a large institution for dea- conesses. What a change and growth within three quarters of a century! —Tnue Bible House at Stuttgart is providing the blind with Bibles all over Germany. The whole Bible is printed in punctuated type, and consists of 64 yolumes which are sold below cost. It took eight years to print it. ° Much of the work was done by the inmates of Homes for the Blind in Wurttemberg. Last year 9000| well-bound ‘Wedding Bibles’’ were furnished, and 25,000 New Testaments were put into the hands of Catechumens by their pastors and teachers. —TIwEtve years ago, Bishop Hannington started from Mombasa, on the East African Coast, for Uganda, by way of Masailand, fol- lowing the footsteps of the only white man who had traversed that route. The hardships and perils of that journey, which cost him his life, are something which is to be hoped no traveler in the future will be called upon to. endure. Already a great change has taken place. ‘The last party going inland went by rail the first portion of their journey, and on reaching Lake Victoria, the new steamer, Ru- wenzori, purchased by funds given in response to the appeal of H. M. Stanley, took the party across the lake to Uganda. So rapidly is Af- rica being opened. OUR BOOK TABLE. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSONS AND Mars OF THE PRACTICAL GEOGRAPHY FOR COMMON SCHOOLS. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. Price, 15 cts. Bound in flexible cloth covers. A very useful and welcome supplement to the new Geography recently issued by our Publishing House at St. Louis. Acknowledgment. Received for colored missions of Rev. J. Koss- mann, Missionary, from his Bethlehem congregation in New Orleans, La., $25.00; of Rev. F. J. Lankenau, Missionary, from his St. Paul’s congregation in New Orleans, La., $20.00; of Rev. N. J. Bakke, Missionary, from his Grace congregation in Con- cord, N. C., $10.00, and from his congregation in Rimertown, N. C., $10.00. St. Louis, Mo., May 21, 1898. A. C. Buraponr, Treas. Evangelical Lutheran Colored Churches, NEw ORLEANS, La. EV. LUTH. ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL. 1625 Annette Str., between Claiborne and Derbigny. Divine services: Sunday morning at 94 o’clock. Sunday evening at 734 o'clock. Wednesday evening at 1% o'clock. Sunday School: Sunday morning at 10% o'clock. Adult catechumen class mects at 74 o'clock Tuesday erening: Singing School meets at 7}4 o’clock Monday evening. EV. LUTH. MT. ZION CHURCH. Cor. Franklin and Thalia Strs. © Divine services: Sunday morning at 11 o'clock. Sunday evening at 734 o'clock. Thursday evening at 7% o'clock. Adult eatechumen class mects at 734 o'clock Friday evening. Young Peoples? Concordia Circle meets at 7% o'clock evening. F, J. LANKENAD, Missionary. EV. LUTH. BETHLEHEM CHAPEL. Cor. Washington Avenuc and Dryades Str. Divine services: Sunda evening: at 74 o'clock. Thursday evening at 7}4 o'clock. Sunday School at 914 o'clock. Adult catechumen Class every Tuesday at 714 o'clock and after the divine service on Thursday evening. Choir practice at 744 o’clock on Tucsday evening and _ after divine service on Thursday cven ng. Circle for Young People meets at the school every Tucs- day evening at 74 o'clock. . J. W. F.KOSSMANN, Missionary. Ey. Luth, Holy Trinity Church. Springfteld, Ml. Divine Services at half past 10 o’clock Sunday morning and at 8 o'clock Sunday evening. Sunday School at 3 o’clock PF. M. Catechumen class meets Monday and Friday evenings. Singing-school Tuesday evening. TERMS: Tae Lurueran Pioneer is published monthly, payable in advance at the following rates, included, to-wit: 1 Copy All business communications to be addressed to “Concordia Publishing House,” St. Louis, Mo. All communications concerning the editorial de- partment to be addressed to Prof. R. A. BiscHOF?, mcordia College, Fort Wayne, Ind.