# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1922_S9
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

The Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

ae

Pusiisuep BY THE EvancenicaL Lurieran SyNnopicaL CoNnFERENCE OF NortH AMERICA,

REv. F. J. LANKENAU, EDITOR.

Published monthly by Concordia Publishing Louse, St. Louls, Mo. Subscription price, 50 cts. per annum, payablos richly In advance.
Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at St. Louls, Mo., under the Act of March 3, 1879

Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October ‘3, 1917, authorized on uly 5 , 1918,

' ST. SOUS “MO, FEBRUARY, 1922.

No. 2.

Valk XLIV.

OUR MONTHLY MISSIONARY MOTTO.
“‘The resources of God are promised to those who undertake the program of God.’’

God’s Fields Are White.

friends, and rejoice with us! In 1917 the total

Let us, never tiring,
Labor, give, and pray
For the cause of missions
Ere we pass away.

Time is very precious;
While it hastens by,
Hosts of wretched sinners
Unconverted die.

Days and years have pinions,

Soon it will be night;

We must reap God’s harvests,

For His fields are white. HH. Osrerius.

_~ Pe

St. Louis and Springfield.

It has been some time since the readers of the
PIoNEER have received news from the above-men-
tioned congregations. We believe, however, that our
failure to let these congregations be heard from will
be condoned by the encouraging bit of news which
we have to bring in these lines. ‘This news concerns
the total receipts for 1921 in the treasuries of the
stations mentioned.

For several years past we have been able, and we
thank God for this, to report each year an’ increase
in total receipts over the preceding year. Last year
at this time we feared, because of the gloomy con-
ditions in the financial world and the unemployment
of so many of our people, that we had reached the
end of our string and that this year we would have
to record a decrease in total contributions; and this
we feared in spite of our fond desire to be able some
time in the future to record a figure of at least
$1,500. But what has happened? Read, dear

receipts of our congregations in St. Louis and
Springfield were $399.36 ($165.44 in the former
place, and $233.92 in the latter). In 1920 they
amounted to $1,302.20. In 1921 they rose from
that figure to $1,540.34! This last figure represents
an increase of more than $200 over the preceding
year. And this bare figure does not represent the
real increase, for since 1920 the dollar has in-
creased considerably in buying power. Wages have
been lowered. ‘There has been much unemployment.
At one time during the past year only three of the
men in our St. Louis congregation had regular em-
ployment. Oh, if we had space to bring here a de-
tailed survey, what sacrifices for the Lord’s kingdom
on the part of a number of individuals could be
recorded! In Springfield a number contributed
approximately $50 each during the year. One in-
dividual told us just recently that, after he had paid
his church-dues for the year in a lump sum, he in-
tended of necessity to borrow money in order to
maintain his household, but that a few days later,
to his surprise, he was presented at his place of work
with a gift of $42. He remarked: “I am convinced
of this: you never lose by giving to God!” ‘True,
brother, true!

Let me present just a few separate items of in-
terest. During the past year our little congregation
in Springfield contributed the fine sum of $80.42 for
mission purposes. $25 of this was given for the
China Mission by the members of the Bible Class,