The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1890, Page 10

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It is true, they may not receive a return of

10 The Lutheran Pioneer.

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(For the ‘*Lutheran Pioneer.’) | day to be pointed out to your Saviour as one} In 1886: Mrs. Elizabeth Edmunds, wife of
Another Call for Help. who has helped to save others. Think of some} Anderson Edmunds, by confirmation; also
one pointing you out to Jesus, and saying:| Mr. Daniel Scott and wife. On Christmas-day
Here, dear Jesus, is one who has helped to| were received: Mr. Abraham Matthews, for-
bring your precious Gospel to me. And then, | merly of Missouri. He was first made acquainted
to crown the joy and happiness, to hear your| with our church by Rev. Theo. Buszin, and
Saviour say, Come ye blessed of my Father, | wishing to become a member, he was sent here.
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the| After being instructed he was received by bap-
foundation of the world. tism; also Miss Nancy Davies, formerly of

So then, let us be upand doing. ‘‘He which] De Witt County, Arkansas. In 1888: Mrs.
soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and} Mollie Jones, Ann Slater, formerly of Missis-
he which soweth bountifully, shall reap also|sippi, and Mr. John Baileys. And last year
bountifully,” 2 Cor. 9,6. Let us, then, all con-} Mr. John Marony, who also departed this life.
tribute to this glorious cause to the utmost of | He died of dropsy on the 12th of June. His
our ability. funeral expenses were also cheerfully defrayed

May the Lord of the harvest grant that these| by the congregation. Of those who were mem-
lines were not written in vain, but may He move | bers when I came, there have died: Mrs. Emily
all hands and hearts to give cheerfully and} Watson, and Miss Nancy Cox, who died at
plentifully. Eureka Springs.

New Orleans, La. A. SCHEFFLER. In conclusion yet a few words to show the

ee interest for cburch-maintenance. Though all
cote members belong to the poorer class, they have

Letter from Little Rock. contributed’ in 1888: $122.00, and last year
$103.20. There are specially two constantly
contributing in a liberal manner, one of them
contributed alone over $25.00 and the other
nearly as much.

May God in mercy be with us in the future
as He has been in the past, and grant that
many may come to seek in the Scriptures and
the promises of grace that peace and happiness
which the world can never give, but is only
found with Jeeus. Gro. ALLENBACH.

In the season of Lent we hear of the Saviour
suffering and dying for the sins of the world.
But, alas, how many thousands still dwell in
total ignorance of this Saviour, and among them
the greater part of the colored people of our
land. Should we, therefore, who profess to be
Christians not seek to communicate these saving
tidings also to them? Is it not our sacred duty
to do so? Everyone must and does answer:
Why, certainly it is; but we can not all go and
preach, we are not all able to do so, how can
we then bring these saving tidings to them?

Nothing is easier than this. Send Christian
ministers and teachers, and let these preach
and teach the Gospel to them. Many may
think, it is useless todo so. But let these say
sono longer. For does not God speak of His
Word when he says, ‘‘It shall not return to me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send
it,” Isaiah 55, 10. 11.

Have we not here an assurance that the time
and money devoted to this cause, shall not be
spentin vain? Butitis not enough tosend minis-
ters and teachers to these poor benighted people.
The. ministers and teachers must also have ap-
propriate places where to gather their hearers
for instruction.

T hear some one ask, Have they not churches |
and schools in the Colored Mission, what more
do they want?

Yes; we have schools, at least so the build-
ings are called. In the St. Paul’s Station we
have a building 27 X 20 x 12 which formerly
served as church and school, but since the erec-
tion of the new church, it is used as a school
exclusively. Into this small room 100 children
are daily packed with their teacher. No one
will deny that this room is entirely too small to
accommodate such a large number of children.
Not only is it too small, but it is also unhealthy.
Yet year after year it has been packed and
crowded in this manner, until the teacher was
overcome and thrown upon a sick-bed, from
which he never arose. Do we want a repetition
of this sad event? No; certainly not, when
this evil can be alleviated so easily.

Almost daily admission must be refused a
number of applicants, because there is no room
for them. And what becomes of these who are
turned off? The majority of them then attend
other schools, where they hear little or nothing
of the precious Gospel. Who knows how many
of these, for whom Christ died and paid for so
dearly, are in this manner lost? Think of it,
they may be lost, because we will not lay outa
few paltry $100 to erect larger buildings for
_ our schools. How easily could the thousands
_ of Lutheran Christians raise sufficient funds

' for this purpose, if they only desired to do so?

Dear PIoNEER:—

We have been silent so long that we fear you
may almost have forgotten us; a brief report
of the mission work here may therefore not
prove uninteresting, and will also show that the
Lord is with us still, that we have, indeed, great
cause for gratitude, as to the past and may
well trust Him cheerfully for the future.

Since the Jast:communications from here to
the PionEER five years have gradually retired
into the shadowy ‘past. In that time many
great changes have taken place in our little
flock. There were added to our congregation
14 new members, so that our communicant
membership would now be 31; but while a few
have strayed off, some too, as we sincerely hope,
have taken leave from the little flock here to
join the numberless throng of the redeemed in
heaven.

The names of those who have been added in
the time before stated are as follows: Joshua
Bransford, after having been duly instructed,
was baptized at his home on 8d and Bird Strs.,
being very ill at the time. He recovered some-
what, but relapsed a few weeks afterward, and
died on the 27th of March, 1885. The next
applicant was Mrs. Eliza Brooks, wife of Joseph
Brooks, already a member through the minis-
tration of Rey. I. Meilaender; both Mr. and
Mrs. Brooks were formerly of Virginia, she was
received into the church by confirmation on the
27th of May. Margaret Rider, an old lady of
this state, was admitted on the 1st of November.
She was a very faithful attendant and though
utterly destitute, yet often had some little sum
to contribute to the church. She was taken
seriously ill in December 1887; the sympathy
of all the members was deeply aroused for the
poor lone sufferer, and they not only contributed
cheerfully for her support, but also gave her a
decent burial. Mrs. Emily Bosley and Mrs.
Sarah Marony were also received in this year,
and remain faithful members.

—— ot 0 ee

Living in Baptism.

As all true evangelical preaching is directed
either to leading men to baptism, wherein
Christ’s merit is applied, or to developing in
them what baptism, through Christ’s merit;
has already given, it is highly necessary to con-
stantly bear in mind itstrue significance. Luther
writes in his Large Catechism: ‘‘Let every-
one esteem his baptism a daily dress in which
he shall constantly walk.’’ For baptism is not
a, rite whose efficacy is confined to the moment
of its administration. It is a washing not only
of regeneration, but also of renewal. As a
washing of renewal its efficacy extends into the
future for ever new appropriation by faith. ‘‘So
that,’’ the Large Catechism again says, ‘‘a truly
Christian life is nothing else than a daily bap-
tism, once begun and ever to be continued;”’
and ‘‘Repentance is nothing else than a return
and approach to baptism, that we return to
and practice what had been begun and aban-
doned.”” Whatever may be our wanderings
and falls, we have in our baptism not only the
pledge of God's promise, but the very applica-
tion itself of the forgiveness of sins and eternal
life, —an application which on God’s side is ir-
revocable and absolutely immutable, and which
can be invalidated and rendered inoperative
alone as by our own act we separate ourselves

_ the money in this world, but think of the joy
from it.—T7. D.

= _ and happiness it would afford you on that great