The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1897, Page 22

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

(For the LUTHERAN PIONEER.)

Dedication at Greensboro, N. C.

The 2d of May was a day of rejoicing to
the Colored Lutherans of Greensboro. Their
prayers and appeals had been heard, their
fondest hopes realized. The Chapel for which
they have looked and waited so long stood
complete before their eyes in its simple
beauty.

The Colored Odd Fellows’ Hall, in which the
school and divine services have been con-
ducted, has undoubtedly been a drawback to
the progress of our mission work. This field
as others has had its pioneer days and has
tasted something{of the difficulties with which
pioneer mission
work among the
Colored people
has to contend.
The time has not
yet come tohang
up the sword;
there is no mil-
lenial dawn in
sight for the co-

workers of
Christ, but un-
der God’s pro-
tecting care we
bespeak for the
Grace Church
and School at
Greensboro a
brighter future

on the new
premises.
The building,

dividedinto two
apartments for
church and for
school, is a
framestructure,
resting on brick
piers, 6 feet
high, measuring
80X28 X12 with a tower 67 feet high from the
ground to the gilded cross. It is entered by
a front and a side entrance. The windows
are gothic and glazed with cathedral glass.
Inside the walls are plastered and the wood-
work finished in hard oil. With altar, pulpit,
chairs and carpets to match, it presents to
the worshiper a bright, inviting appearance.
The oftener he goes there to worship the more
will he realize the truthfulness of the words
engraved on the corner-stone: ‘‘Here it is
good for us to dwell.’” The building is sub-
stantial and commodious, and forms a beauti-
ful, striking contrast to all the houses in the
neighborhood.

The dedicatory services were held at 8 o’clock
in the afternoon and were conducted by the
pastor, Rey. Schmidt, assisted by Rey, Prof.
Romoser of Conover. The writer played the
organ and preached the dedicatory sermon on
Ps. 26, 8: ‘*Lord, I have loved the habitation

of Thy house, and the place where Thine honor
dwelleth.’’ At this service a number of little
children, among them the pastor’s infant son,
Victor Walther, were baptized.

At 8 o’clock the little church-bell, which the
sexton in the course of the day rang in season
and out of season, called the worshipers once
more to the new sanctuary. Prof. Romoser in
a clear manner gave 4 synopsis of the principal
doctrines of the Ev. Luth. Church according
to the three Articles of the Christian Faith.
The Chapel at both services was filled to its
utmost capacity with intelligent and attentive
audiences.

May then the Ey. Luth. Grace Church for-
ever be one of those sanctuaries where God’s

Mission Chapel in Greensboro, N. C.

honor dwells, and where pastor and people
with burning hearts and fiery tongues publish
with the voice of thanksgiving the wondrous
works of God. N. J. B.

————»> - a + oe

A Few Leaves.

Rey. C. R. Womeldorf describes in The Dfis-
sionary a visit which he made in response to a
summons from a house of mourning in Brazil:

The messenger and I are soon on our way
to the home of the dying child. I never was
there before. We pass through narrow streets;
in some places the dust is deep, in others the
street is paved with stone. My companion
suddenly stops. ‘‘It is here,’? she says. The
father meets us. He smiles through tears as
he tells us he is glad to see us, and invites us
to enter. We gointhe home. I can not de-
scribe it now. It has a dirt floor. We are

ushered into a dark room, just how dark I
can not say. The father heckons me to fol-
low him to another room. I notice he has
some books. After we sit down I find that
there is a Bible, a hymn book, and some evan-
gelical tracts. He hands me a fragment of a
book I had not seen. It proves to be a few
leaves from Matthew, John, and Revelation.
He tells a simple story. First let me say that
through some providence of Him who docth
all things well this man could read; about
ninety per cent. of the people can not. Here
is the story: ‘‘I found these leaves on the
street; picked them up, carried them home,
and placed them in a drawer. The first op-
portunity I had I examined them. I began to
read; something
fixed my atten-
tion; I could not
leave off. I
found that this
fragment was a
portion of a
book that Imust
have. As soon
as I could make
enough money,
and learned
where I could
get it, I bought
this Bible,’’
showing me a
very cheap one,
but more pre-
cious possibly to
him than many
that lie on center
tables are to the
owners.

You may eas-
ily guess the na-
ture of our con-
versation. I told
him the story of
the death of Da-
vid’s child, and
showed him the words. ‘To my surprise he
then referred to the submission and faith of
Job. After we had continued our conversa-
tion for some time, he said he thought there
was, in some part of the Bible, something
about laying up treasures in heaven. How
thankful I was for this thought. It was so ap-
propriate, so fitting, so full. I hastily turned
to it, telling him that these were the words
of our Saviour Himself. I saw that he had
begun to lay up his treasures there. The
thought was a comforting one; he had so little
here, and was so soon to have less. I can not
put on paper what I saw and realized. I wish
you might have seen the light on his counte-
nance as it shone through tears that often
chased each other down his cheeks.

+ oo

Tue devil readily suffers it, that Christ
should be upon the tongue, if only he is per-
mitted to lie beneath in the heart. — Luther.