The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1897, Page 24

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24

The Lutheran Pioneer.

The Outlook from the Editor’s Window.

—Ar Concorp, on Palm Sunday, the cate-
chumen class, ten in number, were received
into the church by the solemn rite of confirma-
tion, and on Easter Sunday four were added to
the church by holy baptism. The church on
both Sundays was beautifully decorated with

flowers and evergreens by the young ladies.

An adult class is being prepared for confirma-
tion at Pentecost. The congregation is steadily

growing. :
—TneE two Chapels at Rockwell and Gold

Hill are nearly completed. The progress of

these buildings is being watched by the col-
ored people with a great deal of interest and
joy, and many that have been standing aloof
are applying for membership.

—Spreakinc of the pioneer days of our
church, a writer says: ‘‘And what shall we
say of our Church in our own land? Here,
too, others sacrificed, suffered and labored to
transmit to us what we enjoy. How touching
the story of the pioneer pastors and people!
Those apostolic ministers traveled on horse-
back and on foot over whole counties to min-
ister to the scattered sheep. They braved the
dangers of forest and flood, they met the faith-
ful bands in barns and under the open sky.
The people walked ten to twenty miles to hear
a sermon. When they could get no pastor
they met in private and rude school houses,
to hear one of their number read one of the
old sermons, and together they sang the old
hymns. And this is still going on in the newer
settlements of the great West. The writer has
met and talked with men who have lain out on
the prairie all night, lost in a blizzard, on their
way to catechize the children and preach to
their parents. How we should like to speak
of Lutheran martyrs on American soil; of the
colony butchered in Florida, ‘not as French-
men, but as Lutherans ;’ of the early Luther-
ans of New York, whose ministers were
exiled, who were fined and imprisoned for
being Lutherans. ‘Truly other men labored
and we are entered into their labors. Do we
appreciate our heritage? Do we live our faith?
What have we sacrificed for it?’”

—A 1ittLe marble slab as common as any
in the country burying ground of the Lutheran
church at Richmond, N. C., has on it this in-
scription: ‘‘Rev. Philip Henkel, born Sep-
tember 28, 1779; died October 9, 1833,
aged 54. He was a member and founder of
the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod.
He preached 4350 sermons; baptized 4115
infants, 325 adults; confirmed 1650 to the
church.’”? What a ministry!

—A LITTLE boy, living near Bula, Wales,
planted a potato in a garden belonging to his
aunt, and promised that whatever this potato
produced in four years should be given to the
mission society. The first year’s product was
18 potatoes. These produced the following
summer half a bushel. The next summer this
supply was planted and brought in 8 bushels.

bushels which were sold for 27 dollars.

—Nikto in Japan, writes a missionary,
always reminds me of Paul’s description of
Athens, a place wholly given to idolatry.
Temples are everywhere. There are three,
two Shinto and one Buddhist, just opposite
my window. One day they had a festival in
honor of the God of Health, and the road
right up to our open front windows was
crowded. It was a capital chance to dis-
tribute tracts, and out of hundreds only one
was found lying in the road afterwards.
A fortnight later came the Feast of the
Spirits, when for three days the dead are sup-
posed to leave the place of their abode and
revisit their tombs and former residences.
No Christian church is yet planted there,
though the children will come to our houses
to sing and listen to teaching, but they are
all afraid of the priests, and also, I fear,
the influence of the foreign tourists is not
favorable to Christianity.

—Beyrovt, on the shores of the Mediter-
ranean, and at the base of the glorious Leba-
non, is well known to all tourists in Bible
lands. It is the greatest and most powerful
centre of Gospel work in these fascinating
regions. The Syrian Protestant College, an
outcome of mission work, is a notable insti-
tution, with twenty professors and 292 stu-
dents in its three departments — medical, col-
legiate, and preparatory. The press of the
American Mission exerts a powerful Christian
influence by its books in the Arabic language,
which in 1895 amounted to 24,986,516 pages.
Ten different agencies of evangelical work are
operating in this beautiful city. It has thirty-
two Protestant schools, with 700 boys and
their fifty teachers; 2390 girls with their
ninety teachers.

—Tuere are thirty islands in the New Heb-
rides group, which are stretched over about
350 miles in the South Pacific Ocean. The
people living there were until a few years ago
ignorant heathen, but now most of them are
Christians. There are twenty different lan-
guages used on this group of islands. The
Scriptures have been published in whole or
part in seventeen of these languages. Not
many years ago cruel heathen customs pre-
vailed among these people, such as eating
their slain enemies, killing their children,
strangling their widows, and more of the like.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has driven all this
from the South Sea Islands.

—Some idea of a missionary’s isolation may
be gained from the fact, stated in the J/is-
sionary Herald, that Dr. Atwood, in Shansi,
China, had not seen a European face in fif-
teen years, excepting those of his fellow-
missionaries.

—Wuen the first missionaries among the
Kols in India wrote to Superintendent Goss-
ner in Berlin, ‘‘The Kols are not being eon-
verted; what shall we do?’ he answered:
‘Whether the Kols are being converted, or

The fourth summer the crop amounted to 80 | not, let that be immaterial to you.

You con-
tinue where you are, and pray and work on.
We, here, will also pray.’’ Shortly before

his death Gossner was able to write, that
showers of blessing were falling upon the Kols,

—In the Ching-chow-fu district of Shan-
tung, China, there is now a churchmembership
of over 1500 and a large and growing work.
In the Chou-ping district there are now 180-
stations, scattered over 15 counties, with a
membership of 1524. Last year 329 were
added by baptism, and there is every reason
to believe that this year’s additions will not
be less. The native church supports 6 elders ;
and in 5 places small chapels have been
specially built by the people. In connection
with these stations there are 55 village schools
with as many schoolmasters with 495 scholars.
Besides the foreigners there are 20 native
evangelists giving all their time, and 10 aided
preachers giving time during the winter
months.

Acknowledgment.

Received from Mrs. H. E. Monroe, Philadelphia,
$10.00 towards defrayiIng expenses of a pulpit, and
100 copies of her tract, entitled: ‘‘Historical Luther-
anism,”’ for free distribution at the dedication of our
house of worship at Greensboro, N.C. May God’s
richest blessings attend the generous donor!

Joun C. ScumiptT.

—— a

Evangelical Lutheran Colored Churches,
NEw OriEans, La.

EV. LUTH. ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL.
1625 Annette Str., between Claiborne and Derbigny.
Divine services: Sunday morning at 9% o'clock.
Sunday evening at 744 o'clock.
Wednesday evening at i% o'clock.
Sunday School: Sunday morning at 10% o'clock.
Adult catechumen class mects at 714 o’clock Tuesday

bet a
Singing School meets at 714 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 7% o’clock.
Thursday evening at 7% o'clock.
Adult catechumen class mects at 734 o'clock Friday
evening.
Young Peoples’ Concordia Circle meets at 74 o’clock
evening.

F, J. LANKENAU, Missionary.

EV. LUTH. BETHLEHEM CHAPEL.
Cor. Washington Avenue and Dryades Str.
ane services at 734 o'clock Sunday evening and at 74g
°

jock Thursday evening.
Sunday School at 9 o'clock.

J. W. F. KOSSMANN, Missionary.

Ey. Luth. Holy Trinity Church.

Springfield, Itt.
Divine Services at half past 10 o’clock Sunday morning
and at 8 o’clock Sunday evening.
Sunday School at 3 o'clock P. M.
Catechumen class meets Monday and Friday evenings.
Singing-school Tuesday evening.
——_——

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