The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1898, Page 24

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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.