The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1907, Page 23

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

The Lutheran Pioneer.

23

Letter from Springfield, Ill.

The second Sunday after Epiphany was a day
of great rejoicing for the mission station at Spring-
field, Ill. “This is the day the Lord hath made; we
will rejoice and be glad in it.” These words of the
Psalmist expressed the sentiments of the members
of the congregation, since on that day they received
a pastor of their own in the person of the Rev.
James Doswell. ‘The members of Holy Trinity, to-
gether with a goodly number of students of Con-
cordia Seminary and friends of the mission, filled
the church. The installation sermon was delivered
by Prof. L. Wessel. On the basis of 1 Pet. 5, 2—4,
he dwelt upon the topic: “The Duties of a Faithful
Pastor towards his Flock,” and showed that they
were principally three, ‘viz.: 1. Feed the flock;
2. take the oversight thereof; 3. be an ensample to
the flock. The installation proper was performed
by Prof. J. Herzer. After the service the new pas-
tor was heartily welcomed by the members of the
congregation.

Rey. Doswell is not a stranger to the good people
here. He received his education at Concordia Col-
lege, Springfield, Ill. During his student years
he was a member of the congregation, and assistgd
Prof. Herzer, who had charge of the mission, in
visiting the people, instructing them now and then
in the Sunday school, ete. After graduating, he
accepted a call to the South, where he labored suc-
cessfully for about two years, but, owing to the great
needs of the Springfield station, the Board, upon
the urgent requests of the congregation, transferred
him to this place.

During the past years the Springfield station
had to contend with many ups and downs, which
are unnecessary to relate. A few years ago, Rev. L.
Thalley, also a graduate of Concordia College, this
city, took charge of the congregation. The outlook
for Holy Trinity was hopeful. But after a brief
pastorate of two and one half years, it pleased God
in His wisdom to visit Rev. Thalley with a serious
sickness. With a heavy heart his flock bade him
adieu when he left for Colorado in the hope of there
regaining his health.

During this and previous intervals, Prof. Herzer
faithfully stood by the congregation, attending to
its affairs, and, with the help of the senior class of
Concordia, filling its pulpit.

In view of the frequent changes that have oc-
curred here in the pastorates, and the long intervals
that have obtained between them, it is not to be

wondered at that the membership of Holy Trinity
is small, but the wonder is that there is any mem-
bership at all, which again goes to prove the power
of the Word.

May the Lord’ in His merey abundantly bless
the labors of the Rev. Doswell and make him a
blessing unto many! L. W.

New Orleans Items.

Tue Mont or Fepruary is usually an un-
favorable month for our local missions. This is
not the fault of the month itself, but of a remark-
able custom practiced in this community. I am
referring to the well-known Mardi Gras Carnival.
Mardi gras is “fat Tuesday,” and designates the
day before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day
in Lent. Lent is the season of preparation for
aster. The reader knows that in the Roman
Catholic church fasting is prescribed and the in-
dulgence of the flesh is prohibited during Lent.
This means bidding farewell to the flesh, a cere-
mony not at all to the liking of man. So he has
invented the Mardi Gras Carnival, which stands for
an unlimited indulgence of every lust of the flesh
preparatory to the separation —a sort of farewell
banquet which reaches its climax on fat Tuesday.
All classes of society participate in the carnival
festivities, each in its special manner. One who
knows his own flesh can easily imagine the bois-
terous looseness and licentiousness of a populace
given to a frank and unlimited indulgence of the
flesh. The temptations are too great even for many
of our people. Led by their friends and acquaint-
ances of the world they often at this time do things
that blight their spiritual growth and become a
burden of guilt and shame to them. However, to
the praise of God and to the credit of many it may
be said that even in these dangerous days they keep
themselves unspotted from the world.

Our scHoots, too, suffer during the carnival
days. ‘There is so much going on which is calcu-
lated to captivate the eye and the ear of old and
young that you can hardly blame the little ones for
neglecting school over things that hundreds of even
gray-haired men and women come thousands of
miles to see and hear.

AMONG THE VISITORS to our town at Mardi
Gras were a number of brethren and sisters from
Rey. Wenzel’s congregation at Mansura, La. They.