The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1916, Page 21

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

21

Recently we have been having rather inclement
weather, and yet our services show an average at-
tendance of 8; Sunday-school, 25; day-school,
about 20. (Pay attention to the last two depari-
ments, friend, for it is upon these that our church
is built.)

There are several things now that we shall need
to furnish our chapel. Already I have personally
received donations in currency amounting to $35.
Rey. Hageman, of Boston, Mass., has offered a num-
ber of hymn-books through his Young Men’s Club
and Bible Class. Rey. Meyer, of Schumm, O., has
promised us an altar. My congregation has promised

to raise close to $50 by Easter. Now, the biggest

item of our furniture will be the benches. ‘These
will cost over $100. Could you, dear Lutheran

friend, help us so that we may have them set down
as soon as the chapel is completed, about the latter
part of March? Work and pray!

And now, a little secret: —I am engaged, and.
by the time this issue appears, will probably be
married, to Miss Lucy Mae Reid, of this city, and
I sincerely hope that it will be a means of inspiration
and help in the progress of my work. Don’t you?
Your humble servant of St. Mark’s,

422 Tra St.. Atlanta, Ga. Cari Sour.

The War and Lutheran Missions
in India.

The outstanding event at the present time from
a inissionary standpoint is the disaster which has
overtaken the work of missions, especially Lutheran
missions, in India. In the early months of the
war a considerable number of German missionaries
were interned, but others, notably the Gossner 1mis-
sionaries in Bihar and Orissa, were allowed to con-
tinue their work on parole. But about the middle
of last year over one hundred were already interned
under military control at Ahmednagar, almost the
same number were compulsorily residing in a speci-
fied place under civil control, and over four hundred
were at liberty, but on parole and subject to general
civil supervision. Not long after this, however, the
government of India decided that it would repa-
triate all German and Austrian subjects except men
of military age, who had already been interned at
Ahmednagar, and this decision has been carried
into effect. Among the interned and repatriated
missionaries are also a number of workers of the

1

Foreign Mission of the Missouri Synod, namely,
those who lack American citizenship. The missions
particularly and most severely affected, however, are:
the Basel Society, which, though having its head-
quarters in Switzerland, is mainly German in its
personnel, working in the southern part of the Boin-
hay Presidency and in South Kanara, Coorg, and
Malabar: the Leipzig Mission among the Tamils,
in the southern part of the Madras Presidency;
the Hermannsburg and Breklum Missions among
the Telugus, in the northern part of the same Presi-
deney; and the Gossner Mission, in the province
of Bihar and Orissa, and in Assam. ‘The nuinber
of workers connected with these missions is about
240 male and 50 female missionaries, and the Chris-
tian community numbers about 150,000.

The Indian government further determined that
the grants for the educational and philanthropic
work which the German missions had been receiving
prior to the war should be cut off. Already prior
to the general order for repatriation and internment
these missions had suffered greatly through the re-
moval of many missionaries. In South India most
of the Basel missionaries had already been removed,
the Hermannsburg Mission was left but two mis-
sionaries. and all the missionaries had been removed
from the Jeypore and neighboring districts. The
missionaries of the Ohio Synod are trying to carry
on the work of the Hermannsburg Mission as well
as they can, and other American Lutheran synods
are attempting to care for the needs of other Ger-
man missions. ‘lhe Leipzig Mission has asked per-
mission from the government to transfer its work
to the Swedish Chureh Mission, which has worked
in cooperation with it, and has been responsible
for one of its dioceses. Should this permission be
granted, which at present would appear quite doubt-
ful, the Swedish Church Mission will have the added
responsibility of carrying on 308 schools, including
52 boarding-schools, and the supervision and pro- _
vision for the support of 477 native workers. ‘Lhe
Basel Mission is attempting to carry on its extensive
work with the few remaining missionaries of Swiss
nationality. F. J. L,

Giving to the Lord. es%

Men and Missions tells of a work unique in the
annals of missions, carried on by the Foreign Chris-
tian Missionary Society in the Belgian Congo,
Africa. Here the members of all the churches