The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1916, Page 74

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74

A white pastor of the South, not a member of the
Synodical Conference, wrote recently: “Many of
our people will tell you that the Lutheran Negroes,
taking them all ’round, are the best we have.” We
hope and pray that this testimony may always be
truthfully given our members!

The Board reported that two considerable be-
quests had beeen made to the Mission by two old
members of the faithful little flock at Little Rock.
Mrs. Ellen Bransford, who died November 21, 1914,
bequeathed property valued at about $9,000 to the
Mission, and Mrs. Leaborn Jones, a charter member
of the Little Rock congregation, when she died a
few months later, left our Colored Mission about
$1,000. In this connection it may be well to state
that the Negro congregations in 1915 contributed
the sum of $5,528 to the support of their churches
and schools. The average contribution for each
communicant member was about $3.37. Some mem-
bers, of course, contributed more. One missionary
reports: “A man in my congregation last year con-
tributed $52, another young man gave $31, still
~ another man and his wife contributed $41, a widow

gave $23, and from an old lady, who supports
several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, I re-
ceived $16.80.” Several congregations doubled and
more than doubled their contributions last year.
This is encouraging, and shows that our Colored
churches are making strides towards self-main-
tenance, a goal much to be desired.

The 31 mission-schools, conducted by 17 pas-
tors and 27 teachers, still prove to be a chief mis-
sionary factor. The Board reports that the schools
enjoy the general respect of the communities in
which they are found. In all these schools the
Word of God and Luther’s Small Catechism are
regularly and daily taught, and on every pupil is
impressed the truth that the one thing needful is
‘the new spiritual life in and through Christ. ‘The
president of the Board related that he had found
a little seven-year old girl at Sandy Ridge, N. C.,
who was able to recite all six chief parts of Luther’s
_ Catechism.

Luther College at New Orleans and Immanuel
* College at Greensboro, N. C:, continue their good
work of sending out into the field a goodly number
of faithful and reliable Colored pastors and teachers.
These two institutions have also proved their value,
aside from furnishing the Mission with workers,
because of those young men and women that have
gone out from them to influence for good the several
communities in which they live.

The Lutheran Pioneer.

A number of new chapels were recently erected.
More are sorely needed, notably in Spartanburg,
S. C., for which an unknown friend has donated
$1,000, and in Wilmington, N. C. We do not
exaggerate when we say that the Board should have
between $5,000 and $10,000 at its disposal every
year for the erection of new chapels and schools.
During the past year not a few of our Christians
have emulated the example of Mr. G. M. Telle, of
St. Louis, by donating $10 for a Chapel Fund;
but it would be most desirable that the number of
Mr. Telle’s followers would continue to increase.
We hope that by the beginning of 1917 the Board
may have at least $10,000 in the Chapel Fund, so
that the work of building the necessary chapels and
schools may be conducted with vigor. And right
here I would state that, while we may not have any
rich or even wealthy members among our Colored
brethren, it would undoubtedly greatly stimulate
the white friends of our Mission if a few of them
would imitate the example of Mr. Telle and con-
tribute $10 to this Chapel Fund.

The report of the Mission Board’s treasurer
showed that $104,732.15 had been contributed dur-
ing the past two years for the prosecution of the
work. The contributions have been increasing from
year to year, and it is to be hoped that this in-
crease will continue. ‘The treasurer reports the
receipt of gifts from all the states of the Union,
from Canada, South America, Europe, Australia,
New Zealand, and even from the Tamils of East
India. That unknown friend of our Colored Mis-
sion, who in past years had already contributed
more than $10,000, during the past two years again
donated $2,010 to the cause. Another unknown
donor gave $2,000. By bequest the Mission re-
ceived $500 from the estate of the late Pastor Karl
Schrader and $2,000 from the estate of the late
Mrs. Louise Weber, of Baltimore. By the death
of Mr. W. Waltke, of St. Louis, the Mission lost
a friend who gave $200 to $300 every few months.

The property of our Negro Mission to-day con-
sists of 27 chapels, 14 schools, 5 parsonages, 2 col-
leges, and 2 professors’ dwellings. The value of
all the mission-property will approximate $125,000.

To awaken and maintain the interest of the
people, the field secretary and others have delivered
lectures at sessions of synods and conferences. So
also workers directly from the field have made lec-
ture tours, and addressed congregations in the in-
terest of the Mission. ‘The brief illustrated his-
tory of the Colored Mission by Field Secretary