The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1916, Page 82

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82

The Lutheran Pioneer.

soever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name
of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the
Father by Him.” We should do all in the name
of the Lord Jesus. Then all our works, even our
eating and drinking, will .be fruits of our faith,
and our entire lives a continual giving of thanks.
H. Osreruus.

St. Matthew’s Congregation Celebrates
a Double Festival.

On September 24, St. Matthew’s Congregation
at Meherrin, Va., one of the oldest congregations
of our Colored Mission, celebrated its Harvest
Home Festival in the forenoon and the twenty-
_ fifth anniversary of the dedication of its church in
the afternoon. The weather being excellent, many
guests from far and near came to attend the services.

In the morning service the Rev. W. I. Schuldt,
of Farmville, Va., preached a very interesting and
instructive sermon on Ps. 147, 7—14. On the
basis of this beautiful text he reminded the congre-
gation of the blessings of this year’s harvest, which,
by common consent, is greater than any we have
had for three years. (The last few years this
vicinity had suffered greatly from drought.) After
urgently requesting the congregation to return due
thanks to the Giver of all good things for the rich
blessings received, the speaker closed his discourse
by admonishing his hearers to use and enjoy the
blessings of the harvest in a God-pleasing way, by
not neglecting, after having provided for their own
wants, their poor neighbor, the church, and the
mission. He asked them not to forget that, accord-
ing to God’s Word, they were not first-hand pos-
sessors of their earthly blessings, but only stewards,
_ who, on the last day, would have to give an account

of their stewardship.

In the afternoon service the undersigned, on
the basis of Is. 55, 10. 11, directed the attentiqn
of the congregation to spiritual blessings, such as
are conferred upon man by means of the Word and
the holy Sacraments. The speaker showed that by
these means rich spiritual blessings have been dis-
pensed in St. Matthew’s house of worship during
the past twenty-five years. Since the sixth of Sep-
tember, 1891, when the church was dedicated to
the service of the Lord, the congregation has at all
times been blessed with true and faithful shepherds
and teachers, who have taught the Word of God in
all its truth and purity, and administered the Sac-
Taments in accordance with the institution of our

Lord. During these twenty-five years one hundred
and thirty one souls have been added to the church
through Baptism, and many are they who have re-
ceived strength and courage from the Word of God
to resist evil and fight the good fight of faith to the
honor and glory of God’s name.

The congregation took much interest in this
celebration, perhaps all the more so because it was
ihe first of its kind in our Lutheran Colored Mis-
sion. The Ladies’ Aid Societies have done much
toward the success of this celebration. What can

- be done, even by poor women, with a good will and

perseverance, may be seen from what St. Matthew’s
Aid. Society in a financial way has done during the
brief period of its existence. Organized June 5,
1913, with only twelve members, the number of
which has now decreased to nine, this society on
one occasion contributed $40 towards paying a
church debt, and now $72.74 to have the interior
of the church painted. It is only too bad that the
other Ladies’ Society, which is also in possession
of a goodly sum of money, for want of tine and
opportunity has not been able to present to the
congregation new pews as it had intended to do.
However, the men, too, are entitled to their share
of credit. While the ladies busied themselves about
the church, the men raised the necessary money to
put a new roof on the parsonage.

Pray, dear reader, that the Lord may continue .

to bless the work in our Colored Mission, that we
may be privileged to celebrate in the future many
more festivals of a like joyous nature.

E. H. Potzin.

Dedication at Mansura, La.

Sunday, August 20, was a day which our Man-
sura, La., Christians will long hold in grateful re-
membrance. This eventful day marked the solemn
dedication of their new chapel. The kind reader
will recall that in February a disastrous fire com-
pletely destroyed the old church.

In thorough keeping with tried and true Lu-
theran custom, the preaching of the Word of God

was the main feature of the dedication day pro-

gram. After a brief service on the veranda of the
parsonage, conducted by the undersigned, the as-
sembled congregation, preceded by the vestrymen
and the schoolchildren, marched in: procession to
the new building. Here the usual form for dedi-
cation was followed, the undersigned officiating, and
the Rev. W. Tervalon delivering the sermon, ably

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