The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1917, Sheet 53

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

day-school of that mission-station. While the at-
tendance here was not as large as it might have
been, considering the number of pupils in the day-
school, I believe it was better than it was years ago.
You know the children often lack the clothing which
in the parents’ opinion they should have to go to
Sunday-school and church. Like all of us, they
think the boys and girls should be better dressed
on Sunday than on week-days; and many children
having nothing better than their school clothes, the
result is that they do not get to Sunday-school and
church. The Sunday-school at St. Paul’s we found
well conducted, the pastor, teachers, and several
students of Luther College being the instructors.

After Sunday-school came the service, and a fine

service we had, — the attendance was good, the sing-
ing was hearty, and the preaching, — well, I do not
want to pass judgment on that, though I will say
‘that I never more felt that I had a message to de-
liver, and never was more willing to deliver it, than
on that Sunday morning, when, after an absence of
eight years, I had the pleasure of looking at the
eager, upturned faces of several hundred old friends
at St. Paul’s. God bless them all!

In the evening, at eight o’clock, I met with the
people of Mount Zion. They are also-old friends
of mine, for, off and on, I had been pastor of Mount
Zion for probably a period of five or six years during
my residence in New Orleans. When I.got up to
address the dear people of old Mount Zion, and saw
Before me many whom I had met there more than
twenty-five years ago, upon the occasion of my or-
dination in the old Mount Zion Church, my feelings
overcame for-an instant. The good people seemed
so eager to hear the Word from me, and I had the
~impression that my ‘old friends were mainly in need

of words of cheer and comfort. As my eyes passed
over the audience, the passage came to my mind
where Christ speaks of sheep that have no shepherd.
Poor Mount Zion! How often has it been a flock
. without a shepherd of its own! During the past
twenty-five years this station has probably had as
many as ten different pastors, regular and supply.
And now it is once more without a pastor of ity
own. No wonder that the sheep are apt to grow dis-
| heartened, and that some go astray under such cir-
cumstances. No wonder that this oldest of all our
‘stations in New Orleans is not able to keep pace
with the ‘others in growth and strength. Were it
not for the faithful work of the veteran teachers,
Messrs. Vix and Meibohm, who have held out these
_ Many years, Mount Zion, I fear, would be a wreck.

51

But while pastors may come and pastors may go,
these two workers stand bravely at their post of
duty.

Considering all circumstances, we found a large
attendance at Mount Zion, larger than we had been
led to expect. And what is still better, we had
a very attentive and appreciative audience. How
easy it is to preach to people whose hearts beat with
yours and are in sympathy with you! This I fully
experienced during the half hour that I stood in
the pulpit at Mount Zion on that Sunday night.

I should like to have passed an hour or more
with my old friends of Mount Zion after the ser-
vice, but I was due at Bethlehem, and so was obliged
to hasten away after a hearty hand-clasp and
friendly word. At Bethlehem the service was near-
ing its close when we arrived at nine-fifteen. Pastor
Kramer had told his people of our coming and our
desire to greet them. We here likewise found a large
number of old, familiar faces, some of which we
had already seen twenty-eight years ago when we
had acted as supply for five months in the Crescent
City, Bethlehem has been blessed in having less:
changes of pastors and shorter vacancies in its pas-
torate than our other two main stations in New
Orleans. Pastor Burgdorf, now of Chicago, was
the founder of this congregation, and he is still
held in grateful remembrance by the older mem-
bers, as the many’ inquiries put to me concerning
him plainly proved. The words we were permitted
to speak to the good people of Bethlehem were ap-
preciated, for the hearty hand-clasps and words
after the meeting could leave no doubt as to that.

Our congregations, like our schools, have been
a great power for good, and are still such. While
they may have disappointed us in outward growth,
their influence in their several communities has
been greatly out of proportion to their size. They
have been a light and salt to a greater extent than
probably most Christian congregations in larger
cities. Of course, our members are far from being
perfect, and there are many-cases where severe dis-
cipline is necessary. But while spoken against
by many, through the influence of our churches
a marked change in the morality of the commu-
nities in which they are situated, and particularly
a great improvement in the conduct of other
churches, is to be noticed. They haye helped
greatly in impressing upon the minds of many mem-
bers of other churches that religion and morality
must go hand in hand, and that the profession of

‘the lips is worth nothing unless it be accompanied