The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1917, Page 61

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

The Lutheran Pioneer. 61

Closed sessions were held Thursday and Friday,
June 21st and 22d. Prof. H. Meibohm occupied
the chair... After the usual preliminaries on Friday
morning, Rev. Kramer began the reading of the
last two points of his paper on the subject: “Medi-
tation on the Gospel and Our Work as Gospel-
preachers.” This paper was begun at the October
sessions. The last two points dwelt upon were:
“The Exclusiveness of the Gospel,” and, “The Ob-
jections Raised against the Exclusiveness of the
Gospel.” So interesting and instructive was this
paper that the reading and discussion.of it took
up the greater part of the morning and afternoon
sessions.

Friday morning, Teacher D. Meibohm read a
catechization on the Sixth Commandment. It was
not only a model on the correct method of cate-
chizing, but it showed in a very clear and con-
vincing manner the extent to which a catechist
should proceed in teaching this important com-
mandment to children, neither leaying unsaid what
should be mentioned, nor venturing upon ground
that should not be touched. }

The afternoon session of Friday was devoted
exclusively to business. It will be of interest to
the readers of the Pioneer that our preparations
for the celebration of the Quadricentennial of the
Reformation in October was one of the subjects
discussed. Pi

There will be two speakers on this grand oc-
casion. Pastor Chas, Peay will give a historical
survey of the Reformation, while the writer will
show the benefits and blessings of the same.
A chorus of mixed voices selected from our con-
gregations will be thoroughly trained for the oc-
casion, and some numbers will be offered by the
Luther Conference Choir, assisted by male voices
selected from the various congregations. In ad-
dition to these numbers there will be a great chil-
dren’s chorus of 250 voices. The chorus will con-
sist of pupils of our parochial-schools. It will be
ealled the Luther Junior Chorus.

The reader will please pardon a digression at

- this point. We feel that the celebration of the
Four-hundredth Anniversary of the Reformation
would be incomplete unless our schoolchildren
also took an active part and joined their voices in
praises to God for the great work of the Refor-
mation. Aside from the “one thing needful,” the
Word of God, which they learn in our parochial
schools, there is one other thing which those who
enter our schools learn, and that well, namely, to
sing. The writer ventures to say that he has heard

no other children sing as sweetly, as grandly, and
as whole-heartedly as do the children of our Colored
Lutheran parochial schools.

Each member of the Luther Junior Chorus will
be presented with a button bearing the image of
Luther, with a ribbon attached designating him or
her as a member of the chorus. The musical part of
the program will be under the direction of Teacher
W. B. Seeberry.

In order to accommodate the great audience
which is expected to attend, Conference has already
engaged a large hall with a seating capacity
of 700.

Following the celebration, which will take place
the Sunday afternoon preceding Reformation Day,
there will be open and closed sessions of Luther
Conference at Bethlehem Church.

God grant that the celebration which we pur-
pose to hold may he according to His will!

Axe Wesachts

Aunt Polly’s Jubilee Gift.

The letter which follows plainly shows how -

grateful our Colored Lutherans are for the bless-
ings of the Gospel. We have heard of no more
liberal thank-offering given by a Lutheran in this
Year of Jubilee than this gift of Aunt Polly’s.
The Editor feels proud to think that this thank-
ful Lutheran, about twenty-seven years ago, was
one of his regular hearers while he acted as supply
at the Meherrin mission-station. May the example
of Aunt Polly Rowlett find many imitators, and
may her fine deed remove the prejudice which many
still have against the work which our Church is
doing among the freedmen and their descendants.

6 Locust Hill Ave.,
Yonkers, N. Y. 5/18/17.

Mr. Ewald Schuettner,
St. Louis, Mo.
Dear Sir: —

Mrs. Polly Rowlett, who has been a faithful
member of St. Matthew’s Congregation at Meher-
vin, Va., to use her own expression: “in about
thirty odd years,” has proved herself an effective
lay-missionary. Her specialty seems to be “inner
mission work,” that is, to look up those members
of our mission congregation who move from place
to place, and to keep them under the care of a Lu-
theran pastor. ;

During the past two decades Mrs. Rowlett has
spent a great part of her time in Yonkers, N. Y.

a

=