The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1917, Page 91

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The Iutheran Pioneer.

91

field by night. T

songster of whom
“When I am a

Haenschen sits on.

song. At times

rere is Hans, the eldest, the little
1is father ‘once made this parable:
t my writing-table, hard at work,
the floor and lustily sings a little
ne pitches his song so high and

sings so loud that it disturbs me, and I have to

scold him a little.
his singing, but m

his song right so
my direction. 'T
to do when He

He does noty however, cease
nerely lowers his voice, humming
ftly, with many a scared look in
rat is exactly how God means us
says, ‘Rejoice with trembling. ”

Hans is also the boy to whom his father sent
the most beautiful of all letters that ever a four-
year-old had read to him.

There is Hans’s shy, sweet sister, Magdalena,
whose early death was to break her father’s heart ;
and little Martin, junior; also Hans’s playmates,
Phil. Melanchthon and Justy Jonas, who shared
in the glory of the famous letter.

The signal is finally given, and Wolf, who has
had great trouble squeezing himself into his angel’s
costume, now bursts upon the scene in all his glory,
singing to Luther’s light accompaniment : —

From heav’n above to earth I come
To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing.

To you this night is born a Child
Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;
This little Child, of lowly birth,
Shall be the joy of all the earth.

n

these are the tokens ye shall mark:

The swaddling-clothes and manger dark;
There shall ye find the young Child laid
3y whom the heav’ns and earth were made.

With that the children rise and stand in a
solemn row with clasped hands and shining faces,
singing:
Now let us all with gladsome cheer
Follow the shepherds, and draw near

To see the wondrous gift of God,
Who hath His own dear Son bestowed.

Then, suiting the action to the word, they ap-
proach the, manger-crib before the Christmas-tree,
and, as they imagine the shepherds to have done,
fall upon their knees in adoration, and, one after
the other, sing their little welcome song. Hans,
a trifle pompous as becomes the eldest, chants in
his clearest voice the opening stave:

Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,
Through whom the sinful world is blest!
Thou com’st to share my misery;

What thanks shall I return to Thee?

After him his sister Lenchen timidly takes up
the strain:

Ah! Lord, who hast created all,

How hast Thou made Thee weak and small,
That Thou must choose Thy infant bed
Where humble cattle lately fed.

Last comes little Martin, who is not yet four.
His mother has had a hard time teaching him his
“niece,” and he looks to her now for her smile of
guidance before setting out. He touches only very
lightly upon the words, but roars the tune all the
louder, meanwhile glancing disdainfully at his little
brother, Paul, in the mother’s lap, who cannot
sing : — :

Ah! dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.

Then the whole household rises, and with folded
hands and faces raised toward heaven, joins in the
closing chorus, Dr. Luther’s clear tenor soaring
high over all their voices:

Glory to God in highest heay’n,

Who unto man His Son hath giv’n!
While angels sing with pious mirth
A glad New Year to all the earth!

And then the candles are blown out, and the
children troop to bed.

“oe

Convention of Luther Conference

and

Grand Celebration of the Quadricentennial of
the Reformation at New Orleans, -

Luther Conference met in annual session in
Bethlehem Church, October 30 to November 1. The
opening sermon was preached by the Rev. C. P. -
Thompson, now of Napoleonyille, La. He chose
as his text 1 Tim. 1, 15, and delivered a very edi-
fying and comforting sermon. It was a treat to
hear Rey. Thompson after a number of years. He
is a theological product of Luther College, having
received his preparation there before the theological
department of that institution was transferred to
Immanuel College.

The next morning the first closed session. was
held. All the brethren at present laboring in the
Louisiana field responded to their names at roll-
call. The election of officers showed the following
result: Prof. H. Meibohm, president; Teacher
E. R. Vix, vice-president; Teacher A. Berger, sec-
retary. his session was given over entirely to
routine matters and the disposing of business mat-
ters. In the afternoon, however, Teacher Vix de-
livered a very able catechization on the question
in the Catechism, “What does such baptizing with
water signify?” It was thoroughly and beneficially
discussed. i

The next morning Teacher Aug. Lange read