The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1921, Page 6

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6 The Lutheran Pioneer.
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by many years. The railroad station, several stores.
and the hotel make up the heart of this little town.
Its people are good and kind, as the writer ex-
perienced once more on a visit which the occasion
related in this article necessitated. We might call
this little village of Meherrin typical of the Vir-
ginia village of some years past. Of course, this
‘does not mean that Richmond, which lies but sixty
or more miles distant, has not and does not now
influence it in every way, but anyway we found it
a fine place to spend a Lord’s Day. ‘There was
nothing of the noise of the metropolis to disturb
our Sunday thought, nothing much of man’s crea-
tion to mar the effects of nature on hill and in
forest; all seemed rather to help us find the proper
mood for worship. ‘Then, too, it was one of those
grand autumnal days which one can find only in
the South that found us here to induct into his new
work the Rev. 1. G. Dorpat, formerly of Wayside,
Wis., who several days before had arrived with his
family in response to a call to be pastor of St. Mat-
thew’s Ey. Luth. Church of this place.

The services had been appointed for 12 1. Not
long thereafter the worshipers, mostly members of
this congregation, began making their appearance.
Pastor Fuller, who had so faithfully and successfully
served this congregation for the last three and one
half-years, had charge of the services. With the
. prayer expressed in that old hymn, “‘T'ake 'Thou My
Hands and Lead Me,” the services were opened.
From the singing of the old song one could hear
the fervency of the prayer for both the new and
‘the departing pastor. After the liturgical service
and the singing of another hymn, ‘the undersigned
preached the sermon for the occasion, basing his
remarks on Heb. 13,17. Addressing himself prin-
cipally to the congregation, he spoke of the Christian
minister's great responsibility and the member’s
required duty. After the singing of another hymn,
during which the regular offering, as well as that
for the sick and needy in the congregation, was
received, the undersigned, assisted by Pastor Fuller,
inducted Rev. Dorpat into his work at this place.
Thus old St-Matthew’s is supplied with another
“shepherd. May the Lord bless this experienced
laborer in his new field and prosper the congrega-
tion to whom he _ will preach the Word of Life!

When, in conclusion, we call attention to the
fact that Pastor Dorpat is no longer a young man,
but that he, nevertheless, was willing to give himself
for the Lord’s Negro Mission, we do it because to
us it manifests a missionary spirit which we need

in order to carry out the Lord’s great missionary
command, “Go, and preach the Gospel.” ‘There are
many more ministers within our large Synodical
Conference who, so far as their physical condition
is concerned, could well serve the Lord in the Negro
Mission. And we need them. We need to sound
this cry into the ears of the young men who are
how preparing themselves for the work of the
Chureh, and no less ‘to those already in the work,
“The Lord needs you in our Negro Mission, in our
Foreign and Home Mission fields. Will you not
do something for Him who suffered and died for
you?” We must not only fal missions, but acl
missions. May the Lord of Missions help us!
W. G. ScnweEnn,

os

Items of Missionary Interest.

Baravia, I. — Pastor Edw. Krause, formerly
pastor of our Mount Zion Colored Church, New
Orleans, writes to us as follows: “You, no doubt,
will be surprised to receive some Colored Mission
news from Batavia, a suburb of Chicago, Last Sun-
day a colored lady, Mrs. Chandler, was confirmed
in our church together with a white lady. ‘There
are only a few colored families residing here, and
a member of one of these, Mrs. Chandler, came to
our church, because she found in it what her soul
needed. Her husband is also a regular visitor at
our services, and we hope that he may soon see his
way clear to come to us. May God graciously help
him to do so!” ‘This is truly good news, *giving
us all reason to rejoice! _

Greensnono, N. C.— By the middle of Novem-
ber, Immanuel already had an enrolment of 143,
and many more were expected before Christmas.
The cry from there is, “We need more room!”

New Ortrans. — Pastor Schliepsiek, the active
missionary hitherto in charge of Mount Zion, ac-
cepted a call to Towa.
of labor the middle of November. — At St. Paul’s
things are progressing under the leadership of the
young missionary, Rev. Gebauer. He reports good
chureh attendances and writes that the school had
an enrolment of 229 by the end of October. ‘The
Ladies’ Aid and the Young People’s Societies are
in a flourishing condition.

Tutrienan DrAconrss Association. — 'T

he

first annual report of this society shows that it is

prospering. ‘Vhis society should have the support
of every friend of missions, since the work for which

He left for his new field .