The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1922, Page 54

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_ by mission-work.

54 The Lutheran Pioneer.

Then and Now.

The time is past when, as, one hundred twenty
years ago, the great pioneer of English missions in
India, Carey, could be silenced in his speech be-
fore a conference of pastors while discussing the
Church’s duty with regard to missions; or when
the Scotch General Assembly, about the same time,
in their first debate on missions, declared a speech
of similar character to be fanciful and laughable,
yes, even dangerous and revolutionary, until the
aged Dr. John Erskine, rising up and laying his
trembling hand on the Bible, hurled like a thunder-
bolt among the awe-struck assembly the commands
and promises with regard to missions, and thus re-
called it to a sense of its long-neglected duty; or
when a German professor of theology, in 1798, de-
clared, in regard to the founding of a missionary
society in East Friesland, that the people of East
Friesland had not yet been reached by German cul-
ture; or when, as in 1810, those pious students at
Andover were obliged first to ask the Association
of Congregationalists in Massachusetts whether it
would be right for them to take up the work of
foreign missions.

Now all Scotland is proud of such missionaries
as Dr. Duff, one of the great apostles of India;
now she has raised a great monument in Edinburgh
in honor of David Livingstone, the great peace-
conqueror of Africa, Bible and ax in hand, as an
eloquent witness to the conviction that true civi-
lization cannot go ‘forward without Christian mis-
sions and the Gospel. Now Scotland and England
are sending whole colonies, mission-colonies, into
the very heart of Africa, to perpetuate the work of
Livingstone. Now the political press, which a hun-
dred years ago often had a scornful laugh for the
work of missions, speaks with acknowledgment and
praise of the achievements of the great missionary
societies. Now America surpasses all other lands
in interest and willingness to sacrifice for the cause
of missions. Now there are in all Protestant lands,
large and small, missionary societies firmly estab-
lished, and what fifty years ago was a very rare and
unusual occurrence, namely, annual missionary fes-
tivals, has become a much-cherished custom in thou-
sands of congregations. Yes, the missionary spirit
is growing, and the Christians are gradually, but
generally awakening to a realization of their great
duty, and that there can be no.more practical way
of proving the just merits of Christianity than just
F. J. 1.

Items of Missionary Interest.

JUBILEE CONVENTION. — As this issue of the
Pioneer is being arranged, the workers in our large
Colored Mission field are getting ready to go to New
Orleans, where a convention of the Lutheran Colored
Churches of America is to be held in the Mount
Zion Lutheran Church, June 14: to 18, to commemo-
rate the founding of the Synodical Conference fifty
years ago. ‘The opening service will be on Wednes-
day night, June 14, with Rev. W. O. Hill, of
Yonkers, N. Y., as preacher, while Rev. Herbert
Claus, of St. Louis, Mo., will deliver the confes-
sional address. The morning hours of Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday will be devoted to the hearing
of a doctrinal paper by Prof. J. P. Smith, President
of Immanuel College, Greensboro, N.C. ‘The after-
noon sessions will be devoted to business. On
Thursday night Rev. Lynn will present a paper on
“The Relation of the Pastor to His Congregation,”
and on Friday night the subject for discussion will
be, “Christian Burial, and Who is to Receive It.”
The Sunday services will be held in the spacious
auditorium of the Pythian Temple. The special
features of the morning service will be a sermon by
Rey. P. D. Lehman, of Concord, N. C., an educa-
tional address by Rev. F. D. Alston, of Charlotte,
N. C., and a song by a large children’s chorus,
directed by Prof. W. Seeberry. In the evening the
features will be a sermon by Rev. John McDavid, of
Charlotte, N. C., an address by President J. P.
Smith, of Greensboro, N. C., and the rendering of
a vocal selection by a large choir directed by Prof.
W.Seeberry. The presentation of the Jubilee Fund
gathered by all our Colored congregations, schools,

‘and Sunday-schools will also take place in this

evening service.

Ovr Intusrrarep Lectures. — Pastor William
Brueggemann, of Tilden, Nebr., fully realizes the
value of illustrated lectures. During the past year
he has arranged for no less than four such lectures
for his own and other congregations. ‘The last lec-
ture which this brother has arranged for is the one
on Our Colored Missions in the Black Belt of
Alabama. He has succeeded in listing no less than
twenty-three congregations for this lecture in his
neighborhood. We feel certain that this lecture will
go far toward interesting and informing many
hundreds and increasing the prayers and gifts for
our Colored Mission in those congregations where it
will be given. May many others follow in the foot-
steps of Pastor Brueggemann!

WT