The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1922, Page 102

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sons and daughters of their Church.

102 The Lutheran Pioneer.

ee

‘Reformation Day
Celebrated at St. Mark’s, Atlanta, Ga.

The members and friends of St. Mark’s at At-
lanta, Ga., celebrated Reformation Day in a some-
what unique manner this year. From reports that
have reached us, the schoolchildren rendered our
beautiful Reformation hymns in a most praise-

* worthy way, and the pastor, Rev. John Alston, of

course, did his usual part of the service, as we take
it, at the altar and in the pulpit. But the extra-
ordinary part of the service was a paper read by
Mr. J. J. Whitfield, bearing the title, “Why the
Lutheran Church?” The fact that Mr. Whitfield
would read a paper upon the occasion of the cel-
ebration, no doubt, did much towards bringing a
record crowd to St. Mark’s.

Mr. Whitfield, we hear, handled his subject most
skilfully. He dwelt at some length on a description
of conditions in the Church before the Reformation
and enumerated a number of the then prevalent
errors and sins. Then he proceeded to show that
the Lutheran Church is not a new Church, as is so
often thought, but that it is the old Church of the
apostles, of which Christ is the Corner-stone, since
all its doctrines were taught already by Christ and
His apostles. The essayist next emphasized the
great blessings which God has bestowed upon us
through the Reformation, stressing in particular the

: open Bible and religious liberty. This naturally led

Mr. Whitfield to urge upon all present the duty of
making greater sacrifices for the Lord and His king-
dom and of working with greater zeal in the exten-
sion of Christ’s kingdom.

What the strangers heard upon this occasion
must have caused them to look with greater respect
upon our dear Lutheran Church, her message, and
her mission; and what our members heard from the
lips of one of their fellow-members must have in-
duced them to rejoice in their Lutheran church
membership and impelled them to make a solemn

vow, by the grace of God, to be faithful and loyal
FF. J. L.

A Home Mission Experience.

About two months ago Mr. K., the owner of
some land on Pelee Island, a small body of land
lying in Lake Erie, stopped me on the street of our
little town to tell me that there were Lutherans on
Pelee Tsland that were longing for services in our

faith. Mr. K. himself is a Roman Catholic, but was
apparently much concerned about the spiritual care
of these Lutherans. I told him that, while it would
be impossible for me personally to take care of these
good people, I should immediately write to a brother
minister in Detroit and ask him to take the matter
in hand. I wrote at once, and in a very short time
received the assurance that the people on Pelee
Island would receive the proper care, and that in
due time I should hear of the progress made.

A few days ago the following letter came to me,
and I found it so interesting that I cannot forego
the pleasure of giving it to the P1onrer readers to
read. ‘The whole letter breathes such a fine mis-
sionary spirit that it is bound to please everybody
that is interested in home missions. At the same
time it shows how we may take advantage of every
opportunity offered us to provide our fellow-men
with the Gospel. But here is the letter: —

“Complying with your request, I shall tell you
a little of my work among the Pelee Islanders.
Since I am in the best position to serve these people,
the place was turned over to me. Pelee Island is
fifty miles from Windsor and is reached by taking
an interurban car from Windsor to Leamington,
Ontario, and thence a boat to Pelee Island. ‘The
island lies twenty miles from the mainland.

“The first time I went to the island, Mr. B., a
genuine Lutheran, took me to various people in his
car and we arranged a service for the following week.
We have held a service every week since then with
an average attendance of twenty-five to thirty-five
hearers. At first we met in the respective homes,
but now we have rented the town-hall. The majority
of the people come from ‘Missouri’ and ‘Ohio’ circles.

“The boat does not ply on Sunday, so our ser-
vices are always held on Wednesday evening. ‘The
boat will ‘tie up’ December 12, and I’ll not be able
to go out again until the beginning of March. We
expect to organize in March, and I’ll then likely
have a confirmation class of seven.

“Pelee Island has a resident population of ap-
proximately 800, all farmers. The dimensions of
the island are nine by four miles. Conditions are
rather primitive. Only one store, no ‘movie,’ no
electric light, not a bit of pavement, no garage
(although almost everybody has a car), only one
doctor, ete. During the months of December, Jan-
uary, and February the people are cut off from the
mainland almost entirely.

“The soil produces wonderful crops, but the
high cost of transportation allows them to ship only