The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1923, Page 22

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22 The Iuthe

‘an Pioneer.

(gain of 79); and 251 persons (gain of 60) were
confirmed during the same period. The number of
communicants increased from 4,322 in 1921 to 4,811
in 1922

While the ordinary contributions of our Negro
Christians show an increase of about six thousand
dollars, the total apparently shows that there has
been a decrease of that amount; but this is due to
the fact that in the total of 1921 are included the
legacies of Ellen Bransford and Leah Jones, which
aggregated over twelve thousand dollars.* This
steady increase in the contributions of our Colored
members is truly most commendable. It plainly
shows that they are striving hard to become self-
supporting, even as they have gone a great way in
making the Colored Lutheran Church in our coun-
try a self-propagating body. God bless them in
their work and permit them to attain the goal they
are striving to reach.

To every earnest Lutheran the large enrolment
of most of our mission day-schools must be a cause
for satisfaction. Mount Zion, St. Paul, and Beth-
lehem in New Orleans each boast an enrolment of
over 200, and Pastor Fuller’s school in Spartanburg
has no Jess than 175 pupils on its rolls. The steady
increase in the Sunday-school attendance is also a
gratifying sign, since it shows that from year to
year a larger number of children are identifying
themselves with the Lutheran Church; for ex-
perience has taught the writer that,\when once the
Negro child attends the Lutheran Sunday-school, it
regards the Lutheran Church as its church and will
become a communicant member in due time.

That Immanuel College, Greensboro, has prac-
tically as many students this year as in the pre-
vious year was to us a most agreeable surprise, since
the Board had not been able to provide those neces-
sities that the students had felt would be forthcom-
ing, because they seemed so very indispensable, such
as a girls’ dormitory, not to mention anything else.
Equally gratifying is the fine showing that Luther
College makes with its enrolment, despite the fact
that its faculty is working under great difficulties
and is greatly handicapped by lack of room and nec-
essary facilities. In both our colleges some of the
barest necessities are lacking, to the great annoyance
.of the teachers and students and the possibly per-
manent injury of the institutions. F. J. 1.

_ * (Moreover, owing to a mistake, Grace Church in
' §St. Louis was not credited with $434.22. Its total con-
* tributions were $1,281.64. — O. F. ory)

Items of Missionary Interest.

Mount Pieasant, N. C.— On February 4 the
wife of the Rey. C.T. March presented her husband
with a fine, healthy baby boy. At last
mother and child were doing well.

reports

Aw Instructive Taste or Statistics. — The
United Stewardship Council recently published a
number of tables showing what the various Prot-
estant denominations did in the year 1921 by way
of mission and congregation contributions. Rey.
Drewes, Superintendent of our Colored Missions,
has studied these tables and from them has compiled
the following table, which shows what the various
bodies comprising our Lutheran Synodical Con-
ference did in 1921 for missions, benevolences, and

Average
Contribution
per Member.

congregational expenses : —

Church-Body.

Our Colored Missions ................+. $16.30
MLissOUrisSynOd Tee soe! ois ofelalspeleleistolalare's 14.70
mlovakeSynod terran iaweseicics «isiestccl ceive 14.18
Wisconsin Synod ........... 620 eeee eens 10.94.

IN Orwepians Synod Foca ciercleic ic vi ecleievejaie's:- 0101 5.70

Just stop and think, dear reader! Our Colored
Christians head the list! Our Colored Christians,
who are surely not to be classed among those whose
income is very large, actually surpass all the white
synods of the Synodical Conference in their average
contributions. Were the 825,000 communicant
members of our white congregations to increase
their individual contributions so that they would
equal, the average contributions of our Negro Chris-
tians, it would mean an increase in the total mission
and congregational contributions of our Synodical
Conference of almost $2,000,000! If this vast sum
were devoted to increase our missionary activities, it
would practically mean the doubling of our present
efforts.

Rocks, N. C. — Rev. F. H. Foard reports that on
December 16, 1922, Mr. Sandy Holmes, an old
member of Mount Zion Congregation in Rocks,
N. C., was stricken with paralysis and passed away
in peace. — C.F. D.

New Ortrans, La. — Teacher D. Meibohm,
who has faithfully and successfully discharged the
duties of a Christian teacher in Mount Zion School
for nigh unto thirty years, has been obliged by ad-
yancing age and poor health to tender his resigna-
tion to our Board for Colored Missions. At its
regular meeting on-February 15 the Board regret-
fully accepted his resignation. Let us all, partic-
ularly those to whom this good and faithful servant

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