The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1923, Page 69

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The Lutheran Pioneer. . i

69

service, one night, Superintendent Schmidt, Stu-
dent Kreft, and the writer started on a flying trip
over the worst roads imaginable to go to her bedside.
Holy Ark to Tinela and return — 210 miles! Such
are the distances we often have to cover to make one
sick-visit. Question: Do we need more help, or
shall we break down under a strain which is get-
ting beyond endurance? EE. A. Wrsrcorr.

An Appeal for Deaconesses.

Deaconess work offers the young women of our
Church a splendid opportunity for service to their
Church in the ministry of mercy, in caring for the
sick and the poor. Deaconess work dates back to
the early history of the Christian Church, where,
under guidance of the apostles, its work of mercy
was performed in the service of eternal love. In the
sixteenth chapter of Romans we read of Phoebe,
a servant of the church at Cenchrea, who was a
deaconess; and so were also Priscilla and Mary.

There is a great need of such deaconesses in our
Lutheran Church to-day. Many large congrega-
tions, our city missions, our charitable institutions,
home-finding societies, hospitals, hospices, and last,
but not least, our foreign missions, — all these are
fields of labor for deaconesses.

Deaconesses must be well trained in order to be
prepared for their glorious calling. Our Church is
actively engaged in this work; a deaconess associa-
tion was organized in 1918. ‘The purpose of this
association, as expressed in its constitution, is to
educate and train Lutheran deaconesses, who are to
care for the sick and the needy and to administer
charity and mercy in the charitable institutions, as
well as in the home and foreign missions work of
the Synodical Conference, ‘and to erect and main-
tain Lutheran deaconess schools and motherhouses,
and other institutions of like character.

The first class of deaconesses, four in number,
entered our school at Fort Wayne in 1920, where
the association has its headquarters. ‘The course
comprises a three years’ training in the Fort Wayne
Lutheran Hospital Training-school for Nurses, and
during those three years a course in diaconics, con-
sisting of religious branches, is offered. In 1921
the Lutheran Deaconess Association succeeded in
gaining possession of a deaconess home on the Lu-
theran Hospital grounds at Fort Wayne. Last year
our society also acquired its own deaconess hospital

at Beaver Dam, Wis., a free gift made to us by

Beaver Dam Lutherans. This hospital with its
deaconess. school is also in a flourishing condition.

For the information of those who are thinking
of becoming deaconesses, — and we hope there are
a good number among the young ladies who will
read this, —I wish to say that the applicants for
enrolment in our schools must be members of con-
gregations belonging to the Synodical Conference,
they must have reached the age of nineteen, and
above all they must be filled with a fervent love
and an ardent desire to serve their Savior in His
Church. To enter our school at Fort Wayne, one
year of high school is required; the Beaver Dam
school requires a good common school education.

During three years at school the pupils receive,
free of charge, tuition, room, and board, laundry,
books, uniforms, and a yearly allowance of $100 for
personal expenses. In this way the association takes
care of the training of its deaconesses from the
beginning. After completing their course, our dea-
conesses enjoy the following privileges : —

First, an appropriate salary whenever they are
engaged in the service of the association.

Secondly, privileges of a home in the mother-
house whenever they are out of work.

Thirdly, free medical attention in case of
sickness.

Fourthly, maintenance during life.

Now, my dear sisters in Christ, what do you
think of the matter? Would you not like to become
a deaconess and dedicate your life to this noble
cause? ‘Those of you who are not so inclined have
the opportunity of joining the Lutheran Deaconess
Association by contributing one dollar per year or
more to support this undertaking.

Those of you in whom the above appeal has
awakened a desire to become deaconesses are in-
vited to communicate with Rev. Ph. Wambsganss,
President, -Lutheran Deaconess Association, 2916
Fairfield Ave., Fort Wayne, Ind.

Pr. WAMBSGANSS.

African Kings Refusing Crowns.

_A missionary in the Belgian Congo, J.C. Wen- .
gantz, tells of two noteworthy instances where
Christian converts refused royal crowns. 5

_ One day the missionary preached the Gospel in
a certain king’s village and then passed on. Some
time after he came through the same village on
one of his missionary tours, when the king’s son