The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1923, Page 81

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PUBLISILED BY THE

EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SyYNODICAL CONFERENCE OF

Norrn AMERICA.

REv. F. J. LANKENAU, Ep1Tor.

Published monthly by Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo.

Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office

Subseription price, 50 cts. per annum, payable strictly in advance,
at St. Louis, Mo.,

under the Act of March 3, 1879.

Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 5, 1918,

Vol. XLV.

ST. LOUIS, MO., NOVEMBER, 1923,

No. 11.

OUR MONTHLY MISSIONARY MOTTO.
Indifference to missions is the worst kind of treason.

Enduring Monuments.

Voice, the parish paper of our congregation in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Rey. N. P. Uhlig, pastor, in its
last number carries an article under the caption
“An Enduring Monument,” which will surely in-
terest our readers. The space at our command will
not permit us to reprint the whole article, but here
is a part of it: “The treasurer of our Missouri
Synod, Mr. E. Seuel of St. Louis, records on page
284 of the Lutheraner, August 21, the sum of
$15,322.80 from the estate of Fred John William
Durr. The purposes to which this. money is to be
put are, to quote the words used in the testament:

“<Fourth, one-quarter of my estate, remaining
after clauses one, two, and, if possible, three have
been fulfilled, Z give and bequeath to the Chapel
Fund of the Negro Missions of the Synodical Con-
ference of North America.’ That means, our friend
Fred puts up, practically, two chapels, in which for
years and years souls of the Colored people are led
to Jesus.” ($3,830.70). ‘

Pastor Uhlig’s article then proceeds to state that
Mr. Durr gave the same sum of $3,830.70 each to
. the General Church Extension Fund of the Missouri
Synod, to the Pastors’ and Teachers’ Pension Fund,
and to the Board of Directors; the latter to use the
proceeds of this legacy to enable full orphans or
fatherless boys to prepare themselves for the service
of the Church in this manner, that one once chosen
shall be enabled to complete his course.if he proves
himself worthy. -

Now follows the concluding paragraph of Pastor
Uhlig’s article: —

“By making these bequests Fred Durr has given
a noteworthy example. You perhaps have some-
times wondered what that verse meant: ‘Make to
yourselves -friends of the mammon of unrighteous-
ness’ (‘Machet euch Freunde mit dem ungerechten
Mammon’). The use to which Mr. Durr put his
money was exactly within keeping of this verse. His
memory will be blessed by many, and they will
thank God and him. How many have wonderful
opportunities to do something worth while with
riches, but they leave it to already wealthy, vulture-
eyed relatives, who fight at court over the riches;
and these bring them no blessings, but dissatisfac-
tion, jealousies, losses, bad feelings. How many
thousands have been put into speculations here
among our Iowa Lutherans during the last six
years! One could name ofthand a half dozen in-
stances where amounts ranging between ten and
ninety thousand dollars were lost. And even if
such an investment brings big financial returns and
therefore is not ‘lost? as we say, there is no com-
parison between its value and the good that an
Snvestment? such as our deceased friend made
brings to thousands of souls. Think of the satisfac-
tion it must bring to him at the throne of God
when the reports ‘come in at headquarters’ up there
how money enabled souls to find the Savior through
the preaching of the Gospel and stilled the tears of
needy here below! Now do not fail to open your
Bible at 1 Tim. 6,6—21. If you are able to read