The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1924, Page 76

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76

The Lutheran Pioneer.

structed by Teachers A. Wiley, Felton Vorice, Os-
borne Williams, and Bernice Craig. The Sunday-
school also has enjoyed a healthy growth. The
Sunday-school pupils all attend the Sunday morn-
ing services. The Sunday evening services are very
well attended. The people of Bethlehem are zealous
confessors and show a very lively interest in their
Church. Many of them are personal missionaries
and try hard to get churchless people to attend
"services with them. It has happened that white
employers have been induced to attend the services
at Bethlehem because of the testimony of their
Negro servants. The members are also liberal
givers. Year before last a man whose wife is often
ill gave $104 to his church. Last year a widow
who earns her money by taking in washing con-
tributed $51. This widow usually gives an extra
gift of $5 or $10 at Christmas and Easter. Most

Confirmation Class, Bethlehem, New Orleans.

of the members have increased their contributions
during the past two years. Last summer the con-
gregation made extensive repairs on church and
school and had both buildings painted at its own
expense. The young people of the church had elec-
tric light installed in the church at an expense
of $70. This summer the congregation is having
the interior of both the church and the school deco-
rated. The congregation has 209 baptized and 116
confirmed members.

7. Concordia, Carrollton, New Orleans. (Founded
1912.) This station is served by Pastor Kramer *
of Bethlehem Church, who is also the official visitor
of the whole Louisiana mission-field.. Possibly this
station would have a more rapid growth if it had

‘its own missionary. It now numbers 33 baptized
and 24 confirmed members. There is much build-
ing going on in this part of the city at present, and
this may have a favorable effect on our struggling
Concordia Congregation. During the summer

months Pastor Kramer canvassed the whole sec-
tion, but at the time of this writing his report
on the canvass has not been received. ‘The school
has an enrolment of 119 children, who are taught
by Teacher Peter Robinson and Miss Eldria Taylor.
The attendance at the Sunday-school is not what
it should be. ‘The chapel, which also serves as
school, has been furnished with electric lighting,
and they will try evening services.

8. St. Paul’s, Napoleonville. (Founded 1905.
Missionary C. P. Thompson, since 1917.) This sta-
tion has no promising future. Since the large
sugar-mill, which gave employment to a great
number of men, burned a few years ago, the people
are leaving because of lack of work. The congre-
gation at present has only 31 baptized and 21 com-
municant members. Among these an old one-eyed
Negro is the most faithful. When the weather is
bad, he is unable to come. In such cases the
pastor’s family, consisting of a wife and eight
children, sometimes forms the whole audience.
A former teacher, who had to be dismissed, opened
an opposition school, which for a while threatened
the existence of our school. But when Pastor
Thompson closed his school for the summer months,
he had 63 children on the roll; and when he opens
his school again in September, he will have still
more, since it seems as if the opposition school will
have to keep its doors closed. — In Plaquemine, La.,
work was temporarily discontinued last summer.
Building operations had already begun, when
Teacher John Thompson one morning found a
K. K. K. warning attached to the building material.
Then, ‘too, the contractor had failed to comply with
certain building regulations, which caused the
authorities to order building operations stopped.
The intention is to look around for a different loca-
tion, and when that has been found, we purpose to
sell the present property and build at the new place.

9. St. Paul's, Mansura. (Founded 1899. Mis-
sionary Wilfred Tervalon, since October, 1915.)
This is a fine Colored Lutheran congregation and
is regarded with favor by all in the neighborhood.
The people are Creoles, and while playing their
games, the children speak their French dialect.
This small country congregation has furnished our
Church a number of pastors and teachers, and there
is probably no Lutheran congregation anywhere,
white or colored, which proportionately has s0
many boys preparing themselves for the service of
the Church as this congregation near Mansura. —
The membership has not held its own during the
past years, due to a number of recent crop failures.