The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1924, Sheet 79

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

The Lutheran Pioneer.

17

The baptized membership has decreased from 126
to 86 and the communicant membership from 75
to 50. But this decrease means no loss to the
Church at large; for though these persons have
left Mansura, they have in every case moved to
places where we have churches. Most of them re-
moved to Alexandria, thirty-two miles distant,
where they founded a congregation. The frequent
crop failures also resulted in a decrease in the con-
tributions. Last summer the members rented six
acres of laid and planted the field to cotton. The
members took care of the growing crop, and the
returns were put into the church treasury. — A year
ago the congregation sustained a great loss in the
death of Scott Normand. — The school is conducted
by the pastor. Every child of the congregation
attends the school. The future of this congregation
depends upon the children, since no growth from
the outside is to be expected, as there is practically
not an unchurched person in the vicinity.

10. Augustana, Alexandria. (Founded in June,
1923.) Pastor Tervalon serves this station. It has
a baptized membership of 34. A school was opened
last fall; it had an enrolment of 59 and was con-
ducted by Miss Irene Anderson, of New Orleans.
Though school and church are both domiciled in
a disreputable-looking old store building, they enjoy
a good name among the people. Services are held
here every Sunday night. Among the hearers are
always some strangers. Pastor Tervalon is at pres-
ent preparing five children and one adult for con-
firmation. Pastor Gernannt of the white congre-
gation in Alexandria, who is much interested in
our Colored congregation, regards this city as a very
promising mission-field and joins Pastor Tervalon
in urging the early acquisition of property. Alex-
andria has a Negro population of 8,000, and if a
plain little chapel were placed here, the little con-
gregation, we have reason to hope, would experience
a rapid growth. The store in which services are
now held, and which also houses the school, is an
old shack. The floor is as undulating as the surface
of the sea. The dirty walls Miss Anderson covered
with old copies of the Alexandria Item. For $5,000
a suitable lot could be bought and a plain building
erected. Alexandria should also have a resident
missionary. — The total baptized membership of
the Louisiana field is 1,110.

; North Carolina.
Our second oldest mission-field is in North
Carolina. We began our work in this State at
Concord in 1891. ‘Those wishing to read particu-

lars concerning these beginnings may find them in
Our Colored Missions. Illustrated. (Order from
Rey. Theo. Walther, 6402 Easton Ave., St. Louis,
Mo. Price, 25 cts.) As early as November, 1883,
it seems, a Colored Lutheran congregation was
founded in Concord by the late Rev. D. J. Koontz,
a Colored pastor, who was one of the persons
through whom our attention was called ‘to the
North Carolina field.

11. Grace, Concord. (Founded in 1891. Mis-
sionary Melvin Holsten,* since September 16,
1923.) This congregation has 208 baptized and
116 confirmed members. Many of the members
own their own homes. The Sunday morning ser-
vice is attended by thirty adults and ten children,
and in the Sunday evening service there are sixty-
two adult worshipers and twenty children. The
school has 106 pupils, who are being instructed by
Teacher E. W. Reid and Miss Wilhelmina Harris.
The Sunday-school is attended by 72 pupils. Last
year this congregation contributed $644.50. The
missionary in charge is striving to make his con-
gregation self-supporting. Next year this congre-
gation will be hostess to the second General Negro
Mission Conference. By that time the good people
of Concord expect to renovate their church and
school at an expense of $400. Grace has a voting
membership of 35. The business section of Con-
cord is rapidly approaching our church, and this
fact has greatly enhanced the value of our property.
Several attempts have been made to purchase it at
a good price, but our people are averse to selling
it because of its desirable location. Of course,
should an equally desirable place be found and the
desired price be forthcoming, we shall sell and
move. —It may be of interest to our readers to
know that among its members Grace has probably
the oldest Lutheran in the whole world. This is
James Spencer. During the War of 1812 he was
a boy of ten and hence is now 122 years old.—
Concerning our members at Concord a prominent
business man once said to me: “If all the Negroes
would be like the Lutheran Negroes, they would
be all right.”

12. Immanuel, Shankletown. (Founded in
September, 1919. Missionary Melvin Holsten.*)
Shankletown is a suburb of Concord. We here
have 38 baptized members. The services have an
average attendance of fifteen adults and ten chil-
dren. The Sunday-school has an attendance of
twenty persons. The people greatly desire a day-
school.

18. St. Paul’s, Charlotte. (Founded 1891. Mis-

nae