The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Page 135

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

135

duty towards their offspring. More than is now
the case colored homes must learn to see the im-
portance of order, cleanliness, and obedience. We
must, above all, do all we can to make the future
Wives, mothers, and’ home-makers of the colored
race well fitted for their duties, since a people will
never rise higher than its mothers and home-makers.

Churches among the Negroes.

The churches among the Negroes of our country
may be put in two groups, those belonging to de-
nominations which are exclusively colored, and
those affiliated with churches having white and
colored members. ‘The exclusively Negro denomi-
nations have a total membership of over four mil-
lion, while the Negro members in denominations
with a mixed membership number a half million.
In other words, the distinctively Negro denomi-
nations had 87 per cent. of the Negro communi-
cants. About 3,000,000 Negro communicants call
themselves Baptists, 1,400,000 belong to some
Methodist body, while about 190,000 are Presby-
terians, Episcopalians, Congregationalists, “Chris-
tians,” “Disciples,” Lutherans, or members of some
smaller body. The Roman Catholics have a Negro
communicant membership of about 40,000.

Our Negro Missions.

Our Negro Missions will celebrate their fiftieth
anniversary next year. The work was begun by
Rev. J. F. Doescher in the fall of 1887. The first
resident missionary placed in the field by us is the
venerable Prof. F. Berg, Immanuel College, Greens-
boro, N. C. He served at Little Rock, Ark., for
several years, was then pastor of two white congre-
gations, and now is again serving the freedmen as
professor of theology in Immanuel College. Another
pioneer worker was Pastor N. J. Bakke, who spent
all his years of service in our Negro Missions, first
as missionary in New Orleans, then as the pioneer
of our North Carolina field, as the first president
of Immanuel College, and as superintendent of all
our Negro Mission work.

In. 1915 we were called to the Black Belt of

Alabama, where our work has been most signally »

blessed. Station after station has been opened,
until we now have in that State no less than twenty-
six congregations and preaching-stations. Since
1922 we also have a training-school for teachers in
this field at Selma, the Alabama Luther College.

All told, our laborers are now working at 68
places. Most of our congregations are in Louisiana,
North Carolina, and Alabama, but they are also

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found in New York, Virginia, Illinois, Pennsyl-
vania, Missouri, Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas,
Ohio, Michigan, and California. At the present
time more than 7,000 persons are under the direct
care of our mission-workers in church and school,
but besides these there are hundreds, if not thou-
sands, of Negroes who are more or less influenced
by the work which we are doing. We hold that it
is no exaggeration to say that 20,000 to 25,000 per-
sons are being blessed by our Negro Missions.
F.J.L.

Nore. — God willing, our next number will bring the
full biennial report on our Negro Missions by Director
of Missions C. F’. Drewes.

Our Colored Mission in Buffalo, N. Y.

In the last issue of his Bulletin, Pastor H. F.
Wind has the following to say concerning the
progress of the work our Church is doing among
the colored people of Buffalo: —

“Fine progress has been made in the past
months in the work of our Colored Mission in
Buffalo, although this progress cannot be measured
in numbers, but rather in the interest shown by
those who are attending our mission. We cannot
hope to make great progress in numbers in this
mission until we have a worker to devote his whole
time to this enterprise. The men who are now
giving their time and efforts to this mission are
unable, because of other duties, to do much visiting
in the homes of prospects, and this fact makes it
impossible to gain those people who might be gained
by persistent effort, but will not come without much
urging.

“While our mission has not grown in numbers,
it has grown in the estimation of those who are at-
tending its services and other activities. People are _
becoming more and more interested and are showing
a fine spirit of devotion and sacrifice for the building
of God’s kingdom. ‘The women particularly are
anxious and willing to labor for the success of the
mission, and about twenty of them are giving ‘much
time and effort to this cause.

‘We expett that much better progress will be
made in gaining new attendants for the mission
when Student Ralph Burow, who has been engaged
to labor in this mission, will take charge. He will
devote his entire time to this work and will be able
to visit in the homes of the colored people in the
Cold Spring section. In this way he, no doubt, with
God’s blessing, will be able to interest many who
have not as yet been drawn to the mission.