The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Page 140

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140

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

Walther League Convention.

The Walther League convened at Baltimore,
June 11—15. The meetings were held in the Fifth
Regiment Armory. The key-note of the convention
was: “Seek the Peace of the City.” Since we are
celebrating the Sesquicentennial of the signing of
the Declaration of Independence this year, this motto
was most appropriate. The opening service was
held on Sunday afternoon. Prof. W. A. Maier de-
livered the sermon on Josh. 3, 5: “Sanctify your-
selves, for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders
among you.” The five principal addresses, delivered

‘in the various sessions of the convention, bore
the titles: “The Christian Home, the Pillar of
the American Nation” (Rev. O. A. Geiseman) ;
“America’s Supreme Need — Christian Citizen-
ship” (Prof. Th. Graebner); “Christian Educa-
tion, the Strongest Safeguard of Our National
Institutions” (Dr. W. H.T. Dau); “The Lutheran
Church, National, Yet International” (Rev. Geo. C.
Jacobsen) ; “Modernism, Shall It Undermine the
Foundation of the Nation?” (Prof. Geo. Romoser).
All these addresses emphasized most strongly the
patriotic key-note of the convention.

As is always the case at the conventions of the
Walther League, so also at this year’s meeting the
cause of missions was greatly stressed and enthusi-
astically emphasized. In one of the sectional con-
ferences held on Tuesday afternoon the why and
how of mission-study was given much earnest

_ thought. On Wednesday evening, at a well-attended
inspirational service, the Editor of the PIoNEER
was permitted to speak to thousands of visible and
invisible hearers on the subject, “The World Is
Our Field.” On Thursday morning the Committee
on Missions and the Message of Missions in its
report, through Rey. P. G. Prokopy, its chairman,
once more brought before the convention the chief
business of the Church.

‘ In the closing address Rev. E. F. Engelbert told
the leaguers how they could and should prove the

convention a success. :

There were yet many other things that im-
pressed the Editor at this convention, such as the
excellent concert given on Sunday evening by a
number of Lutheran artists, the beautiful singing
of the Baltimore Convention Chorus, the historical
pageant of the Reformation on Monday evening,
the various hearty addresses of welcome, and the
_ Singing of The City’s Peace, a hymn dedicated to

the convention by its author, Dr. Kretzmann. But

by no. means least of all was the Editor of the
PIONEER impressed by a remark made by an officer
who had been detailed to the Fifth Regiment
Armory during the convention. The officer in
question was speaking to a brother officer, and this
is what he said: “Did you ever come across so fine
a bunch of young people before? Why, they were
every bit as well-behaved as was the convention of
preachers we had here a few weeks ago.. The Lu-
therans can surely be proud of their young men and
women.” God grant that our young Lutherans
may always deserve such praise! F. J. L.

When Has a Church the Right
to Move Away?

It always makes the writer sad when he hears
of churches in large cities moving from a district
because its changing character seems to make it
a difficult field to carry on work. When a “down-
town” church moves “up-town” leaving the “down-
town” problems unsolved behind, who is to solve
them ?

It often happens that the desirability of a cer-
tain neighborhood as a residential district is low-
ered by the influx of “foreigners.” The church
people move out, pack their household goods on
a moving van, and look for homes in a locality
where living conditions are more favorable. And
then the churches follow the people to the brighter
and fairer spots on the heights, where the streets
are less noisy and the air is more pure. It is pos-
sible that these churches as they move away have
the good intention not to forget that the “for-
eigners” whom they are leaving behind will offer
them a fine missionary opportunity at some later
day, after they have fully settled and made them-
selves at home in their new location.

However, only too often the old adage is veri-
fied in these cases: “Out of sight, out of mind.”
In the mean time new institutions come to take the
place of the churches that have moved away. The
cheap rooming-houses springing up are no influence
for right living and wholesome social order. The
former church-buildings are occupied by enter-
prises without any moral pulse-beat whatever.
There are more men and women living in the
neighborhood than ever lived there before. Their
need is great. What they need above all things is
the Church with her message of Christ, the Savior.
Yet the churches have gathered their skirts about
them and passed by on the other side.