The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Sheet 161

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

Items of Missionary Interest.
By the Eprror.

Maoris Want an Independent Church. — The
Maoris of New Zealand are seeking to secure an
independent church. Missionary work has been
carried on among them mainly by the Anglicans
and Methodists, and while a fair amount of success
has attended their efforts, the weak point in their
work so far is that it has not developed a spirit of
self-support. Some think that a native church
under complete native government will do much to
overcome this weakness. It is reported that the
Maori Church already has organized and that it
has a membership of more than 20,000. Among
these are 11,000 who formerly were members of the
Anglican Church, and 4,000 former Roman Ca-
tholics. The leader of the movement is a remark-
able Maori, named Ratana. From information
received it is to be feared that the new Maori
Church will drop many important Christian doc-
trines from its creed.

Publicity Activity of the Walther League. —
The Walther League is doing much to call atten-
tion to our Church by means of its exhibits at
county and state fairs. By means of these exhibits
people learn to know what service is being rendered
by our Church. The exhibits consist of literature,
pictures, moving pictures, and radio-broadcasting
programs.

Kannapolis, N. C. — “ ‘Uncle Eph’ McCree, one
of the founders of Mount Calvary Congregation
and its oldest member, departed this life August 13,
1926.. ‘Uncle Eph’ did not know his exact age, but
he was a young man when President Lincoln issued
his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. He was
one of the men in the party that captured Jeff
Davis when he tried to escape dressed in woman’s
clothes. In spite of his age, ‘Uncle Eph’ was an
example to all, especially to the aged, in regular
church attendance. — F. D. Auston.

Little Falls, Minn.—“During the past two
months Missionary Alston, of Atlanta, Ga., de-
livered lectures in the interest of the new girls’
dormitory to be erected at Greensboro, N.C., in
connection with Immanuel College. The last
Sunday in June he spoke at the mission-festival in
Kendallville, Ind. From there he went directly
into the State of Minnesota. He was cordially
Teceived by the congregations he visited. His
lectures, in which he described the wonderful
blessings of the Lord during the forty-nine years

- abandoned.

of mission-work among his people and the great
need of our institution at Greensboro, will yet bear
fruit for years to come.”

Millions in Hospitals and Homes. — The hospi-
tal property of the Methodists has a value of more
than $31,000,000 and an endowment of more than
$4,500,000. The valuation of property in homes
for children is about $6,000,000, with an endow-
ment of $1,400,000. The property value of the
homes for the aged is valued at almost $5,000,000,
and the endowment amounts to $2,700,000. Dea-
coness homes are valued at $2,300,000, with an
endowment of $500,000. ‘Training-schools are
valued at $1,104,000, with practically no endow-
ment. Other benevolent institutions controlled by
the denomination have a property value of
$680,000. The capacity of the hospitals is 7,532;
of homes for the children, 2,939; of homes for the
aged, 2,208; of other institutions, 384. Hospitals
reported treatment given to more than 233,000
last year.

Memorial to Livingstone.— Property in the
village of Blantyre, Scotland, connected with the
boyhood of David Livingstone is being acquired as
a nucleus for a Scottish national memorial to the
great missionary. A mansion in Blantyre will be
made over into a museum.

Restriction Removed. — Mission-work in India
is fast returning to its normal prewar basis. The
government of that country has just removed all
restrictions from the work of the Schleswig-Hol-
stein Mission Society, the Gossner Society of Berlin,
and the Danish tent-mission. Protestant leaders in
Germany say that the earnest Christians of that
country are longing to find an outlet for their mis-
sionary interest through the old channels.

Vaudeville Proves Poor Church Attraction. —
It is said that the experiment of the First Baptist
Church of Erie, Pa., with vaudeville as a means
of increasing Sunday night audiences was dis-
appointing. After two acts had been presented
to one Sunday evening audience, the pastor and
the officials decided that the method was of more
than doubtful value, and it has accordingly been
It would have been better for the
reputation of church and pastor had the experi-
ment never been made.

Anglican Church Publishes Mission Reports. —
The Church of England has published four
volumes intended to summarize and present its
missionary responsibilities. These books are en-
titled: The Call from Africa, The Call from India,