The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1927, Page 86

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86

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

for every one of its more than seventeen million
members and, in addition, for six per cent. of the
total non-Catholic population of the United States.
On the other hand, the Protestant churches can pro-
vide hospital-beds for only forty-three per cent. of
their membership.

When it comes to the care of the incurables, the
Catholics show their far-sightedness even more than
in the care of those suffering from some curable dis-
ease. Institutions for the Christian care of persons
who are the victims of the dread cancer or of incur-
able turberculosis would remove much untold suffer-
ing from the lives of these unfortunates, to whom
almost every door of hope is closed, and would bring
great relief to relatives who are distressed at the
thought that they cannot give their loved ones that
care which they should have.

It is surely a question of great importance: Can
the Church leave the care of the sick entirely to the
civic authorities or to secular philanthropic organi-
zations? Aside from missing wonderful missionary
opportunities, would not the Church lay itself open
to the charge of not practising the love which it
teaches? And would not we Christans, by our in-
activity in works of love, soon grow indifferent to
the great needs of humanity? Should we permit the
Catholic Church to show a more eager missionary
spirit than we do? Should we permit it to be said
of us with a show of right that, while there are many
protestations of love on our lips, the deeds of -our
hands do not bear out the sincerity of our speech?
Within the American Lutheran Church there are
eighty-four hospitals and sanitariums, and twenty-
two of them are in the bounds of the Synodical Con-
ference.

‘ Institutional Care of the Aged.

Old age must always have its heavy burdens, but
Christians should do all they can to lighten this
burden and make comfortable the last days of the
aged. In its homes for the aged our Church tries to
make the days of sunset ‘as bright and cheery as
possible. Here the aged, either left alone in the
world or having relatives who cannot or will not
care for them, may dream in peace and live in
memories of the past. Here the attentions of home
and the ministrations of the Church are provided for
‘them, Christian attendants do what relatives are
unable or unwilling to do, medical attention is given
them according to their needs, and thus all is done
to make the “last mile” smooth and comfortable.
It is a pleasure to state that the old people live
Jonger in Christian homes for the aged than they do

in other homes, owing to the fact that they need not
worry about their maintenance and care and because
happy and cheerful conditions surround them at
all times.

We hope that Christians will ever more awaken
to recognize that it should never be necessary for a
communicant of the Church to go “over the hills” to
the poorhouse. We should deem it a privilege to
supply that material aid to the homes for the aged
which will mean for the inmates a comfortable and
contented evening of their life, the daily consola-
tions of the Gospel, and a peaceful preparation for
their eternal rest in the heavenly Father’s bosom.

Christians have built hundreds of homes for the
aged in our country. And every one of these homes
is an eloquent testimonial to the presence of Chris-
tian love among us. There are to-day over three

Lutheran Old People’s Home, St. Louis, Mo.

hundred Protestant church homes for old people to
which these unfortunates may ‘retire to spend their
last years in the same Christian atmosphere which
surrounded them in their earlier days. And our
Lutheran Church in America has also not turned a
deaf ear to the prayer of the aged psalmist: “Cast
me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not
when my strength faileth,” but has regarded itself
as God’s agency in answering this prayer. There
are sixty-eight homes for the aged conducted under
Lutheran auspices, and ten of these are within the
Synodical Conference.

Institutional Work to Save the Lost.

The delinquent child presents a problem to the
State and to the Church. In most cases juvenile
delinquency is due to the neglect of the parents.
This parental neglect may in not a few cases be due
to poverty, but in most cases it is due to the utter