The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1927, Page 162

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162

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

Pastor Karl Gausewitz.

Our Negro Missions have lost a true and tried
friend by the departure of Pastor Karl Gausewitz,
the President of the Synodical Conference, who
died on September 4. It is almost thirty years ago
that the writer first met Pastor Gausewitz, then
pastor of a congregation in St. Paul, Minn, and the
president of the Minnesota Synod. At that time he
evinced a great interest in the work of our Church
among the Negroes of the South, and that interest
never waned. At last year’s convention of the
Synodical Conference in Lockport, N. Y., he again
and again showed that the cause of missions among
the freedmen was a matter dear to his heart. As

Pastor Karl Gausewitz.

much as it was possible for him to do so, he attended
the sessions of the special committee on Negro
Missions during the convention, and several times
he was called out of the sessions to attend to other
work which he had forgotten about because of his
interest in our Negro Missions. — :
Pastor Gausewitz was a native of Wisconsin,
having been born in Reedsville, that State, in 1861.
His father was a Lutheran pastor. At the early age
of eleven he was able to enter Northwestern College
at Watertown, Wis.; when eighteen, he! began his
theological studies; and when only twenty-one, he
entered the ministry. After a brief pastorate at East
Farmington, Wis., he accepted a call to St. John’s
Church in St.Paul. His pastorate here was most
successful and extended over a period of more than

_ twenty years. Twenty-one years ago he accepted

the pastorate of Grace Church in Milwaukee.
Pastor Gausewitz was a clear thinker and wise

counselor. His sermons were models of simplicity,
directness, and clearness. As a preacher he was un-
excelled; as a presiding officer he was a model. His
Church again and again showed that it realized his
qualifications. As stated above, he was president of
the Minnesota Synod for years. When this synod
united with several others to form the Joint Synod
of Wisconsin and Other States, he served as presi-
dent of the general body for a number of terms.
When the venerable Pastor Bading died, he was
chosen his successor as president of the Synodical
Conference. He was a member of the Board of
Control of Northwestern College and a member of
the Wauwatosa Seminary Board at the time of his
death. For years he belonged to the editorial staff
of the Gemeindeblatt, the German official organ of
the Joint Synod of Wisconsin. He was the author
of the Joint Synod of Wisconsin’s catechism ex-
position. ;

His marriage with Miss Anna Borth of Winona,
Minn., was blessed with seven children, six sons and
a daughter. Two sons and the only daughter pre-
ceded their father into eternity.

Pastor Gausewitz died in the sacristy of his
church. When death overtook him, he was med-
itating upon the confessional address which he ex-
pected to give to his communicants a few minutes
later. Several members found him sitting at a table
with the open Bible before him. When he was found,
he had just passed away. He had entered his sixty-
seventh year five days before his departure.

The funeral services were held on September 7.

May God be a true comforter to the widow and
the four sons in their bereavement! F.J.L.

Ee

Rambhau of Khandala.

The readers of the PionEER will read with in-
terest the following plain, but touching account of
a simple village Christian in India. It is taken from
India on the March, by Alden H. Clark, for some
years a missionary of the American Board at
Ahmednagar in the Bombay Presidency. Ahmed-
nagar, Ahmednagar District, is about 120 miles east
of Bombay. We read: —

The next man to whom I want to introduce you
is also a neighbor and friend of mine, but different
in almost every way from Tilak, the high-born
patriot and poet. His name is Rambhau, and he is
a neighbor because his village of Khandala is only
eight miles from Ahmednagar. He often dropped
in to see me, and I frequently went out to see him.