The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1929, Page 162

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162

An Open Door in Mississippi.

Last winter Mr. C. Johann, a member of our
church in Collinsville, Ill., visited the office of our
Mission Board in St. Louis to discuss with the Exec-
utive Secretary the question of Colored Missions in
the State of Mississippi. His brother received an
appointment as landscape gardener in the Piney
Woods School, twenty-four miles south of Jackson,
the capital. Early in July the two brothers paid
another visit to the office and received a promise
that the mission opportunity at the Piney Woods
School would be investigated. Superintendent G. A.
Schmidt, of Selma, Ala., was requested to make
a trip to Piney Woods. As it was time for him to
take his vacation, he requested the Rev. E. A. West-
cott to make the trip for him. Rev. Westcott sent
a fine and favorable report to the Mission Board.

Believing that this was one of the most promis-
ing opportunities that has come to our Colored Mis-
sions since work was begun in the Black Belt of
Alabama, the Mission Board requested and in-
structed Rey. Schmidt to go to Piney Woods several
times to get the work started, if that were the
Lord’s will. Superintendent Schmidt drove to Piney
Woods on Friday, September 20. His report is most
encouraging. Believing that the readers of the
LurHEran PIONEER will consider it a treat and have
their missionary enthusiasm stirred, the PIONEER
will quote copiously from Superintendent Schmidt’s
report.

The Trip to Piney Woods.

Last Friday at 10 a. m., September 20, I left
Selma and a good amount of unfinished work on my
desk and made my first trip to Piney Woods School.
I drove through the country. Piney Woods is
240 miles from Selma. I reached the school at
7.40 ~. x1. I shall not tell you in detail of the emo-
tions I had while traveling through Mississippi with
its tens of thousands of Negroes, ignorant and
perishing. Wherever one travels, there are for our
Lutheran Church vast, unoccupied fields where poor
sinners live and die without the saving knowledge of
Christ Jesus.

When I reached Piney Woods School, I inquired
for Mr. Johann. He was not on the campus, haying
gone to Braxton, a few miles away. One of the
students, a young man who has been at the school
for nine years, took me over to Mr. Jones’s home.
Mr, Jones was having faculty meeting at the time.
This was at his home, a large house, which also

Serves a8 community house for the school. I told

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

the student not to disturb the meeting; so we sat
on the front porch until the meeting was closed.
It was then that I met Mr. Jones, who, as you know,
is principal and founder of the school. He is a man
of about fifty years, a likable person, unassuming,
but evidently a man of ability, — for it takes ability
to build and maintain such a school as he has had
these past twenty years. He does not teach. Te is
away from the school collecting money, ete., a good
deal of the time. Mr. Jones and I did not discuss
matters that Friday night, for both he and I were
tired out.

Meeting with Mr. Johann and President Jones.

The next morning, Saturday, I met Mr. Johann
and Mr. Jones, and briefly I was told about what
they would like to have us do. Formerly they had
a chaplain at the school in the person of one Rev.
N. N., a colored man from Iowa. This man was
a Congregationalist, a very old man. He was salaried
by the school and lived on the grounds with his aged
wife. I understand that Mr. Jones wants some one
to take the place of this man, but that the school has
no funds for a chaplain. In the talk I had with
Mr. Johann and Mr. Jones that Saturday morning
I was given to understand that I would be in charge
of the spiritual side of the school-life and that they
would like to have me take charge of the Sunday-
school (at least be helpful in the Sunday-school),
conduct the services on Sunday morning (Mr. Jones
usually addresses the student-body on Sunday nights
when he is not away from the school), teach religion
during the week, and otherwise be helpful in in-
stilling a Christian spirit into the school. We then
postponed further discussion of the matter until
3.00 p. ut. Saturday, at which time I met the com-
mittee which had charge of religion prior to my
coming. The existing committee will continue to
function under me.

Meeting with the Committee.

In the committee meeting not much was added
to what Mr. Jones had told me in the morning. As
far as Mr. Jones is concerned, I think that he is
100 per cent. with us and that he realizes the value
of having the Lutherans take charge of the spiritual
side of the school-life. He is for us according, to
every utterance and appearance; in fact, he is very
grateful that we are going to help the cause along.
But we need, of course, more than that. We need the
confidence of the teaching staff and the students.
I think a considerable step forward has been taken
in that direction because of the talk I had occasion