The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1930, Page 74

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

(4.

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

was served by three missionaries. This field bor-
ders on the Dominion of Canada on the north, runs
along, and even crosses, the Great Northern Rail-
way on the west, touches the Red Lake River on the
south, and reaches out into unexplored regions, the
home of the deer, the moose, the fox, the bear, the
timber-wolf, and the badger, as its eastern boundary.
This field is composed of three parishes: Roseau,
Goodridge, and Grygla. In earlier days, about a
decade and a half ago, the parishes Roseau and
Goodridge were served from Thief River Falls by
Pastor F. Seltz, now pastor of St. Stephen’s Lu-
theran Church in St. Paul. For twelve years Pastor
Seltz labored in those parishes in conjunction with
the congregation to which he had been called. Also
toward the southeast of Thief River Falls, Pastor
Seltz served those who desired to hear the Word of
God. His former members, many of them still there
to-day, speak of the many miles of travel made by
him in their behalf through snow and storm and
over floating bogs and dangerous paths, when the
waters of snow and rain in late spring practically
inundated the bulk of the territory. But his labors
were blessed, so that other men were called into
his outlying fields to continue the work he had
begun. Thus Roseau and Goodridge received their
missionaries and resident pastors. The work con-
tinued to grow and expand.

The Field Divided.

The Goodridge parish, under the faithful appli-
cation and devotion of the sainted Pastor H. Lutz,
reached out far toward the east. For a number of
years, students were called to assist Pastor Lutz in
his work of serving ten and even more places. In
1924 the mission board called me to the new charge,
termed the Grygla parish, which was composed of
five stations, or preaching-places. Arriving there
at the close of August of that year, I found Grygla
. itself a little inland town of about 150 inhabitants,
a distance of twenty miles from the nearest railroad
station, Goodridge, the terminal of an electric line
running out from Thief River Falls.

Primitive, But Wholesome.

As I had been reared in humble circumstances,
it took but a very short time to adjust myself to
the lowly conditions in my parish, particularly
because I found people with warm hearts and
cheerful dispositions. I shall ever remember those
land souls, who were willing and ready to share
everything with me to make my work among them
‘pleasant. Not long after my ordination and instal-

lation my attention was called to an outlying point
where mission-work might be done. This place was
some thirty miles farther east of Grygla, in a fire-
devastated area. Here I found people most of
whom had not heard a sermon in sixteen years.
Children were growing up without any knowledge
of God’s Word and their Savior Jesus Christ. This
brought the number of places served by me up to six.
At five of these the people met in schoolhouses or
homes. Many of those worshipers formerly had
been members of large congregations. They had
been used to beautiful edifices and all that goes to
beautify the services. It was hard for them to get
accustomed to meet for worship in structures de-
void of all one is wont to see in a Lutheran church.
But before long they began to feel at home never-
theless, and their hearts were as receptive to the
saving truths of God’s Word as they had been in
more desirable surroundings. The power of the
Word is not dependent on buildings or surround-
ings. The people were happy that they and their
children had an opportunity to hear the Word of
Life unto the salvation of their souls. Though their
gratitude could not be shown in dollars and cents,
it was indicated by their faithful attendance at the
services. The faithful were present under all kinds
of weather conditions. The bitterest cold, when the
temperature fell to 30 and 35 degrees below zero,
found them urging their horses onward to the little
schoolhouse. Sometimes we had an audience of
only six, five, or even three, but we delivered our
sermon, encouraged by the presence of the few, who
had deemed it worth while to venture out. In that
northwestern territory there are only about four
months of the year in which traveling is fair, June,
July, August, and September.

Much Work.

During these last-named months the missionary
is most active with two or three services a Sunday
and often an equal number of Sunday-school ses-
sions. Besides, during the week there are regular
instruction classes for those who wish to join the
church, Bible classes to increase the opportunities
for hearing and studying the Word of God, and
principally then pastoral and mission-calls are made.
With October the fall rains are ushered in, and bad
roads are the order of the day, to be succeeded by
the November snows. The long winter months are
most exacting in their demands on the missionary’s
physical strength and endurance, and the danger is
ever present that one might get stranded far from
a farmhouse or from a possible means of assistance