The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1930, Page 78

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78

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

preachers and no tongue into which some portion
of the Scriptures will not have been translated.
Missionary Witness.

Persecution in Soviet Russia. — The pastor of
the only remaining Esthonian church in Leningrad,
Russia, has been banished to Siberia, and the church
has been converted into a cinema.

Significant or Not ?— Out of over four thousand
boys brought before Judge Fawcett, of Brooklyn,
charged with various crimes, only three were mem-
bers of a Sunday-school at the time the crime was
committed. Religious instruction is the only ulti-
mate cure of crime.

The Spiritual Care of University
Students.

Pastor Th. Schroedel, of Minneapolis, gives part
of his time to the spiritual care of the Lutheran
students attending the University of Minnesota. The
following from his pen will give our readers an idea
of the magnitude, importance, and difficulties of this
work : —

“One of the great religious problems of to-day is
to minister to the spiritual needs of the ever-increas-
ing number of college and university students.
Many of these students come from out of town and
for months at a time are away from the influence of
their home and of the church in which they were
brought up. They come into an entirely new environ-
~ ment, associate in the classroom and on the campus
with people of many different or no religious beliefs,
and are often in great danger of being lost to
their Church.

“Among the more than ten thousand students
attending the University of Minnesota there are
approximately two thousand Lutheran young men
and women. We have never been able to ascertain
exact figures as to how many of these have been in-
structed and confirmed in Synodical Conference
churches, but to place the number of those who come
from congregations belonging to the Missouri and
Wisconsin synods at more than two hundred would
be making a conservative estimate.

“There can be no doubt that we have a distinct
duty towards these young people. We must help
preserve and build up their Christian faith and
strengthen their allegiance to the Lutheran Church,
especially in the face of the many spiritual dangers
confronting them. It ought to be our aim to keep
these students with the Church even for the sake of
the Church itself; for it certainly will be of much

benefit to our churches if many of such men and
women as are active in professional life and are
leaders in their community will also become con-
secrated leaders in their congregations.

“As there is‘no church belonging to the Synod-
ical Conference near the campus, we were confronted
with a special problem in ministering to the spiri-
tual wants of our own students. The situation has
thus far been met in the following way. Since the
fall of 1925 a Minneapolis pastor is giving part of
his time to this work. He is appointed by the
mission boards of the Missouri and Wisconsin
synods. His aim is to encourage the students to
make one of our Twin City churches their church
home and attend services and commune regularly
there.

“The organization through which he is mainly
active on the campus is the University Walther
League. This society was organized early in 1925
and has been in a flourishing condition ever since.
The membership, of course, is ever changing, as
students come and go. Social meetings are held
once a month. The meetings are opened with prayer.
A short business session is held, then follow music
and song, games, occasionally an address, and re-
freshments. A banquet is held every February, to
which all members of the Twin City Walther League
are invited. A home-coming party in fall, a spring
outing, and a Senior party in June have become
annual features. Through its activities the Walther
League has become quite well known on the campus.

“However, the most important work of the
University Walther League and the student pastor
is the Weekly Bible and Discussion Class. It is held
every Wednesday evening from 7.15 to 9 o’clock in
Folwell Hall, one of the university buildings, and is
the only Bible class held on the university campus.
The greater part of the evening is spent in system-
atic study of some portion of Scripture. This is
done through the question-and-discussion method.
The pastor prepares a set of questions on a certain
portion of the Bible. The questions are then an-
swered by the students, and each one is given an
opportunity to express his or her opinion, the pastor
merely guiding the discussion and leading the class
to a Scriptural interpretation. Much emphasis is
placed on the practical application of Scriptural
truth to the every-day life of the student. A certain
part of the evening is always set aside for the dis-
cussion of special problems and questions that con-
front the student on the campus and in the class-

room, and the members of the class are encouraged

to ask questions and present their difficulties.”