The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1932, Page 69

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

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found for it. Mr. Steinmeyer was requested to visit
New Orleans in the matter of a location for, and
the erection of, a new chapel.

In future non-Lutheran children, except in the
case of new stations, will be admitted to our mission-
schools only so long as such action does not neces-
sitate the employment of additional teachers, the
installation of more equipment, or the erection of
additional schools. Every effort is to be made on
the part of pastors, teachers, and congregations to
build up our schools along proper missionary and
educational lines, so that they may become efficient

Luther College, New Orleans.

factors in developing loyal, self-sustaining Lutheran
congregations.

Rev. J. B. Thompson is to be transferred from
Alabama to Kannapolis, N. C., and Rev. H. Bates
from Chester, Pa., to Jackson, Miss. ;

All students of Immanuel Lutheran College —
except students of the theological seminary — will
in future be required to pay tuition in addition to
board. All-indigent students will be required to
work for their board either at the institution or
outside.

A chapel is to be erected at Piney Woods, Miss.,
at an early date.

The plenary meeting also spent some time on
the question of our opening a mission in Africa.
However, conditions are such as to preclude all
thought of venturing upon the project at this time.

F.J.L.

Our Annual Statistical Report.

The friends of our Colored Missions — and alk
our readers are such, of course —will be pleased
to see that the LurHEran PIoNEeER is again able
to bring a statistical report for 1931 of our work
among the freedmen. The report shows progress
along the whole line except in the receipts from
our mission-stations, which will not be surprising
to our readers, as just our Southern States were
most severely hit by the prevailing depression.

The number of organized congregations has

grown from sixty-four ta sixty-eight, an increase of
four, and the number of preaching-stations now is
thirteen over against eleven at the end of 1930.
The net increase in baptized members has been
595, so that the total now reaches 7,665, while the
communicant membership numbers 4,008, an in-
crease of 252 in the past year. Our missionaries
baptized ninety-nine more persons in 1931 than
in the previous year; the total number baptized
last year was 695. The number of confirmed ex-
ceeded those of the preceding year by eighty-eight,
the total being 482. The total number of those
who communed in 1931 was 14,168, an increase of
2,250 over 1930. The average member of our col-
ored congregations communes more than three times
a year. .
We said above that the report showed progress
in all items except one; but we see that we shall
have to correct this statement, and we are sorry that
the facts compel us to do so. The report, namely,
indicates that there is a falling off in the number
of pupils in our day-schools. Several very plausible
reasons might be given for this decrease, but for alk
that it is to be deplored that 274 fewer boys and
girls attended our mission-schools at the end of
1931 than at the end of the preceding year, the
enrolment at the end of 1931 being 2,911. The
Sunday-school enrolment shows a growth of 536
pupils; the present number enrolled is 4,903.

In 1930 the total receipts from our Colored
Mission field amounted to $31,236.00. In 1931 the
receipts fell to $28,991.52. This is a decrease of
$2,244.48. While this is a drop of 7 per cent., we
feel that those somewhat familiar with the economic
conditions of the country will be ready to admit that
this is not so great a drop as might have been
anticipated.

“High Spots.”

We have been kindly furnished with a few “high
spots” in this report, to which we should like to
call the attention of the kind reader. Mount Zton,

he

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