The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1932, Page 185

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER 185

eee

1931. 4,145 pupils attended the fifty-two sessions,
an average of eighty per session.

“The Saturday-school held twenty-seven ses-
sions, with a total of 742 children attending, an
average of twenty-eight.

‘During the month of July a vacation Bible-

school was conducted. The seven sessions were at-

tended by 348 children, an average of fifty. The
enrolment was seventy-four. ‘This was by far the
best vacation Bible-school in the history of our
church.

“Our people are showing an increased interest
in these schools. Two of our members taught in
the vacation Bible-school; six are Sunday-school
teachers. ‘The teachers must meet once a week.
Mrs. A. Klocke and Mrs. Pflug also teach.

“The calling record of the pastor shows a total
of 651 calls, of which forty-eight were sick-calls,
145 visits to members, and 458 missionary calls.

“Financially we have done well. The plate of-
ferings amounted to $262, while the envelopes
showed receipts in the sum of $235. The Sunday-
school offerings totaled $92. We have no definite
figure as to the amount contributed toward the
chapel fund, nor do these figures include the $400
or more collected at the corner-stone laying and
the dedicatory services.

“Our sentiments as we see the work progressing
may be summed up in one sentence: ‘Neither is he
that planteth anything, neither he that watereth,
but God, that giveth the increase.’ ”

We have always admired the fine missionary
spirit of our ten Buffalo congregations. As con-
gregations go, our churches in Buffalo with their
4,000 communicant members are by no means
large and must in most instances strain themselves
to meet the expenses of their own households in
these days. But for all that, they are doing ex-
tensive Inner Mission work, and for years they
carried on the work among our colored brethren of
their city. The example of our Buffalo churches
deserves to be made known to our whole Church as
worthy of emulation. If all our congregations were
as mission-minded as are our churches in Buffalo,
our mission boards would be relieved of much of
their worry. F.J.L.

“‘Missionstaube’’ and ‘‘Pioneer.”’

The Board for Colored Missions is publishing
two missionary monthlies. While originally they
were intended to further the interests of our Col-
ored Missions in particular, by resolution of the

Synodical Conference a number of years ago, these
two publications have become general missionary
publications, having the outspoken purpose of in-
teresting their readers in all missionary enterprises
within the confines of the Synodical Conference.
The editors of both monthlies are making an earnest
endeavor to carry out this purpose of their publica-
tions and are bringing news from various mission-
fields at home and abroad; and if the testimony of
their readers may be relied upon, the columns of the
Missionstaube and of the PronreEr are succeeding in
accomplishing their purpose in a considerable
measure.

However, the number of readers of these two
missionary monthlies, the only missionary publica-
tions appearing in the Synodical Conference, is not
in proportion to our membership. We have probably
300,000 different homes in the Synodical Con-
ference, while we have only 14,000 subscribers for
our two missionary publications, approximately one
subscriber on an average in twenty families!

It should not be impossible to double or even
treble the number of readers of these two publica-
tions in a church-body whose membership ought to
be more interested in missions than any other re-
ligious organization on earth. We feel that our
present readers could do much in the way of
enlarging the number of subscribers, partly by
soliciting friends to become readers and partly by
presenting gift subscriptions to relatives and others.
We know of cases where those who received a year’s
gift subscription became regular subscribers, and we
are sure that others could say the same.

This increase in the number of readers of the
Missionstaube and the P1oNEER would serve a double
purpose. For one thing, it would help the papers
financially and make it possible for the Mission
Board to publish them without a direct loss, as is
the case at present. But, above all, an increase in
the number of readers would mean an increase in
the number of informed and interested Christians.
An increase in the number of subscribers for our
two missionary monthlies would increase the num-
ber of Christians who would become acquainted with
the joys and sorrows, the defeats and victories, ex-
perienced by our missionaries in the various fields
of missionary endeavor. But this increased knowl-
edge concerning our missions would mean more
prayers for the workers and for those among whom
they are working, and more prayers would mean
greater success in the mission-fields ; it would mean
more laborers in the field and more funds to take
care of the increased number of workers. And the