The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1933, Page 53

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

53

a great light’ Even in this phenomenon of the
acceptance of the Gospel, Brazil is on the road of
progress. The blessed work of missionaries is bear-
ing fruit; it must be continued and augmented;
and soon Brazil will be theoretically and practi-
cally — Christian.”

Our Church has for some years been doing a
limited, but very successful work among the Luso-
Brazilians, the native Portuguese-speaking people
of Brazil. We doubt not that as time goes on, we
shall be able to take advantage of other oppor-
tunities to work among these virtually unchurched

natives of Brazil. F. J. L.
oe

Immanuel Conference.

Immanuel Conference met for its regular winter
session at Grace Church, Concord, North Carolina,
March 3 and 4. Pastor Melvin Holsten read a paper
on the Fourth Article of the Augsburg Confession,
which evoked a spirited discussion and consumed
a goodly portion of the time usually allotted to
business matters. Though somewhat remotely con-
nected with the subject, the question as to what
constitutes unionism was considered in order that
greater clarity on this subject might be gained and
consequently uniformity of practise achieved.

Considerable time was devoted to the discussion
of the necessity of thorough instruction in the Cate-
chism of both adults and children preparatory to
confirmation. In this connection the importance
of mid-week instruction meetings of the congrega-
tions was reemphasized, and churches that had given
up these meetings were urged to reintroduce them
even though heretofore the attendance was at times
discouraging.

Conference was urged to continue the blanket
subscriptions to the Missionary Lutheran in spite
of diminished receipts in the church treasuries since
these subscriptions are in reality an investment on
which the returns are added interest in the church
and increased contributions.

Conference approved the action of the Church
Extension Board, which lent $750 to Bethany
Church, Yonkers, New York, and instructed the
Board to increase this amount to $1,000; repay-
ments to be made in ten equal instalments, without
interest.

Although a number of the twenty congregations
composing Immanuel Conference revised their lists
last year, Conference showed an increase of eighty-
five baptized members over the previous year and

a net gain of forty communicants. The number of
members who communed during the past year was
encouraging.

While the gross receipts for 1930, 1931, and
1932 were $5,718.57, $5,790.73, and $4,557.66,
respectively, net receipts for the salaries of pastors
during the three years were $3,248.76, $2,899.61,
and $2,744.32, respectively, evidence that our con-
gregations are becoming increasingly conscious of
their duty towards their pastors and that local ex-
penses are being reduced to the absolute minimum.

As to the future growth of these congregations,
there is missionary material in the various com-
munities, and our pastors are still preaching the
Gospel, For some time, evidence, based on pub-
lished statistics, has been appearing indicating that
Negro sectarian churches are definitely on the down-
grade, not only as far as doctrine is concerned, but
also as regards membership. Only recently a state-
ment appeared to the effect that religious instruc-
tion in many churches is at a “low ebb.” And since
emotionalism is frowned on in many sections, our
more churchly order of service, which formerly was
regarded as cold and uninviting, will have a special

, appeal to the more thoughtful. The door is open,

and even these days of storm and stress cannot
shut it. In fact, it is just during times when men
are torn by doubts and fears that they often come
back to the Church. Great religious revivals in this
country usually followed great social upheavals
when men learned by bitter experience that after
all the world is as unstable as water and that the
only certain earthly thing is change.

The officers of Immanuel Conference are: Rev.
P. D. Lehman, president; Rev. J. Hunt, vice-presi-
dent and treasurer; Rev. M. Holsten, secretary.

W. H. G.

St. Philip’s, Chicago.

St. Philip’s, Chicago, the Rev. M. N. Carter,
pastor, has become a self-sustaining congregation.
We have heard that St. Philip’s, St. Louis, has also
become self-supporting. So to these two churches
belongs the signal honor of being the first among
all our colored mission enterprises to take care of
all their own home expenses, including the salaries
of their pastors.

Pastor Carter writes concerning this matter:
“In the regular meeting of the voting members of
St. Philip’s Lutheran Church, Chicago, held on the
fifth day of February, 1933, it was unanimously and
prayerfully resolved to declare St. Philip’s a self-