THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.
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Buffalo since November 5 to canvass :for a colored both in public and in p1·fratc, is leading not a few Lutheran mission to be begun at that place. men of every station to eternal destruction. l\Iost BuFF,\LO, N. Y . A mission was opened on unfortunate will be the religious training and the New Year's Day with an informal l'eception in the moral c~timation of clrildren begotten o.f an w1afternoon, followed by a brief service. On the fol- happy union of this sort. o dreadful a plague lowing Sunday afternoon the first service of the brings in feat· and terror alike destructive o.f all .Stmday-sehool was held, and at night ser vices were religion, of all honor, and of true civilization. On -conducted bY Rev. E. E. Mueller and Rev. Il. F. that account, moreover, the condition o.f those lh"ing Wind, the Institutional :?iiissio.nary. A well-locatecl iu concubinage is pitiable, because, having wallowed house enes as tempo1·ai-y quarters. rrhe owner, in the filth of unchastity, they are truly com,erted -a Lutheran, has granted the ui;e of this 1·oomy only with great difficulty, because, being made a house, without rental charge, until l\fay 1. The mo t dangero us rock o.f stumbling and a cause of lower floor is tempo1·arily fitted up as a chapel, ancl many o[euses, it is with great difficulty that they the upper floor can be used as a residence fo1· a are willing to satisfy God and men and the Church. missionary. The Board for Colored :Missions is ~l'hereCorc let the guardians of souls, with bowels being appealed to for a missionary for this promis- of mercy, seek out · wandering sheep of this kind ' ing field. 'l'he writer earnestly hopes that a good ancl lead them back to Christ's fold ; and, terrified missionary will be secured; for he believes that by their own ·difficulties and . placing their hope in •our work has a wonderful opportuni ty at Buffalo. Goel, let them despair of the safety of no sinner, Iler is a district without a church, a list of pros- but wi th the most a1·dent zeal let them be solicitous pects, a house for services (no store could be 1·ented) for t:he conversion of all sinne1·s. Ilence, availing and for the missionary, and a lively iuter~st on the themselves o:f the· advice of their own bishop, let pa.rt of the Lutheran congregations of the city. them strive to prepai-e a plain ,vay of conversion, and as often as scandals. can be removed from the Vi'bat more could a missionary desire? midst by legitimate mal'l'iage, let thein glacUy remit , STATISTICS. - 'l'he annual reports for the year 1925 show the following totals for this :field: · Souls, the temporal prerogatives and rights that they may 1,579; communicant members, 913; voting mem- · win souls for Gou and legitimize offspring, accordbers, 173; schools, l t.l:; male teachers, S ( 3 of these . ing to t he rules handed down by approved a~thors. "And with no less zeal let parish priests and are pastors also) ; lady teachers, 14; pupils, 795; pupils in Sunday-schools, 925; baptisms, 100; con- confessors be solicitous for the conversion of adulfirmations, 69; communed, 2,743; marriages, 17; . terers, since their temporal and eternal l~t ought bmials, 85; contributions, $9,050.83; with boa1·d to be 1·egarded as utterly niiserable. O.f these aduland tuition at Immanuel Lutheran College, terers the Council of 'rrent has said: 'It is a grave $14,187.'i'·.l:. Concord leads in the number of souls sin that dissolute men should have concubines, but (231), of communicant members (127), of voting it is a most grave sin, and one committed with members (33), o.f baptisms (16), of confirmations remukable , CQntempt for this great sacrament (15) , and of funerals (8) ; Kannapolis, in th~ [matrimony] that married men also should live in number· of persons that communed ( 447) ; Spar- this state of damnation and should dare sometimes tanburg, S. C., in the number of pupils in school to support . and keep them at ho.me with their · (154) _and in Sunday-school (90) ; Atlanta, Ga., wh•es.' " 'l'hroughout South America it is . safe to say in the number of marriages ( 4) ; and Yonkers, N. Y., leads the congregations in total income that from one-fourth to one half of the population is illegitimate, born of parents married neither by ($1,747.19). J.P. SMITH. Church nor by State. The most deplorable feature 'i s that the priests in only too many instances set Moral Conditions in South America. an e,•il example. It is stated that statistics were presented to the council of South American bishops Some years ago a plenary council Qf Latin above referred to which showed that in Latin American bjshops was held at Rome. In the Acts America, of 18,00Q priests 3,000 .were living in and Decrees of this council the following may be regular wedlock, 4,000 in .concubinage with \heir read : "The widespread pollution of fo'.rnication is so-called housekeepers, aµd 1,500 in relations more to be deplored and conciemnea, but especially the or less open with women of doubtful reputation. . most foul pest of concubinage, which, increasing F. J. L.
