Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ZTbe Xutberan IDiettoi GOD’S WORD, OUR RULK ; CHRIST, OUR PATT1RV ; ▲ PURX FAITH, OUR WATCHWORD. VOL. XXXVI—No. 6 NEWBERRY, S. C. ( THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1902. Whol* No. 1705 UNRILIABLK OEHERAL COUNCIL FIGURES “But while Dr. Carroll is not a good interpreter of Lutheran statistics, he is not: to be blamed for reporting losses where there were doubtless large gains. .Thus the General Council is represented as having lost 9,838 members dur ing the year, when there is every reason to believe that there use a conaiderable gain. As noted some time ago, three of the larger bodies of the Conncil, the Ministerioms of Pennsylvania and New York, and the Pittsburg Synod, are credited with tosaea aggregating nearly 15,000 As the secretaries of there three bodies have confessed, there was so much negligence and lack of completeness in the parochial reports as to draw from them the sutement of their utter unre liability ; and the Conncil has these Bynods to thank for the impression which ontsiders will have as to its seeming crab like progress. If, as the minntea show, the Pennsylvania Ministerinm has lost 27 congre gations, and the New York 22, where have they gene tot There was simply no such thing (with perhaps a few exceptions in New York state) as a loss in congre gations or members; but the records were inaccurate and incomplete, and Dr. Carroll and alt who shall read bis statistics are, of course, not expected to know that. The point we wish to make is simply this: If we do not want tie General Conncil to go on record before the conntry as declining or moving backward, all the Synods must take this matter of statistics carefully in hand and make them tell a true story hereafter.” The above appears in last week’s I “ Lutheran” in connection with ' some disension of Dr. Carroll’s ^ “statistics of the cbnrches in the United States.” We need bnt make a change in names and figures in order tc apply the same to the United Synod. The care- - Isssness manifested in the parochial reports submitted to our sypods (or not submitted) can hardly be too severely censured. The most rat-eless among these who are responsible of these reports, true to human nature, often seek to shift the blame by finding fault with the blank form, but there is proof abundant that tbs fsnlt is not there, when those who are csrefnl fill the whole reports with ont tronble or confusion, and the babitoally careless fail to record the simplest statistics The blank forms may bs far from the best we might have, bnt the real reason for onr incorrect statistics is not defect in form. We can have reliable atatiaties. We ongbt to have reliable ones or none. Onr shortcomings in Ibis particnlar are inexcusable and sinful. W. H. G. CATICH1ZATION. The value a-,d importance of catech<xition are admitted by all Lotberan pastor*. Bat many have more or less d'fflculty in accom pliabiog the end desired Doubt less, the most formidable obstacle that the average pastor has to over come is the indifference of both parents and children Bnt I venture to make a few com- meets upon one difficulty in cate chisttiou in large and scattered country pastoiates. Many conntry pastors appreciate the value of catechizition, bnt how to accom- piish anything in the catechizition of the children ia the difficult pro blem. Bo many appointments, they say,make it impracticable to do efficient catechizition. The same with equal force might be said of the public preaching of tbe Word, only once a month, and sometimes not that. Bat they continue to preach monthly, believing that one-fonath of a loaf is better than no loaf at all. And so we contend in the matter of catechizition. In a pastorate of fonr or more congre gations it is impossible to give as much catechetical instruction as in concentrated work. But may not as much catechetical instruction be given in proportion to the public preaching of the Word! The pub lic preaching of the word is essen tial to the vitality or the church. as essential is the instruction ot tbe yonng of thechnrch whether in the f itn>ly, in tbe Bnnday school, in tbe catechetical class, or from thepalpit. Bat those of experience, competent to judge, tell ns that nothing is so effectosl in establish ing the faith in tbe yonng as cate- ehizttion by the pastor or some one equally as competent. If par ents were always consecrated and themselves well instructed and founded, public caterbisation might oe dispensed with without serions loss. Bnt, alas I Bnt this is a diversion If a country pastor cannot have cat)- ebiEttion weekly six months of every year, might he not, say, have in one congregation at a time, weekly catec^ismon for about three moutbsT If tbe children were for only tbree months direct- tion nnder tbe teaching of the pas tor they woald be vastly better off spiritually. The pastor wonld thus learn more folly the spiritual wants of his yonog people, sod they wonld learn to know him as their friend, pastor and spititnsi adviser. And they wonld thus learn things abont the Bible and tbe cbnrch that they would not aoon learn otherwise. There is a great deal said abont the profit and even necessity of "special efforts for coaversion of sinners." I for one admit that there is force in the argument. But suppose the en ergy expended in one of these protracted services be expended for abont tbree months in going from house to bouse in gathering the yonng in a catechetical class once a week. This might not be necessary in each congregation every year. There might be periods of two and three years when there would be no children needing immediate at tention. This wonld mean more or less bard work. Bnt is not there bard work in all successful church workf I would suggest that more than one hour be spent in sneb catechet ical work in tbe country. As in tbe day school, let there be one or two recesses. I have been told that one of the sainted Henkela would begin catechetical instruc tion early in the morning and con- tinne all day. This aonld, to some-extent, bn attaching to re ligious instruction the importance that we attach to secular inttrue tion. An advan'sg-i of this partial work in catecbizstion would t>e that tbe young would grow up with tbe idea that eateebization ia tbe thing to be desired and aimed at. They wonld not have the ix- aiuple of their pastor against cate ohisation. In this d.fflonlt and desirable work church (ffl^er* and parents should cooperate heartily and «p provingly with tbepsator. One word more. Tbe assertion is tometimea made that catechist tion is only intellectasl know! edge, sod bs* nothing to do with the heart. This is douotless true of some pastor's work—the char acter of bis pnlpit work and his general psutorsl work Tbe pas tir who neglects the eiitnre of the heart in catechist'in will be guilty of the stme » lesbere. I dare say tbe pastor i over ba* a better opportunity of r-ttiog at tbe h'art than in the catedi icai Haas. Tbe truth sown in tbe heart, whether from ratechization or from the pnlpit, will bear ita fruit. Bigma Tan. MEETING OF UNITED SYNOD. The Eighth Convention of the United Bynod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Booth will bs held in St. John’s Lntheran cbnrcb, Charleston, S C , Rev. J W Uorine, pastor, beginning Wednesday, May 7, 1902. The opening o( synod will take place at II o’clock a. in Reduced rates will not be asked of the railroads, as delegates can avail themselves of the Exposition rates, which will be cheaper and more convenient. M. G. G. Scherer, Sec’y. The peace of Goe which passetb ail understanding is the heritage of believing souls.