Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-08-30
F0RTlETH CONVENTION.
OF the Pittsburgh syn of the
T.. L.. Clurch.

at Wheeling, West Va on the 23d inst
There were II ministers of the church
present, with large number of Law
delegates. In the Wheeling Inteli-
gencer of the oath inst, we find the
following among other of the proceed
ings:
THE attendance at the Synod, both
on the part of the ministers and the
delegates of the churches, Is quite large,
although Wheeling is OH the extreme
of the Synod territory. \ marked
feature IN the opening liturgical ser
vices was the singing of the GLORIA in
Excelsis," +" in which the voices of so
large number of males completely
filed the church With a grand volume
of song After the reading of the
scripture lessons and the reverential
repetition Of the Apostles Creed" the
retiring President read the annual re-
port OF his official acts and the principal
events in the churches of the Synod
during the past year. The extract
from the report will be read with inter
est;
The Synod was opened by President
Rey w A. Passavant, d. ID, be using
the order for morning service as given
in the church book. In the absence of
the German Secretary, Rev. j. A j.
Zahn was chosen Secretary pro TEN.
while ReY. j. c. Waters, English
Secretary, occupied his chair
!
annual report, of which we give ex-
tracts. The report was received and
referred to a committee.
Fathers and Brothers Through the
loving kindness of our God, we are
again permitted to meet in convention.
The past year, which has been one of
unusual mortality in many Synods, has
passed over US without the death of a
single pastor. 1t has been time of
comparative peace, and walking in the
| fear of the Lord, and the comfort of
the Holy Ghost; it has been q year of
ingatheriDg, Of growth and establish
ment; with few exceptions, churches
| have had their stated services. 4 n in
creasiag church consciousness has been
manifested in the erection of churches,
the securing of pastors houses and the
support and endowment Of the college.
| A new interest has been awakened in
missions; on every side there is en-
couragement, activity and hope. A
courage born of hope has taken the
place of dependency, and the outlook
for the future is inspiring. The speak
er then reviewed the good done the
past year, and what was in store for
the future. The address was q mas
terly effort and was listened to with
strictest attention. 1t showed that it
had received careful attention in its
preparation.
Among the items of information was
the ordination of Messrs H. X. Shanor
and Il. r. burst, Of the Theological
Seminary, who have since accepted
calls from churches; the dismiSsi0n
of the Revs A. K Kinnard and j.
Rochsteiner to sister Luthern Synods :;
long list OF designations, removals
and installations /; the laying of five
corner stones the consecration Of FIVE
new churches; organization Of a num-
Der of congregations, and some mat
ters of ecclesiastical dicipline which
must necessarily come before the body
at this session.
Revs. Whitaker and Kholer and
and Mr.. +. NJ. King were appointed
teleFs to conduct the election, who
subsequently, reported, after several
ballots, the result as follows; Presi-
dent, Rev Edmund Belfour, of Pitts
burgh; English Secretary, Rev. j. Q.
Waters, Butler, Pa; German Secre-
tary, Rev J. A Zahn, Fairview, Pa;
Missionary President, Rev. K. Mel
horn, Pittsburgh Treasurer. Rev,
JAS Sheafer, of Pittsburgh
The most important report submit
ted was the plan for the beftting cele-
bration of the four hundrcdth celebra-
tion of the birth of Luther, which was
adopted by synod. The first part of
the program is for the next meeting of
Synod. The second part for the
churches AS this is of paramount in-
terest we give the report.
Your Committee recommend, (A)
That each Pastor preach, if possible,
once month upon some topic connect
ed with the life and work of Luther,
and by addresses, lectures, etc, use all
diligence to make our people thorough
ly acquainted with the history missions,
schools, literature, etc, of the Evangel-
ical Lutheran Church.
(B) That the 10th of November,
the 400 anniversary of Luther's birth,
he observed with special services and
thanksgivings that Gods special
providences in preparing Luther for
his work; Luther's relation to the
Augsburg confession; The Augsburg
confession in its influence upon other
Protestant confessions; Luther's trans
lation of the Bible, or kindred topics
be discussed; That the 10th of No
vember, or day as near to it as pos
sible be observed in every one of our
congregations with special services and
thanksgiving.
Co That our German Congrega-
tions be earnestly urged to make spec
ial efforts to complete the endowment |
of the German Professorship in Thiel
College, and that the Pastor and
Church Council, and the German Pro
fessor in the College, constitute
special Committee in each charge to
carry out this work in these Churches +
(D) That our English Congrega
tions be earnestly urged to endow
professorship to be known as the
"Martin Luther Professorship" in
Thiel College, and that the President
of Synod or the President of College
with the College Financial Secretary
constitute with the Pastor and Church
Councils of each charge, special com
mittee to arrange for the successful
completion Of this work