LUTHERANS. 



447 



gregations, and 991,722 members; 23 theo- 

 logical seminaries and theological departments 

 in colleges, 22 colleges, 35 academies and ladies' 

 seminaries, and 48 benevolent institutions. The 

 growth of the Lutheran Church in America by 

 decades during the past sixty-five years is 

 indicated in the following table : 



Three of the four general bodies of Luther- 

 ans held conventions during the year. 



General Synod. This body, organized in 1821, 

 is composed of twenty-three district synods. 

 The following educational and benevolent in- 

 stitutions exist within the bounds of this body : 

 Five theological seminaries and theological de- 

 partments at Hartwick Seminary, N. Y., Get- 

 tysburg and Selinsgrove, Pa., Springfield, Ohio, 

 and Chicago, 111., having 66 students, 15 pro- 

 fessors and property valued at $100,000 ; 4 

 colleges at Gettysburg, Pa., Springfield, Ohio, 

 Carthage, 111., Atchison, Kan., having 521 

 students, 32 professors, and property valued 

 at $330,000; besides 3 academies, 2 ladies' 

 seminaries, and 2 orphans' homes. The Gen- 

 eral Synod held its thirty-third biennial con- 

 vention in Omaha, Neb., June 1 to 13, 1887. 

 There were present 192 clerical and lay dele- 

 gates. The Rev. S. A. Ort, D. D., President 

 of Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio, was 

 elected president. The Board of Foreign Mis- 

 sions reported concerning the missions in In- 

 dia and Africa. In India there are 4 mission- 

 aries, 2 native pastors, 3 evangelists, 7 cate- 

 chists, 5 Bible and tract colporteurs, 98 village 

 preachers, 2 chapels, 84 prayer-houses, 314 vil- 

 lages containing native Christians, 9,530 bap- 

 tized members, 5,816 communicants, 2,560 ac- 

 cessions during the two years. Elementary 

 schools, 145; teachers, 147; pupils, 2,178. 

 Luther Mission College: Teachers, 11; stu- 

 dents, 416. Sunday-schools, 5; teachers. 27; 

 pupils, 570. In the Muhlenberg Mission at 

 Monrovia, Africa, there are 3 missionaries, 1 

 native pastor, 122 pupils in schools, 107 com- 

 municants, 8 Sunday-school teachers, and 160 

 pupils. The receipts for two years for both 

 missions were $62,196.19, of which the Wom- 

 an's Home and Foreign Missionary Society 

 contributed $7,661.28, the Children's Foreign 

 Missionary Society $3,777.90, the United Synod 

 in the South $2,396.83, and sale of coffee re- 

 ceived from the African Mission $2,113.35. 

 The total assets of the Board from all sources, 

 including a balance from previous years, were 

 $71,741.22. The expenses for the same period 

 were $63,574.88. The Board of Home Mis- 

 sions received contributions amounting to 



$61,091.83, of which the Woman's Society 

 contributed $7,491.66, to which must be added 

 a balance from previous years of $11,673.23, 

 making the total assets of the Board $72,765.- 

 06. Their expenditures amounted to $67,884.- 

 38. The operations of the Board are in the 

 special charge of two secretaries, who devote 

 their entire time to the interests of home mis- 

 sions. During the two years covered by this 

 report the Board employed 120 missionaries 

 and aided 103 missions, located in the following 

 States and Territories : Canada, 1 ; New York, 

 6; Connecticut, 1; Pennsylvania, 19; Mary- 

 land, 4; District of Columbia, 1; West Vir- 

 ginia, 1 ; Ohio, 8 ; Indiana, 3 ; Michigan, 1 ; 

 Illinois, 9; Kentucky, 2; Tennessee, 2; Mis- 

 souri, 1 ; Iowa, 1 ; Nebraska, 18 ; Dakota, 1 ; 

 Wyoming, 1; Kansas, 14; Colorado, 3; and 

 California, 2 ; or 85 English, 8 German, 5 

 English - German, and 5 Scandinavian. The 

 Board of Church Extension reported receipts 

 for two years amounting to $63,628.83, and 

 expenditures $59.372.84, being loans and dona- 

 tions to weak congregations and other ex- 

 penses. The total assets of the Board are 

 $139,924.40, and the liabilities $57,040.25. 

 This Board employs a special agent, whose 

 duty it is " to secure desirable and well-located 

 lots for church and parsonage edifices in new 

 and growing towns in Nebraska and adjacent 

 States and Territories.'" The Board of Publi- 

 cation reported total assets to the amount of 

 $61,946.74. During the two years embraced 

 in this report 18 new publications and 8 new 

 editions of works were issued, also 7 periodi- 

 cals, of which the number of copies issued in 

 one month aggregated 175,000. Of the sur- 

 plus funds of the Board, $6,500 were given to 

 the various benevolent operations of the Synod. 

 The publication - house, at 42 North Ninth 

 Street, Philadelphia, was reported too small 

 for the growing business of the Board. The 

 Parent Education Society reported the receipt 

 of $1,579.45 and the expenditure of $1,405 in 

 aiding eight students. The Historical Society 

 reported increased interest in their work from 

 all parts of the Church and the purchase of a 

 valuable collection of books, pamphlets, charts, 

 papers, and synodical minutes. Its library 

 contains 721 volumes, 1,804 pamphlets, and 83 

 manuscripts of Lutheran authors, together 

 with nearly complete files of the 157 church 

 periodicals and minutes of synods. The Com- 

 mon Order of Service was reported as com- 

 pleted and ready for publication. The com- 

 mittee of the General Synod was instructed to 

 co-operate with the General Council and the 

 United Synod in the preparation of an author- 

 ized translation of the Augsburg Confession 

 and Luther's Small Catechism, and in the 

 preparation of orders for ministerial acts. 



A pleasant incident connected with this 

 meeting was a free excursion from Omaha to 

 Lincoln and Beatrice, two growing cities in 

 Nebraska, in order to view those cities for the 

 purpose of selecting a place for the location of 



