Festschrift zum Fünfzig-jahrigen Jubiläum, 1868-1918
Festival Book
on the
Fiftieth Anniversary
1868 - 1918
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Niles Center, Illinois
Festival Book
on the
Fiftieth Anniversary
1868 - 1918
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Niles Center, Illinois
celebrated on Sunday, the 8th of September, 1918
Dedicated to the members and friends of the congregation
Pastor J. J. Mayer
Introduction
What reason does the congregation have to celebrate the fiftieth Anniversary? In a time of war such as this, sounds of rejoicing grow silent. Minds are filled by many different emotions. But these can not and should not smother feelings of thanks in the hearts of believing Christians when they look back on half a century and on the abundant merciful guidance of God; then they cannot but say in thankfulness:
Father, you have shown me
Only grace and goodness;
And you, Jesus, have sent me
All your friendliness;
And through you, O Spirit of Grace,
Am I always invited
A thousand, thousand times be thanks
To you, O great King!
So every single person has reason to shout joyfully on looking back at the years of his life that have gone by.
How much more motivation and reason for joyful thanksgiving does a Christian congregation have when looking back on half a century of development. For all the earthly blessings alone, which this congregation has received, should cause it to give thanks. What changes this area has experienced in fifty years! Even though the labors of our population are very wearying, they are endurable compared to the almost insurmountable difficulties which the first settlers, the founding fathers of our congregation, faced. "While in the cultivation of the land they often wrested only the barest means for a poor existence from it, today planting and harvesting in most cases leads to prosperity and wealth. Who today would want to trade his situation with that of our forefathers, his light hoe with the heavy ax of the woodsman, his light hand plow with the heavy, cumbersome ox plow?
The spiritual, which the congregation experienced in those fifty years, is still more precious. This not only bestowed a special consecration on the labors, but also ministered to the innermost feelings of the people. In this half century, about 3000 services were held, at least 200 times we were invited to the Lord's table, every year a number of children were instructed in the Christian saving truth, marriages were consecrated, pastoral help and assistance offered the sick, and the bereaved comforted at the graves with the hope of resurrection from the dead. What an abundance of pastoral blessings was administered. Think about it, dear Reader. How much work was done for and with the souls! So that after fifty years the fertile field of this congregation, like the fields around, has undergone great change. Therefore, let the hymns of joy keep on resounding even after the celebration. But also let your prayers of repentance rise to God for all the things that were not accomplished in the betterment of the souls.
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