Already in the second issue of this year's volume we reported to our readers that since 1840 a number of young men from Switzerland planted the flag called "Lutheran" among the Germans in Texas and formed a synod which declared the symbols of our Evangelical Lutheran Church as its banner. According to recent reports we quote from the Reformirten Kirchenzeitung (Reformed Church Periodical) that to the eleven already present "six new Lutheran missionaries were added who arrived on 28 December of last year from Germany (or perhaps more likely from Switzerland) in Texas to work among the German people of that state." We have already expressed our misgivings at appropriate places about these workers in the Lutheran Zion in Texas; unfortunately, they have been admitted to the assemblage of the apostate, so-called Lutheran General Synod and thereby clearly indicated that, basically, Reformed doctrine is just as pure as Lutheran doctrine.

It is with great pleasure that we report to our readers of the activity of our church in Texas without following the report up with the bad news of a "but" and "unfortunately notwithstanding." On 16 December the esteemed Pastor Kilian, undoubtedly known by many of our readers, immigrated to Texas with a sizable Lutheran congregation. A born Saxon, a former fellow student of ours at Leipzig, beginning in 1837 he served for eleven years as the Wendish Evangelical Lutheran pastor at Kotitz in Upper Lusatia, Kingdom of Saxony, and, after the Fall of 1848 until his emigration, was the pastor of a so-called Old Lutheran, diaspora, congregation in the vicinity of Nisky in Prussia.

In 1846 Pastor Kilian preached a sermon in the Wendish language which later appeared in a pamphlet, in the German language in Dörffling near Leipzig entitled: "The Necessary Care Required of the Lutheran Christians in the Present State of Confessional Confusion - A serious message to the Evangelical People.'' This pamphlet was reviewed in the Rudelbach-Guerike journal. Among other things this review mentions the following: "The preamble of I Thess. 5:21 points out 'what is the good to which we are to cleave and whereupon we are to test everything' namely, 1. the Christian fundamental article of justification through faith alone; 2. the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God; 3. The Evangelical Lutheran confessional writings handed down to us by our forefathers (listed by name with short summaries) so that 'we may have a model for true church unity and by the faith which our fathers confessed so mightily to withstand all papal, reformed and rationalistic errors."' By mentioning the vow of pastors and teachers to uphold these confessions of faith reference is also made to neological demands (new believers and unbelievers) "that this vow may be suspended. Therefore (says the author), I must at this time say this much, Lutheran Christians: as soon as in a country the authorities of the Lutheran Church, with consent of those under their jurisdiction, suspend the ministerial vow so that pastors and teachers are no longer bound by the confessional writings of the Lutheran Church, there the Lutheran Church ceases to exist as a national church just like the union of Lutherans and Reformed in Prussia since the year 1830 ceased to be a national church. And should this suspension of the ministerial vow ever occur in Saxony, those who want to remain Lutheran Christians must leave the national church because of such apostasy. But if by God's special grace our church authorities together with all those who in Saxony support the Old Lutheran Confessions remain steadfast, in spite of all the turmoil which surfaces, it could happen that soon many of the estates in Saxony will leave the Lutheran national church and the free thinkers and naturalists of the present time will help build a new church. One of two things will probably happen: either the present national church, now Lutheran, will fall away from the Lutheran faith and we must leave it, or the national church will remain Lutheran and our false brethren who are not one with us will leave since they are not one with us.... God knows what awaits us. Be sober and watch, Lutheran Christians."

The sermon itself (the review adds) is in every respect a splendid composition, which in our time occurs infrequently, a thorough, productive, lively, energetic treatment of the text (Col.2:6-9), full of Evangelical intellect, rich on pithy thoughts and appropriate judgments; at the same time thoroughly substantiated with scripture passages and well elucidated with quotations from Luther at his best so that little remains to be desired. Stated on page 51 is: "What will be the result of the present prevalence of divers rationalism? When they have straddled and quarreled long enough a rationalism will come which will have secular power, perhaps that a pope or Napoleon, who will bring the other rationalists under his control. This will demonstrate that the present false freedom of rationalism led straight to the path of the papacy." Several thousand pastors, such as Pastor Kilian, and things would soon look better in Evangelical Christendom. Thus far the excerpts from the review. Those among our readers who did not know Pastor Kilian until now will certainly love him after this short testimonial, praise God that He led him to Texas and in spirit reach out their hands in a brotherly welcome upon his arrival at his place of work and engagement.

Pastor Kilian provided us with the joy of greeting us with a brotherly letter. We quote various items from it. Among other things it reports the following:

"It was in the year 1853 when thirty plus Wends, Prussian Lutherans, who left the Prussian national church union and returned to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, immigrated to Texas through Bremen, suffered shipwreck on the island of Cuba, but escaped with their lives. They wrote favorable letters to their friends during the winter of 1854 so that an association of over 500 souls followed them. This Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, composed of so-called Old Lutheran Prussian families, joined by 200 souls of the Saxon national church, called me as pastor and teacher to accompany them over here. The association was transported by the ship line Valentin Lorenz Meyer through Hamburg and Liverpool. I arrived with this congregation at Galveston on 16 December of last year and after the poorer families found work in Houston and vicinity, traveled 200 English miles inland together with our agents. Here on Rabbs Creek in Bastrop County the more affluent part of the association, who also paid for the overseas transport of the poorer ones, are in the process of purchasing a league of land and then also permit the poorer ones to come to the new homeland. There is an abundance of uninhabited land around here, but, because of the difficulty of finding the rightful owners of the land in Texas, it has not been possible for the people to buy any so far so that for weeks they have to live in huts. My congregation of migrants really went through many adversities, although the voyage was without any major storms. We lost over 70 persons through death, mostly from cholera, which struck while the association crossed England. Several persons already died in Liverpool. Nevertheless, we departed from Liverpool on 26 September on the large two-decker Ben Nevis (Captain Herron), besides the ship's personnel, about 580 souls, since besides our private party, other passengers from Germany also went along. During the very calm voyage through the Irish Canal many deaths, due to cholera occurred, so that in the harbor of Cork in Ireland we spent a quarantine of three weeks. Our overseas voyage to Galveston took eight and one-half weeks. Also during this time several more died. Here the people are healthy and have found theirs brothers, also in good health, who preceded them in 1853.

"Even though this diaspora congregation (in the vicinity of Nisky) was elevated to a separate parish by means of my moving to Prussia, so that I, as pastor of it, was officially recognized by the Prussian government, those separated families, who left the union church, found inducements to leave this exclusive church arrangement and emigrate. Also I found myself hampered in so many respects that I was moved to accept the call of the emigrants." The book Die Stimme unserer Kirche in Frage von Kirche und Amt (The Voice of our Church as to the Question of Church and Ministry) (Eilangen 1852), which lies before me, is a book according to my own heart.

"Finally, I request that for the present all my letters and publications, which I should receive, be sent to me in care of Mr. Andrew Vetter, blacksmith in Round Top, Fayette Co., Texas. Mail will not reach me here in the solitude of the oak forest along Rabbs Creek where I am living in the house of one of the migrant brothers of 1853 and where the association wants to establish their new home.

Awaiting a speedy answer, I remain in the Lord with cordial greetings to Dr. Sihler and the right reverend Missouri Synod, etc."

Johann Kilian, Ev. Luth. Pastor.

"P.S.: On last Friday, 11 February, a league of land was purchased on which the association plans to settle."

May the Lord bless our dear brothers together with their faithful shepherd, materially and spiritually, and through them the church on our new homeland!

[Bill Biar]