On the 11th of Oct. 1852, the widow sr. Sarah Joanna Reinke, late Reich, whose maidenname was Greene, departed this life at Bethlehem, in the 76th year of her age. She had, with both her husbands, served the Lord in several of our congregations in Pennsylvania.

Consecration of the new Church at Gnadenhuetten, Ohio.

From a letter of Br. H. BACHMAN, dated Nov. 30th, 1852.

The weather during the week preceding the day of consecration having been unfavorable, we were so much the more rejoiced, when the long wished-for day, Sunday, the 21st of Nov., dawned upon us clear and bright, attracting many, even from the distance of 15 miles, to the solemn scene. Never before had so great a concourse of people been collected in this place. At 10 o'clock, A. M., the doors were opened, and the bell was rung for the first time. Soon after, the sound of the trombones was heard from the steeple, and all now flocked to the sanctuary, which was filled before the ringing of the second bell. Many of our friends and neighbors having to stand in the aisles, our faithful chapel-servants were active in accommodating them with additional benches and then with temporary seats, all of which were soon occupied, so that the children had to be arranged on the steps of the platform in front of the pulpit; but even then, a number had still to remain standing. The choir from Canal Dover opened the service with the hymn "Come, Holy Ghost, come, Lord our God &c.". thus attuning our hearts to devotion. I then performed the consecration service, and offered up the prayer, dedicating this house to the Triune God; after which, the Te Deum was sung by the choir. A hymn by the congregation followed, when br. Holland of Dover preached the first sermon, from Gen. 28, 17.- "This is none other but the house of God &c."-in the English language. Great silence and attention prevailed. After the first sermon, the choir chanted the Lord's prayer.--At two o'clock P. M., the Rev. Mr. Price, of the Presbyterian Church, preached from Numb. 10, 29.--"We are journeying unto the place, of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good; &c."-and immediately after, br. Wunderling of Sharon, delivered a discourse in the German language, from Rev. 3, 20.-"Behold, I stand at the door and knock &c."-At the commencement of this service, the choir had sung a German anthem, and at the close: "When the Lord shall build up Zion &c." -followed by a hymn, on the part of the congregation, and a tune by the choir of trombones.-

In the evening, br. Arthur L. Van Vleck preached from Luke 4, 8." Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only

shalt thou serve," and then the Rev. Mr. Sansom, of the Methodist Church, from Rev. 19, 10.-" Worship God &c."-The choir had sung: "Thanksgiving, honor, praise and might &c."at the commencement of this service, which closed the solemnities of the first day, a day, truly, which the Lord had made, characterized not only by the perfect order prevailing amidst the multitude assembled in the Lord's house,-by computation, upwards of 1000, great and small,--but also distinguished by the devotional feeling which pervaded all the exercises, and which was a new evidence to us, that the Lord is a prayer-hearing and answering God, and that he not only blessed us with his divine presence when met for the last time in the old church, but, in answer to our supplications, took possession with us of the new tabernacle, there to manifest his power and grace by awakening, converting, strengthening, comforting and establishing souls upon himself, the rock of our salvation.

Monday, the 22nd of Nov., came on with a cold rain, continuing nearly throughout the whole day; rendering us doubly thankful, that the preceding day, allotted to public services, had proved so favorable, whereas the second was intended for our own congregation in particular, and for such as have tasted the sweetness of the communion of saints, and who are not easily deterred by stress of weather. Of this we had abundant evidence, in as much as our church was nearly as well filled as on the first day, by numbers, not indeed of our own people exclusively, but also of our Dover and New Philadelphia members, and of the Sharon congregation in the morning, as well as neighbors of other denominations, anxious to share the blessings, so graciously vouchsafed to us on this solemn occasion. At half past ten o'clock, A. M., after an English anthem by the choir, I preached in German from the 133d Psalm," Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity &c."-After an intermission of about an hour, we met for a general love-feast, at which br. Holland presided; br. Wunderling assisting the choir, which sang several German anthems, and at the close:“ Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing &e."-The brn. Holland and Wunderling now returned to their homes, without being able to take part with us in the communion-service, which closed the exercises of these festal days, when the numerously assembled members of our congregation, and the communicants of other denominations, who partook with us of the sacramental feast, once more experienced the blessed nearness of Him, whose dying love we thus jointly commemorated. From the fulness of our hearts, we were enabled, at the close of our solemn celebration, to unite in singing: "We now return, each to his tent," etc., " Thy death, thy wounds and passion,-abide our hearts' confession, till we shall see thee face to face."-By all accounts, this was the most numerous communion,

that had ever taken place at Gnadenhuetten. May the Lord grant, that the blessing bestowed may be productive of a lasting benefit, not only for ourselves, but for all that were present!

Thursday, Nov. 25th, we observed as the day of thanksgiving, recommended by the Governor of our State. There was a sermon preached in the morning; but the incessant fall of rain precluded our assembling for evening service. Next Sunday, by divine permission, the missionary festival is to take place at Sharon.

HOME MISSIONARY INCIDENTS.

(Translated by Br. S. Reinke.)

Incidents from the Report of a Brother, laboring in L. Silesia.

Travelling into Bohemia, I passed through the frontier town of Liebau and several Bohemian villages, mostly inhabited by Catholics, in order to distribute religious tracts among the ignorant population. A few weeks later, the aforesaid town being almost wholly destroyed by a conflagration, the large and beautiful mansion of our friend, the Baron von B. was likewise reduced to ashes. The family, as well as most of the citizens were unable to save any of their effects. During a fire in another village, in the circle of Strehlen, last summer, two of our sisters, with their sick mother, who had been confined to her bed for a twelvemonth, and whom I had visited just before the great fire, experienced a gracious protection of their lives and property. Late in the afternoon of that day, the two sisters had proceeded about three miles to the village of Schoenbrunn, in order there to attend the monthly missionary concert of prayer. Towards the close of the meeting, they were alarmed by the cry of fire, and hurrying out, soon learnt, that the flames had broken out in the village, where the two sisters reside. While returning home in great trepidation, they beheld one house, after the other, seized by the devouring element. Their cottage, standing among straw-covered cabins, they felt certain, would likewise be consumed. Most of all, they were concerned about their sick mother, whom they had left alone locked up in the house. But here again was a proof of the watchful guardian care of the keeper of Israel. On their approaching the village, they discovered their cottage indeed brightly illuminated by the flames, but uninjured. This cottage, with its two rooms, was, like a few others in the town, furnished with a tiled roof; but that was no safeguard against the flames, inasmuch as other massive buildings, the property of the lord of the manor, were consumed, together with all the articles saved and deposited there. The greater part of the considerable village, owing to

the high wind prevailing, became a heap of smoking ruins. The little cottage, with its small red tile roof, now stands forth among heaps of rubbish, as a monument of divine mercy. The two sisters, with their sick mother, have consecrated their cottage to be a Bethel, or house of God, in which they will ever remember, how gracious the Lord is.

After finishing their day's labor and attending to their cattle, many from the country assembled late in the evening in a mountain village, so that it was near 10 o'clock before we could open the meeting. A scoffer, living hard by, ridiculed the people as they were going to church; and under the very windows of the room, where the meeting was held, behaved in a very indecorous manner, railing out against the cause of the Lord and his adherents. We never suffered ourselves to be interrupted; nay, we enjoyed a blessed season of refreshment from the presence of the Lord. But oh! how awful a scene were we called to witness next morning! The Lord himself had interposed. During my visit from house to house in the village, I met a great crowd of people, surrounding a wheelbarrow, on which lay a man, half dead and covered with blood! It was none other than the scoffer, who had been arrested, early in the morning by the arm of the Lord. The unfortunate man had gone, as usual, to his daily labor in an adjoining stone quarry, and had plunged headlong down a rocky precipice. At the time I fell in with the crowd, he was being carried, unconscious, maimed, bruised and bleeding, to his home.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

The Trustees of the Camden Valley Congregation, East Salem, Washington county, N. Y., take this method, to thank those friends, who kindly supplied them with funds for making some necessary repairs at their Church building. Owing to various outlays during the past year, it was found impossible to raise sufficient money for this object, and therefore the readiness of distant and unknown brethren and friends, to assist us, is the more gratefully acknowledged.

November 6th, 185%.

EDWARD H. REICHEL,

in behalf of the Board of Trustees.

NOTE. In the Ministers' Directory, published in the December number of the Miscellany, the names of br. John R. Smith, at Salem, N. C., and of br. Regenass, at Litiz, Pa., were inadvertently omitted.

STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS & EXPENDITURES OF THE SUSTENTATION-DIACONY, FROM MAY 31st, 1851, TO MAY 3181, 1852.

EXPENDITURES.

428 92%

Off Sustent. Exp. as pr. II. other side

2977 5814

3246 542

Postage 43 1612; Travelling Expenses 25 10

68 261

III. CONTRIBUTIONS towards EDUCATION.
Interest on G. Haga's Fund

Removal of Laborers, to Hope, Sharon, Staten Island

361 96

Aid to Ministers (Lebanon 160)

277 81

-102750

4142 68