{Lutheran Theological Seminary and Waterloo College
Waterloo, Ontario}
Feb’y 20, 1921.
Dear Mother:-
Time like a relentless tide rolls ever on. I was reminded of this fact so obvious and yet so little considered last Thursday as I reflected that that date was the 30th anniversary of the death of your beloved husband and my sainted father. How many long years have passed and yet how rapidly have they flown! I find myself now a man past middle age – six years older than my father was at his departure from these earthly scenes. And in view of the fleetiness of the years and of the supreme inportance of the work to which he devoted the short years of his useful life before entering upon his gracious reward, I may say that I find no little satisfaction that I settled down at last to follow in his footsteps, which I can attribute to nothing else under the good providence of the Lord than the splendid early Christian training that I received at his hands and yours. For this the Lord be praised to all eternity! Bonnie and Carolus are at Church again to-night; the smaller children are in bed; Herman is here studying his Bible verses which he failed to recite this morning. We have had a beautiful day, bright and glorious, sufficiently cool to keep the ground frozen and the mud away. This morning I preached to a good congregation down in First English. I took three of the children with me, viz Herman, Marion and Arthur. They sat in one of the front seats together and were among my most attentive auditors. I felt a little nervous as I had not preached for some time and had a difficult text (Zech. 1:7-17) and had only yesterday in which to prepare my sermon, but I got through with it all right and quite a few people told me that
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they were very much impressed. Next Sunday evening I am to preach again, here in St. John’s, on the Seminary cause. I have much to do this week and will again have only Saturday for preparation, but hope that I will be able to bring the needs of the Seminary and the duties of the people in regard to it home to the hearts of the people. I will be glad then to be left alone awhile again as far as preaching is concerned. Not that I dislike to preach, but that it is rather trying to study and teach all week and then get up a sermon or sermons and preach on Sunday. Dr. Hoffmann, our President, will occupy the pulpit on Sunday morning and preach on the same subject in German. Between the two of us we ought to spur on the people to do something worth while for our Seminary. Pastor Knauff of Preston wanted me to preach in his Church on Sunday morning. I told him to go and see Prof. Willison and in case he refused I would not see him stuck. As he didn’t return I imagine Prof. Willison accepted the proposition. Profs. Zinck and Willison went with Dr. Maurer down to Brantford to-day to help dedicate the new Church down there. I made the address at the corner-stone laying last November I think it was. They had a magnificent day for it to-day and I have no doubt it was a day of gladness and rejoicing in our mission congregation down there. They have a very energetic pastor and fine young man in the Rev. Grotke who came to us last year from the Missouri Synod. On last Thursday evening we entertained Dr. Hoffmann and Prof. Henkel for tea. Bonnie served a sumptuous supper which was much enjoyed by her guests and we spent a very pleasant social evening. Mrs. Hoffmann accompanied her husband. Dr. Hoffmann is a fine type of man and our official as well as social relations have been very cordial. He is like myself a Lutheran of the stricter type – a type which I fear is somewhat
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diminhing in our United Lutheran Church. Our whole faculty under my inpulse signed a protest last week against the offensive advertisement of Individual Communion setts as published in the Easter Catalogue of the United Lutheran Publication House. This protest signed in duplicate I forwarded to the Publication House and to Dr. Knubel. Loose practices are especially in evidence in the Women’s Societies which are under the control of Mrs. Chas. L. Fry and her [?]. The women in St. John’s held this year a union service with the other Churches the first of the year and all last week held prayer meetings every day. I didn’t let Bonnie go i.e. to say I discouraged her and Dr. Hoffmann did the same with his Frau. I have no doubt that the Lutheran Brotherhood under Dr. Fry is manifesting similar syncretistic tendencies, and I am sure the bars have been woefully let down in the matter of pastors joining Secret Societies and Lodges. I don’t think the outlook for our United Lutheran Church is particularly bright and am afraid the old battles for conservatism in faith and practices will all have to be fought over again to the great detriment of our portion of the Church. Here in Canada we are not as yet so badly off as they are in the States. I understand that the old Pa. Ministerium is rapidly becoming less and less conservative, and positions of great influence have been assigned in the united Church to many radicals from the General Synod. But I trust that the Lord of the Church will so direct and control all things that the right shall prevail and His Kingdom be advanced and the confession of the truth kept pure. Well, I have about reached my limit and will close. With much love from us all,
I am
Most Sincerely yours,
[signed] Carroll H. Little.
