new sections of
the greater city. It has added nine English churches to the roll.
The Synod of New York, a merger of the New York and New Jersey, the
Hartwick and the Franckean synods also devoted itself to the special
task of caring for the English speaking young people. Under its auspices
thirteen new churches have been organized. To the indefatigable labors
of its Superintendent of Missions, Dr. Carl Zinssmeister, much credit is
due for the success of the work.
The Synod of Missouri, although largely a German body, rivals the other
synods in its fostering care of the English work. At least thirteen
English congregations in this city have been organized by "Missouri"
since the beginning of this century.
The relation of the various boroughs to the growth of the church may be
seen from the following figures in which the number of communicants in
1918 is compared with that of 1898.
Boroughs 1898 1918 Increase
Manhattan 21,611 15,928 5,683*
Bronx 2,048 5,932 3,884
Brooklyn 17,405 28,270 10,865
Queens 1,671 7,139 5,468
Richmond 956 1,948 992
43,691 59,217 15,526
*Decrease
The starred figures for Manhattan call attention to the change of
population that has taken place in New York, particularly as it affects
Manhattan. While the total increase of population in New York from 1910
to 1915 was 667,928 there was a decrease in Manhattan of 193,795.
This decrease in numbers, and still more the substitution of Catholic
and Jewish peoples to an unprecedented extent for those of Protestant
antecedents, produced a marked change in the membership of Protestant
churches. The decline in Protestant membership in Manhattan from 1900 to
1910, according to Dr. Laidlaw, amounted to 74,012.
It is not surprising therefore that the Lutheran churches were called
upon to bear their share of the loss. As we have seen, it amounted in
two decades to 5,623 [sic]. Most of this deficit, 4,042, is chargeable
to the churches south of Fourteenth Street, where Protestants of all
denominations fail to hold their own. The balance, 1,837, came from
other churches south of Forty-second Street.
Three churches were added during the past twenty years, Our Saviour
(English) in 1898, Holy Trinity (Slovak) in 1904 and a mission of the
Missouri Synod in 1916 in the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood, the most
northern point thus far occ
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