|
How the Lutheran Church was Established
in America |
| |
| In the Beginning – a brief history of
Lutheranism in the United States |
| Lutheran beliefs became widespread,
especially in Germany and the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and
Finland), later spreading throughout the world as early explorers took their faith with
them on their voyages. |
- Lutherans came to the Americas. The earliest
settlers in the Americas were Scandinavian, Dutch and German Lutherans.
- By the 1620s there were settlements of Lutherans along
the Hudson River in what are now the states of New York and New Jersey.
- As people migrated to the New World they continued to
speak and worship in their native languages and use resources from their countries of
origin.
|
| |
| First American Synods |
| As the number of these congregations grew,
scattered groups would form a “synod” or church body, and as the nation expanded so did
the number of Lutheran church bodies. |
- By the late 1800s the 20 or so Lutheran church bodies
that would eventually merge to become The American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran
Church in America had been established.
- Due to massive immigration between 1840 and 1875, 58
Lutheran synods were formed in the United States.
|
| |
| First Revivalist Movements |
| There were revivalist and confessional
movements within Lutheran churches in Europe and in America, and as Lutherans migrated to
this country they were influenced by the evangelicalism of various Protestant sects.
Consequently, a wide variety of expressions of Lutheranism developed in North America
during this period known as "The Great Awakening" movement. |
| |
| 20th Century Changes |
| Nineteenth-century Lutherans still looked
to their homelands to supply pastors and worship materials. |
- As second and third generation Americans spoke English
more than German, Norwegian or Danish, a need arose to provide formal theological
training, hymnals, catechisms and other materials, reflecting American language,
cultural sensibilities.
|
- First significant merger of church bodies happened in
1917 when three ethnic Norwegian synods joined to form the Norwegian Lutheran Church of
America (NLCA)
|
- 1918 three ethnic German synods joined to form the
United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA)
|
- During WWI, National Lutheran Commission formed joint
agency of these two large synods (NLCA, ULCA) and other smaller synods in order to
provide relief and spiritual well-being of U.S. service personnel being sent into
combat., with over 60,000 lay Lutherans involved in the effort.
|
- National Lutheran Council (NCL) formed in 1918.
They sent missionaries to American's industrial centers; provided aid to Lutherans in
Europe. Their service continued after WWII
|
- American Lutheran Church (ALC) formed 1930 from three
German American Lutheran Churches now formed and cooperating with other Lutheran
Churches through the National Lutheran Council).
|
| |
| Page 2:
First Attempts at Unification |
