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Lutheran Historical Conference NewsletterVol. 40, No. 1 … February 2002 … ISSN 0460-0274
2002 Biennial Meeting: Program PreviewThe Lutheran Historical Conference will meet in Saint Louis, Missouri, 17–19 October 2002 on the campus of Concordia Seminary. The Concordia Historical Institute is hosting the meeting. The Program Committee is pleased to report that an excellent slate of papers has been proposed and accepted for inclusion in the program. Under the conference theme, Re-Examining Conflict and Cooperation: Implications for Current Understandings of American Lutheranism, the LHC will attempt to move beyond the familiar, traditional retelling of American Lutheran history to new examinations of the implications of both conflict and cooperation for ongoing Lutheran church life in the 21st century. A diverse range of papers will examine, among other topics, the following:
These papers and other presentations will attempt to move us beyond the familiar and toward a focus on implications for churches today. The membership of the LHC is cordially invited to make plans now to attend this stimulating conference. Susan W. McArver, Program Chair With Sincere Sympathy …… we express our condolences to LHC President Mary Todd on the sudden death of her husband, Del Klaustermeier, on 1 February. Del also served on the faculty of Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois, as assistant professor of art. The new logo introduced for the LHC in 2001 was designed by Del. In addition to Mary, Del is survived by his mother, Elsie, daughters Leigh and Anne and stepchildren Jason and Whitney Todd. Services were held at Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, on 6 February. Memorials in Del's name may be made to the Concordia University Christopher Center Art Fund at Concordia University, 7400 Augusta St., River Forest, IL 60305-1499. Mary's home address is 33 Ashland #2, River Forest, IL 60305. Missing Newsletter?Did you receive your bibliography issue of the LHC Newsletter dated November 2001? This very thick issue may have been the victim of the USPS automated sorting system, and some members may not have received it. A few members have contacted the editor for replacement copies. If you need your copy of the newsletter, please contact Elisabeth Wittman, ELCA Archives, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631; ewittman@elca.org; 847-690-9410. Nominations: Still Needed!The biennial conference of the LHC also means elections will be held. The three out-going members of the Board of Directors, Jon T. Diefenthaler, David J. Wartluft and L. DeAne Lagerquist, will serve as the nominations committee. The committee seeks to have a slate of candidates that will represent all LHC denominations, geographic areas and professional affinities (historians, archivists, librarians). Send name of nominees to the committee chair: Jon T. Diefenthaler, 7311 Shady Glen Dr., Columbia, MD 21046; FAX: 301-776-2872; JTDiefen@aol.com. News by/for/about MembersPaul A. Daniels, ELCA Region 3 Archivist and Luther Seminary Curator/Archivist, 2481 Como Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55108, contributed a chapter to the Alban Institute Press book Ending in Hope: A Resource for Congregations, to be published in the spring 2002. Paul’s chapter covers the care and disposition of records and artifacts at the time of a church’s closing. Many Christian denominations’ practices were surveyed for the chapter, providing a useful summary for use by congregational leaders. The book is intended for a broad Christian audience. Noland Named CHI DirectorThe Rev. Dr. Martin R. Noland accepted the call and has recently been installed as the director of the Concordia Historical Institute, Saint Louis. He succeeds the Rev. Daniel Preus, who took office as first vice-president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in the fall of 2001. Noland comes to CHI from Christ Lutheran Church, Oak Park, Illinois, where he had served as pastor for 17 years. His B.A. is from Concordia Teacher’s College (now Concordia University), River Forest, Illinois, and both his M.Div. and S.T.M. degrees are from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1996 he completed a Ph.D. in history from Union Theological Seminary, New York City. Concentrating on Reformation and 19th century church history, his dissertation was on German church historian Adolf con Harnack. Noland also serves as associate editor of Logia: A Journal of Lutheran Theology and is vice-president of the Luther Academy. Coming EventsAlthough America’s early history supported the joining of Lutheran and Reformed congregations, union churches, under the same church roof, in recent history many of these long-standing denominational relationships of shared sacred space have been discontinued. York County, Pennsylvania, alone listed fifty-six union congregations before World War II, but only two remain in 2002. The Lutheran Historical Society will explore “Union Churches: Historical Perspectives” during its annual spring meeting, Saturday, 20 April 2002, at Gettysburg Seminary. Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter, professor emeritus in the Gettysburg College history department and author of Pastors and People: Germans, Lutherans and Reformed Churches in the Pennsylvania Field, will discuss the historical reasons for the formation and contributions of union churches. Speaking from administrative and pastoral perspectives, Bishop Guy S. Edmiston, retired bishop o the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Lower Susquehanna Synod, and the Rev. William R. Swisher Jr., retired area conference minister of the Penn Central Conference of the United Church of Christ, will recall and reflect on their leadership experiences with union congregations. A short business meeting will take place over the lunch hour. Meeting planners anticipate widespread interest in this program from both the Lutheran and United Church of Christ traditions. For further information, contact LHS, 61 Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg, PA 17325. The Augustana Heritage Association holds its third biennial gathering at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, 21–23 June 2002. The organization developed in 1998 following what was to be a one-time gathering. At the 2000 meeting the association was formally organized. The 2002 meeting will feature small group interest sessions on such topics as renowned artist Birger Sandzén, genealogy, women and Swedish cultural pursuits, wood carving, music and more. The famous Bethany Oratorio Society will present excerpts from Handel’s “Messiah,” tours of local historic sites will be given, and there will be a major presentation on Augustana global missions and “Sunday School” sessions on Kansas’ Smoky Valley history and on Swedish church roots. Lodging at the college is $17 per night, or local hotels also are available. The registration fee is $160, inclusive of meals. For further information contact AHA Gathering Registrar, Bethany College, 421 N. First St., Lindsborg, KS 67456; 785-227-3380, ext. 8185 or 8132. The ELCA Region 9 Archives Congregational Heritage Workshop takes place in a new location and time. This year’s event is 28–30 July 2002 at Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia. For further information contact ELCA Region 9, James R. Crumley Jr. Archives, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, 4201 N. Main St., Columbia, SC 29203; 803-786-5150, ext. 234; e-mail: archives@ltss.edu New ResourcesThe ELCA Region 8 Archives, Gettysburg Seminary, has a website, established in August 2001: http://www.elca-reg8archives.org/ The North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has issued another important Lutheran history reference work. The popular 1965 text, Life Sketches of Ordained Lutheran Ministers in North Carolina and Tennessee, has been updated through 1999. The biographies of 1,500 ordained and licensed pastors affiliated with the current ELCA North Carolina Synod and its predecessors back to 1773 represent seven years of research and writing. The volume can be purchased for $40, inclusive of shipping and handling, from NC Synod, ELCA, c/o Archivist, 1988 Lutheran Synod Dr., Salisbury, NC 28144. Paul Daniels, ELCA Region 3 Archivist and Luther Seminary Curator/Archivist, has completed coordination of a major preservation and microfilming project with the China Newsletter. Contributors to the project included the Region 3 Archives (the largest holder), the Lutheran World Federation Archives (Geneva), and the Church of Sweden Archives (Uppsala). The American Theological Library Association provided the microfilming services. The China Newsletter (1946–1959) was a joint venture of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America (later renamed the Evangelical Lutheran Church or ELC), the Lutheran World Federation and other Lutheran bodies. It is a vital document for the study of Lutheran work in China in the pre-revolutionary period. For further information about the project and film availability, please contact: Paul Daniels: ELCA Region 3 Archives, 2481 Como Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108; 651-641-3205; pdaniels@luthersem.edu The publication of the diary of Alaska missionary Helen Frost, Frost Among the Eskimos, is now available. Covering the years 1926–1961, her account starts in the pioneer period through to established churches for Alaska, mainly in the Seward Peninsula, Nome and Fairbanks areas. Ross F. Hidy was responsible for bringing the diary into print. In addition to providing insight into the history of Lutheranism in Alaska, the volume is also meant to highlight the Alaska Native Ministries of the ELCA. Money for the sales of the volume will benefit the ELCA endowment for those ministries. To order a copy, contact: ELCA Foundation, 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2970, e-mail: FO@elca.org Works in ProgressThe archives for the three Evangelical Lutheran Church in America synods for Texas and Louisiana have moved into the newly constructed offices of one of those synods, the Southwestern Texas Synod. The offices are located on the campus of Texas Lutheran University, also the former location of the archives space. The new address is: Region 4 South Archives, 1090 Oestrich Dr., Seguin, TX 78155. The phone number remains the same: 830-372-6585; and e-mail for archivist Luther Oelke also does not change: luther.oelke@ecunet.org Mail going to the former location will still work for a while. The new facilities will be dedicated on May 31, 2002. The ELCA Region 3 Archives, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, has received a Lilly Technology Grant to assemble a comprehensive listing of all Norwegian-American Lutheran churches within targeted regions of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. When this large-scale documentation project is completed, researchers and students will be able to use the comprehensive index to locate information regarding Norwegian American congregational records, church buildings and artifacts within these regions. For further information about the project and index availability, please contact Paul Daniels: ELCA Region 3 Archives, 2481 Como Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108; e-mail: pdaniels@luthersem.edu Archives Accession NewsThree former Minnesota Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have donated their papers to the ELCA Region 3 Archives located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Recently retired bishops the Rev. Glenn Nycklemoe of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod and the Rev. David Olson of the Minneapolis Area Synod donated papers covering their years as head of those respective synods. Bishop Mark Hanson, former bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod and currently the presiding bishop of the ELCA, donated his papers from his years of work as the bishop in the St. Paul area. These collections are available for research use. For further information, contact: Paul A. Daniels, ELCA Region 3 Archives, 2481 Como Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108; e-mail: pdaniels@luthersem.edu The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives, Chicago, has recently received correspondence and other items from the former General Council/United Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Synod of the Northwest. The files are for synod officers, 1899–1940s. The files were collected by former presidents and secretaries of the synod, who were mainly full-time parish pastors who took on synod responsibilities in addition to their congregation work. The files were left at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, by a former pastor who served as synod officer. The records were donated to the archives by Redeemer member, Mr. Frank Zeidler, former Milwaukee mayor and presidential candidate. Mr. Zeidler realized the papers should be placed in an archives. Among the files are letters and reports relating to establishment of English language missions, now congregations, throughout the “old Northwest.” (LHC members may have met Mr. Zeidler, who was present for the banquet at the October 2000 LHC meeting.) What Will the Next LHC Newsletter Contain?This newsletter will be able to fulfill its intended purpose of being a clearinghouse of information for archivists, historians and librarians only if you provide material for it. Please send material for publication to the editor. Items of interest to readers will include notice of research in progress, new appointments, publications, meetings and celebrations planned or held, bibliographical materials and generally anything of interest to LHC members. The editor cannot promise to print everything received, although all submissions are welcomed. The LHC Newsletter is issued four times a year: February, May, August and November. The November issue includes the annual “Index of Writings in the Field of American Lutheranism.” The deadline for each issue is the 15th of the month prior to each issue. Please send items to Elisabeth Wittman, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631, or FAX: 773-380-2977; or E-mail: ewittman@elca.org. The deadline for the next issue is 15 April 2002. © 2002 Lutheran Historical Conference |
