The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-20
The Progress of the Lutheran Church in the
United States

In Kurzs Lutheran Almanac for 1872 we have
the statistics of our church up to the fall Of 1871
From these statistics the rapid growth Of our
Lutheran Zion clearly appears. We are now third
on the list of Protestant churches in the number
of our commandments. Five years ago We passed
the Episccpallans, three years ago we passed the
Congregationalists, and this year wo have over
taken the Presbyterians, a. the table given below
will show the reader And now there are only two
ahead of US viz, the Baptsts and the Episcopal
Methodsts How long these large and powerful
denominations will continue in advance of us, time
will show; but at our present rate of increase we
will be close upon their heels in 1882.
The largest part of our increase is by immi.
grants from the north of Europe Our church in
Europe could easily, and with great advantage to
herself, spare 100, 900 members year for ten
years. She would then have more work and more
bread for those who remain, and those who come
to this country would be the gamers. Let the
hardy sons Of our church come as fast as they
please; orr country is large enough for all. Here
there is bread enough for all. And although these
foreign brethren may now be very stoutly and i'm
movably attached to their several native tongues
and systems of religion, and transatlantic modes
of thought, matters will all come out in the end.
Just SO it was with us. When our fathers came
to this country a century or so ago, they were as
German in language and thought as the present
immigrants They would never give up the Ian
guage of the Fatherland; no, not they Yet there
are this day not less than 1900 Lutheran congre-
cations in which no German is preached, and not
less than nine tenths of the members of our Eng
fish Lutheran churches the descendants of Ger
man ancestors And so it will be hundred years
hence Those German and Scandinavian brethren
that come here are with their children thrown into
the great national cadron, and there they are all
boiled down into Americans. This Americanizing
process is going on every day. And there is no
use for the present generation OF ministers to resist
the course of destiny, which is the course of Pro
violence Our fathers fought long and desperately
against the introduction of English into our church
es, but at last they had to yield the point And
although our church has lost immensely since 1920,
she has made up some Of that loss.
The Swedes built the first church in Phiadel-
phia and up to 1856 the Lutheran church was the
largest in that city. When, toward the close Of
the last century, delegation Of pious, sensible
members of Zions church called upon their pas.
tor, Dr. Helmuth, to consult him about organic
ing an English Lutheran church, he told them to
go into the Episcopal church. for that, said he, is
the English Lutheran church! They did go into
that church, and so did thousands of other descen.
dants of the Germans, and all the Swedes, with
their pastors and churches. And what is the re-
suit in 1872? The Episcopaans have seventy
churches in Philadelphia, whilst the Lutherans
have but seven English, self-sustaining churches
We could say even worse things of New York in
this respect We hope the German and Scandi-
navian Lutherans in our large Western cities will
not repeat the plumbers of Philadelphia.
larger Protestant churches in the United States.
This table may be relied upon, as the statistics are
taken from the most recent official reports of the
Savaral ohurohee