The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-05
SOME LUTHERAN HISTORY.
Story Of The First Settlements Of The
SllzbuTgeTS Here.

Opens the Sesqui- Services
of the Lutheran Church With His-
toricaI Sermon of Its Work in and
Around Savannah - Where the salz-
burgers Derive their Name-Dr. Gil
bert Addressed the Sunday School in
the Afternoon and Preached Last
Night.
The opening service Of the celebration
Of the sesqui-centennial Of the Lutheran
church in Savannah took place yesterday
morning, at Il O'Clock, when the histor-
tcal sermon, dealing in brief with the his
tory Of the church in Savannah and near
Savannah since its establishment, was
preached by DR.. D. NJ. Gilbert Of Harris
burg. Pa.
DR.. Gilbert was the pastor Of the church
here from 1868 to 1871, and he is well re-
membered by many OF the citizens Of sa-
vannah. The congregation was one Of the
largest the church has seen in a long time,
almost every seat being occupied. The
congregation, too, was a rather represen-
tative one. containing many members of
other denominations, some of whom have
watched the progress and growth Of the
Lutheran church, and were anxious to
learn more about its history, from man
who well knew how TO tell it, because he
had been connected with it.
The space around the pulpit was very
/ prettily decorated with palms pot plants
/ and large boquets of roses and other
/ flowers, and was quite appropriate to the
/ occasion. Some excellent music was
\
/ the programme as published in yesterday
/ Morning News.
DR.. Gilberts text was as follows:
Joel, 1:S. Tell We your children of it..
/ and let your children tell their children
! and their children another generation"
/ He said:
Without noting the connection or in
/ tent of these words as originally uttered,
! ! announce them, not as a text of dis
/ course, but simply as a motto appropri-
/ ate to that of which l am expected to
/ speak. They carry in them, in a general
( way, recognition of the truth, that no
/ generation of mankind can be rightly re-
garded as independent; that each has the
! position and connections of a link in the
/ long chain of human history; that each
. is largely conditioned and influenced by
/ the generations which have preceded it,
/. and in turn has its share in influencing
and conditioning those which follow; that
every EeHHIdLlDu IS therefore, DQuuu DE
ties of privilege and duty both to the past
and the future, and is under solemn re-
/ sponsibiities as regards the right use of
/ its heritage and the nature of its requests.
/ For, as of the individual so also of the
! generation, none lives or dies to itself.
1t is considerations like these which in
+ vest history in every part and period of
the world with profoundest interest and
almost inestimable Importance. For "the
past is our richest and most instructive
teacher, and it was justly said By one OF
the most brilliant intelects of heather
antiquity that not to know what happened
before we were born is to remain always
a child
1T is not necessary that anything
should be said by way Of bespeaSing the
interested attention of any of us for that
little section of history to which ouI
thoughts are to be directed to-day.
Upon very short notice and keenly
sensible of how inadequately furnished
am for the task, l have responded affirm
atively TO the request of my friend and
brother, the pastor of this church, whose
history and welfare are so dear to us all
to attempt some account Of Lutheranisn
as it has existed in Savannah during the
past $50 years, accompanying the sketch
with such reflections as the facts brought
to our notice may be fitted to prompt
and the time permit / will be glad and
thankful If at the end Of the hour thai
l expect to occupy he may not have rea
son to feel that he has made a serious
mistake.
In instituting an inquiry as to the be
ginning of Lutheranism in Savannah, oul
minds are carried back over the track o.
considerably more than $50 years and fal
| across the seas to the Austrian crown
land of Salisbury. 1t formerly belonge.
to Bavaria, but was restored to the Aus
trian dominion at the peace of 1S14.Its CAPT
ital, bearing the same name, is said to bt
the most Charmingly situat town II
Austria or Germany" and was The seat
a line of archbishops who combined the
! dignity of princes Of the German empire
with their ecclesiastical rank. Although
to this day the population Of Salisbury J!
almost wholly Roman Catholic in religion
I at an early period the doctrines of th'
Reformation had penetrated this noun
famous territory, bringing the light an(
! comforts of the gospel to thousands O.
minds and hearts. Eminent Lutheran
preachers proclaimed the truth as it II
in Jesus among the people, and many
! copies of the German Bible, the Augsburg
Confesson and Luthers small catechisn
had made their way into the valleys an,
cottages of that region The representa-
tives of the papal power were, OF course
stirred to activity to suppress the hateC
Lutheran heresy.' One archbishop aftei
1 another, armed not only with the ana
the secular power put forth the mailed
hand of relentless persecution with inhu
man cruelty against these devoted PEG
Pile, who only sought to live as 'becometl
the gospel of Christ The time woul(
utterly fail us to describe in anything c
detail a 1.-THE of what the bitter enemies
Of their faith compelled them to enduI
through many dark and weary years His
tory tells US, the Protestant powers o
the empire were invoked in their behalf
but Notwithstanding their tardy inter
vention, insult, outrage and violence con
tinued to be heaped upon them. The dis
tress Of their situation at last forced then
to unite in a compact for life and death
on certain Sunday in August 1881, abou
100 men, from every mountain dene
, wendell their way over rocky paths to
market village, where they gathers
. around table on which was placed
vessel Of salt. Each man with earnes
J prayer dipped the wetted fingers OF hI
right hand into the salt, and lifting then
. TO heaven took a solemn oath. To tn
, true Tribune God they swore never T.
2 desert the evangelical faith and the
swallowed the salt as II It had been sac
3 ramental bread.
The archbishop, greatly exasperate1