The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-17
UNITED NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN
CHURCH BEGINS IT'S SESSION IN
ST. PAUL.
PRESIDENT HOYME'S REPORT
TOUCHES ON MANY SUBJECTS NOT
OVERLOOKING .sFRIENDS OF
AUGSBURG"
ARE GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
Statistics Showing the Condition of
the Church at the Close OF
Another Year.

The delegates to the eighth annual
meeting of the United Norwegian
Lutheran Church of America, congre-
gated around the First Swedish l4uth-
eran church rather slowly yesterday
morning, partly on account of the
damp, rainy weather. partly because
there were so many dear old acquain-
tarces to attract the attention this way
or that way. The crowd was not very
large There is business in every thing.
Very little can be accomplished the
first day of the meeting, and, accord
ingly, very many of its members do not
care to put in an appearance until the
morning of the second day.
The opening sermon was preached
by Rev. o. Nilsen, of Scandinavia,
Wis, who took for his text John Xxi, %
20. The burden of the sermon may be
expressed in a very few words: You
must come to Jesus just the way you
are, a poor, lost sinner.
At the close of the devotional exer-
cises President Hoyme appeared on the
platform and, in praising God for His
opened the eighth annual meeting Of
the United church in the name Of the
triune God.
At the roll call, 127 ministers and
| professors responded to their names.
The chair appointed the following as
| a committee on credentials: Rev. G.
1. M. Gronlid, Of Elon, To-; Rev. n. j.
Lockrem, Of Norway, ILL.,: Rev. j. N.
Nord, Of Rice Lake, Wis; T. H. Ler-
| dal, Of Madison, Wis, and J. Aase, of
Minneapolis, Mimi.
The following were appointed tenn
porary tellers: Rev. o. G. N. Siljan,
Northwood, To-; Rev. Martin Finstad,
Rindal, Mimi; Rev. H. o. Fosnes,
Hudson, Wis, and Rev. Hammer.
The committee on credentials sub
mitted a partial report at the opening
Of the afternoon session and 24O lay
delegates were declared members of
the meeting.
President G.. Hoyme next read a
lengthy and meaty report. He began
by calling attention to the fact that the
United church was established as a
voluntary association of churches, and
that it is maintained by voluntary CO.
operation. For this reason there is no
occasion for Sinking the duties which
are, incumbent upon the churches. Re
vival movements had been very pro-
nounced in many churches, and many
souls were saved in such. But the pres
ident also opined that the work f"sal-
walton had been going on effect
| lively even in churches where the noise
had been less, ard he Ventured: to state
that If all those who had been saved, by
means Of the United church imrthe
|
present, the church would have been
| found too small by far. Some of those
who had left the United church-the
friends Of Augsburg-had called the
United church dead but the presi-
dent characterized that charge as high
| ly untrue and unjust. The relation Of
most Of the congregations to the United
church was Of the pleasantest kind. One
church in Iowa and another in Ishpe-
ming, Mich. had proposed the establish
ment Of an insurance company in the
church, and the proposition will be
presented to the meeting. Twenty
seven new church buildings had been
dedicated in the course of the year. Four
pastors had died, namely, Rev. A. C.
Anderson, of Chicago; Rev. Anon
Johnson, Of Sioux Rapids, Iowa; Rev.
G. Sangstad. of Bella Coda, British
Columbia, and Rev. N. Heiermann. Of
Atwater, MINI. The Revs. Skaro, Bar
ilkmo and Julsrud had resigned their
charges on account Of i'll health. Ten
young men had been ordained ministers
in the course of the year, and large
religious convention had been held at
Stoughton, Wis. Thirteen new candi-
dates were ready for ordina ton. The
normal school at Madison. Mimi, ST.
Olaf college, Mortified, Mimi. and the
academies at Canton, S. D., at st.
Ansgor, Iowa. at Jewell, Iowa, and at
Wy
are all doing nicely, and some of them
had experienced a marked growth. The
Orphans asylum at Wittenberg, Wis,
and the Children's homes at Beloit,
To-, Pauls county, Wash, and Lake
Park, Mimi, were doing good service.
The president had asked those min
listers who took upon themselves to
ordain Messrs. Odland and Berntzen
withou. any authority, to make
amends; but he had not been success
full in that respect. 1t was proposed to
revise the list of the names Of the min
listers which are supposed to belong to
the United church, and the rules sug-
gested for this revision by the presi-
dent were so strict that the list may
be materially shortened before the next
annual meeting.
The president was sorry to say that
the ''so-called friends of Augsburg
persisted in, keeping property which
did not belong to him. He held that
the struggle for the property is prac-
tically ended, however, and felt sure
that the courts would decide the case
the right and just way. Twelve con-
gregations were lost to the United
church by expulsion Jan. 1, 1897, and q
score of others had followed them;
but the detection was surprisingly
small in proportion to the agitation Of
the enemies of the United church. The
Of bp E'raa
church." came in for some extra at
tention at the close Of the report. Ac-
cording to the rules which they
adopted last week, the president said
the congregations will have to furnish
the money, but they will have no safe
way of controlling the use Of such
money, and the leaders were charged
with "oligarchy," "papacy,' tyranny"
etc. until the audience began to stir.
This fact, perhaps, would not have re-
ceived SO much attention if it had not
been the settled policy of the Free
church" to try to crawl into and split
up other Lutheran churches where
there is the least chance. The audience
was visibly delighted when the presi.
dent made a slight allusion to Henrik
Ibsenis, master builder" Thus" the
president said. they have gone to the
extreme; thus they have placed the
wreath upon the pinnacle of the tow
err"
The secretary Rev. ]. c. Jensson, Of
Clinton, Wis, read a far better report
than he used to have. According to