Evening star., 1901-05-25
LUTHERAN GENERAL SYNOD
BIENNIAL CONVENTION TO BE HELD
IN DIES MONIES, IOWA.
Organization Formed in 1S1S-Initia
Action Taken by synod of
Pennsylvania.

The fortieth biennial convention Of the
general synod of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church will be held in Des Moines, Iowa,
commencing May 20 and continuing for
about ten days The sessions will be held
in St. Johns Church. Rev DR.. ]. W. Writ,
pastor The history of the general synod
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church dates
back to 1918. in which year the initial step
leading to the organization Of a general
Lutheran body was taken by the synod of
Pennsylvania, which embraced more church
es and pastors than any other Synod. At
a meeting of this synod at Harrisburg in
1918 it was resolved that movement
should be started to bring all the Evangel-
ical Lutheran synods In the United States
into closer connection with each other and
develop plan to perfect general union
Organiza ton was effected at conven-
tion held October %, 1929. at HagerstoWn
Nd, in which the following five synods
were represented: New York, Pennsylvania,
North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia At
this meeting Rev. DR.. d. j. Kurtz was
elected the first president of the general
synod and Rev. II. II. Muhlenberg was
elected secretary.
The Lutheran Church is preaching the
Gospel in the United States and Canada in
dozen different languages, among them
being, besides the English, German, Norwe-
gian. Swedish. Danish Icelandic, Finnish
Hungarian and several others.
The figures for the whole Lutheran
Church show 6,S14 ministers, IL 159 congre-
cations and a communicate membership of
1,674, 10. In addition there are Cos, ,O0O per-
sons in Sunday schools and 100000 pupils
in distinctly parochial schools. which lat
ter, however. are conducted by congrega-
tions using some foreign language
In otherwise caring for the large Luther
an population of the country there are
twenty-seven theological semnaries, eight
H.aa ai.yl,t L
aged. twelve immigrant missions mostly in
New York and Brooklyn. twenty-one hospi-
tails and infirmares, forty-Six colleges and
s1xty-two academies. including young la
dies seminaries. The religious newspapers
and other periodicals are numerous there
being sixty in English, forty-two in Ger
man. sixteen in Norwegian, seventeen in
Swedish nine in Danish. four in Icelandic.
five in Finnish. two in Hungarian and one
each In French. L@ttiSh and EsthOnian.
EngIish-Speaking Body.
The general synod is very largely English
speaking in its composition. the congre-
cations using any of the foreign languages
being relatively few.
The constituency of the general SYNOD
gradually increased from the date of or
ganization in 1870 UNTIL during the war OF
the rebellion, the membership living in the
south. by reason of the political issues in
Eolved IN that contest, withdrew and
tcrward combined and became the united
synod of the south. In 1866 another divi-
sion came on doctrinal lines the synod of
PENNSYLVANIA taking the position that the
general synod was not sufficiently rigid In
its type of Lutheranism, and withdrawing
ana forming the general council
By reason of these defections the gen.
eral synod has net had the numerical
growth 1t would have otherwise had and
is one of the smaller of the general I,uth-
eran bodies. However, it is composed of
twenty-four distinct synods, extending fror:
the Atlantic to the Pacific: ,216 ministers
and LOIS congregations. with a communi-
cant membership of 100000. Most of the
Lutheran churches of Washington belong
TO the general synod. where it is well
known. they cooperate and cultivate friend
~ relations with those of other denomina-
tions.
Among the questions to be discussed at
Des Moines, it Is stated. will be that of
home missions, to which much attention
will be devoted. This action is, it is be-
ieved, warranted by the extraordinary
gain of nearly 10000 members in the last
ten years. made by the whole Lutheran
Church, which is said to be a larger per
centage of increase than that of any other
Protestant denomination. In connection
with this will be the Anglicizng process
now going on in the church While the
original idea of the Lutheran Church in the
United States was to provide church homes
for Scandinavians and Germans coming to
this country, church evolution has made
II necessary to provide services in some
other than the language of the fatherland
The greatest gain of the Lutherans it is
said, has been in the establishment Of pure
ly English churches.
Work I'm Foreign Fields,
Foreign missions will also claim consid-
erable attention The general synod has
been considerably agtated by the appoint
ntent of an associate secretary to the for
eign board, the appointment it is claimed,
being unwar-anted by either the present
work devolving upon the secretary or on
financial grounds. 1t was recently an
nounced that the present incumbent of the
associate seCretarysnip, Rev l.. B. Wolf.
has been commissioned to return to India
here he labored as a missionary in the
Watts Memorial College at Gunton for a
number Of years.
But possibly the question which has
aroused the greatest interest is the promo
sitiOn to establish an official church organ
AT the last meeting of the general synod
held two years ago at York. Pa, this ac-
ton was agreed upon and committee was
appointed 10 report al Des Moines. Since
then, it is claimed. sentiment throughout
the church has greatly changed and there
is TO longer the demand for the official
organ there was then. The matter has
been vigorously discussed and vehemently
opposed in the church press, there being
scarcely anything said in favor Of the pro-
posed action.
The Washington delegates at Des Moines
are: Rev. n. w. HANNA. DID. who will
be accompanied by Mrs. HANNA the latter
gcing fraternal delegate from the Wo-
mans Home and Foreign Missionary So