Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1912-06-05

TWENTY-FIVE NORW.
LUTHERAN CHURCHES
Norwegian Lutheran Churches in
kandiyohl County and Their
Affiliations.
The first Norwegian Lutheran
church in the county was organ
lied in Burbank Oct. 81, 1861, by
Rev. B. ]. Mus. This "Monongalia
Congregation" was broken up by the
Indian troubles the following year.
Services were held among the Nor
wegians of the Norway Lake settle
ment by Rev. Mus in, 1861, but there
is no record Of any organization
being effected there prior to the exo-
dus Of 1862.
After the return Of the settlers,
congregations were organized in
both Of these communities and also
at Foot Lake, and for the first two
years these were visited by the trav-
cling missionaries, Revs. Thos. john
son and Abraham jacobson, who in
the winters sometimes made long
trips with snowshoes. Rev. J. C. T.
Moses was the first regularly called
pastor Of these churches and, was
succeeded in 1869 by Rev. L. J..
Markhus, who in 1871 also became
pastor Of the Vik0r congregation,
which was organized that year in
Dovre township.
In these early days no schisms had
as yet divided the Norwegian Luther
ans, although there were two organi-
cations in America. The Norwegian
Evangelical Lutheran Synod, natur-
ally conservative and in the main
holding to the forms and doctrines Of
the established church of Norway,
was organized in America in 1853 by
ministers from the mother country.
The Scandinavian Evangelical Luth-
eran Augustana Synod was organic
ed by Swedes and Norwegians in this
country in 1860; but owing to differ
ence of languages this organization
was divided by mutual agreement in
1870. The Norwegian-Danish Au-
gustana Synod was thereupon organ
lied. This was the status Of affairs
until the early seventies. The Synod
lost a number of it's members as a
result of disagreement over the slav-
cry question in the sixties, and these,
under the leadership Of c. L. Clausen,
joined with a large portion Of the Au-
gustana people and formed the Nor
wegian Luth. Conference Church in
1871. In the early 80's the Synod was
rent in twain by discussions of cleo
ton and predestination. DR.. Walther,
/ of the Missouri Synod, was credited
with teaching Calvinistic. doctrines,
and the large body Of ministers and
laymen who left the Synod organized
themselves into the "Anti- Missourian
Brotherhood" After many years of
meetings and discussions an agree
ment on doctrinal points was reach
ed by the Conference, Augustana and
Anti Missourian denominations, and
an organization effected in 1890 call
ed the Omitted Norwegian Lutheran
Church." According to the articles
of agreement, Augsburg Seminary at
Minneapolis, which heretofore had
belonged to the Conference, was to
be transferred to the United church.
Trustees who held this property
claimed that the transfer could not
be made, and in the later nineties a
division occurred in this church body.
Those who stood by the trustees of
Augsburg were first known as the
Minority, later as the Friends of
Augsburg, and finally organized as
the Lutheran Free Church.
With this brief and imperfect out
line in mind the reader can trace the
activities of these different church
organizations in the county. There
are now twenty-five Norwegian Luth-
eran churches in Kandiyohi county
Synod congregations exist in Will
mar, Dovre, tennessee, Burbank and
Lake Andrew, and a few Of the resi-
dents in the western part of Arctan-
der and Norway Lake attend the
West Norway Lake Synod church in
Hayes township. The United church
is REPRESENTED by congregations in
Atwater, East Norway Lake, Irving
and West Norway Lake. The Sun.
burg church Of Norway Lake and
West Lake church in Alexander may
lalso be included under this head. The
Free church has congregations "
Willmar, Eagle Lake, St. Johns, Irv.
ing, Burbank, Lake Lillian and New
London. The Hardanger church ii
Whitefeld, now extinct, was classe
as of this denomination.
The first Norwegian Lutheran
church in America was establishes
among the handful of immigrants il
northern Illinois by Filing Eielson a!
early as 1889. Eielson was loya
disciple of Hans Nilsson Hauge, a lay
man Of Norway's yeomanry, who
forty years before, had been impelle,
by his spiritual zeal to preach to hi