Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1917-05-30
NORWEGIAN CHURCH
BODIES WILL UNITE
United, Synod and Aauge Church.
es win Meet As One in St.
Paul, June 9.

Three Norwegian Lutheran church
the Norwegian Luther
an Synod, Hauge Norwegian Lutheran
and the United Norwegian Lutheran
church, will cease to exist June 9 and
their death will bring forth the Nor
wegian Lutheran Church of America.
with membership of more than $780,
900.
This union, which will be effected
officially in the St. Paul Auditorium,
June 9, will bring into one fold IS per
cent of the Norwegian Lutherans in
America affiliated with churches, and
is expected to attract numerous thou
sands of nominal Lutherans who have
held aloof mainly because of the dis
sensions. The remaining per cent of
affiliated church members are divided
among three organizations which have
declined to participate in the general
consolidation.
The separatists movements, which
began Immediately on the formation
of the first synod in America in 1916,
were the heritage of two currents of
religious life within the established
church of Norway, and resulted, in q
brief history Of fewer than 20 years,
in the establishment of at least IL Diff
ferent branches.
Numerous efforts at reconciliations
were made from time to time, and a
great advance was attained in 1890,
when the Norwegian-Danish Lutheran
conference, the Anti-Missourian broth
erhO0d and the Augustana Norwegian
Lutheran synod were merged into the
United Norwegian Lutheran church.
Within three years, however, the fac
ton first known as the Friends of
Augsburg, and now as the Norwegian
Lutheran Free church, seeded to form
an independent organization.
Efforts to harmonic the differences
in the other organizations continued
undated, and in 1916 the last of the
three larger bodies had formally voted
for union. Their delegates met March
20-29, in Red Wing, MIMI, to agree on
the terms of consolidation.
These terms will be submitted to the
final sessions of the Norwegian synod,
Hauge synod and the United church
meeting in st. Paul, June 6, and it is
predicted by members of the union
committee the articles will be ratified,
practically without dissent, and the
great union assembly on June will
be love feast in fact and in spirit.
How many thousands will attend,
none can tell, but not all will find place
in the St. Paul Auditorium, notwith-
standing its large capacity.
The new Norwegian Lutheran
Church of America will embrace 1926
congregations and 500 missions, divid-
ed into seven districts. It will have
1,125 pastors in active church work,
with ESQ others engaged in mission
airy, educational and editorial work.
The new organization will have dis
position over property valued in ex-
cess of $21, 100000 and will have an
annual income estimated at more than
$2,0O0,0O0.
Within it's care will be two large
publishing houses, the Augsburg Pub
fishing house, Minneapolis, and Luth-
eran Publishing house, DEBORAH, Iowa;
rs institutions of learning, scattered
from Ottawa, ILL.,, to Everett, WASH,
and from Clefton, Texas, to Outlook,
Sask.; II charitable institutions, such
as homes for the aged and for or
phans; Is hospitals, including Fair
view, Minneapolis, and st. Paul, St.
Paul; large foreign mission stations in
Madagascar, China and other coun-
tries; seamen's immigrant and slum
missions, and many other activities.
The inventory of these institutions
totals $5,S00,00O, exclusive of the for.
eign mission property, and the aggre.
gate value of the congregational prop.
erty is more than $15,000,OO0.
Official headquarters of the new
church will be in Minneapolis, the Of
fees of the officers and various stand
ing committees being located in the
Augsburg Publishing house building
| 425 Fourth street S.
Almost coincident with the estab
lishment of the new church will be the
publication of monumental commem
orative work, 1.-THE History of the Nor
wegian Lutheran Congregations ii
America" giving a historical sketch
and statistics of approximately 1900
congregations dating from the early
'40s to the present. More than 2,OO|
portraits, photographs of churches
schools, parsOnages and maps will b.
reproduced in this volume of ZOO
pages.
Not only will every congregation II
the Hauge and Norwegian synods an,
the United church have detailed his
tory in this work, but also those of tn
Eielsen synod, the Free church an
the Norwegian Lutheran brotherhood
as we'll as various independent cor
gregations Oct. 81.
Rev. A. M. Norlie, historian of hig
rank, has devoted his entire time 70
two years to gathering and compilin
material and has had the aid of Rev
A. M. Arntzen, Wegdahl, Mimi, for
year; Rev. M. c.. Holseth, for 81
months and the services of eight ass.
ciate editors.-Minneapol Journa
: May q.
This union Of churches will not a
feet the status of the two Norwegia
Lutheran churches at Willmar. Th