The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-10-17
UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH TO
BE ORGANIZED IN NOVEM-
Der IN NEW YORK.


ters of million of confirmed Lu-
therans viii meet in New York for
mally to organize the United Luther
an Church IN American The Luth-
eran Church is a very old one in this
country, dating back to 1919 IN Can
ada, 1889 in Pennsylvania, and 1913
IN Manhattan, but its members are of
such iberty-Ioving and congrega-
tional type, and their original blood
has come from so many European
nationalties, that they have been
slow TO see the merits OF centralized
organization.
History of Synods
Their first Synod was organized In
1748, and new Synods have been
forming rapidly ever since. A Synod
represents the congregations of
State or part of State. In New
York and New Jersey there are three
Synods that viii enter the United Luz
theran Church. In Pennsylvania there
are five or six, and so on. A general
body covering the United States was
organized IN 1920, another IN 1867,
and third in 1886. These are the
three general bodies now coming to-
gether- For the last year and a half,
they have been carefully preparing
for the coming merger, and next
month viii see forty-three Synods OF
the United States and Canada join
ed together
Every one of these Synods, and
the three general bodies, The Gen
eral Council of the Evangelical Luth-
eran Church in North America, The
General Synod of the Lutheran
Church in the United States, and The
United Synod OF the Evangelical Lu-
theran Church in the South, have vot-
ed singly and severa1ly IN favor Of
this move. A Joint Ways and Means
Committee has been at work for over
year in preparing the legal and 9th
er details for the consolidation.
The Committee has secured legis-
lative enactment at Albany of amend
lments to the New York Religious Cor
porations Law, favorable to churches
of all denominations, and will probab-
ly take out its charter in the State of
New York on November 14th under
that act.
Convention Program
On Tuesday, November 18th, each
of the three bodies viii meet sepa-
rately in New York. The General
Synod viii meet IN st. James Church
at Madison Avenue and 73rd Street,
the General Council in Holy Trinity
Church, Central Park West and 65th
Street, the United Synod in the
Church of the Advent, Broadway and
93rd Street. These bodies viii occu-
py day or a day and half in wind
ing up their own affairs. On Thurs
day they will enter Holy Trinity
Church in possession, each body by
itself, and preceded by the Ways and
Means Committee, and the first pre-
liminary legal steps toward effecting
a merger viii be taken. In the even
ing there viii be a religious service
with Holy Communion when the Rev.
Henry Eyster Jacobs, Dean of the Mt.
Airy Seminary at Philadelphia and
Nestor OF the Lutheran Church IN
America, viii preach the sermon. On
the following morning the body viii
proceed to organize for business and
the merger viii be consummated, and
on Sunday afternoon a great central
ratification and thanksgiving mass
meeting is TO be held in the Hippo
drome. The Lutheran Churches of
New York have organized their forces
for several months and worked out
with elaborate detail program of
business and hospitality.
Details of Organization Ready
A complete Constitution for the
government of the new body and of
all its boards has been prepared and
has been adopted by ali the Synods.
This Constitution is acknowledged by
all to reflect the faith, spirit and prac-
tice of the Lutheran Church Its pre-
amble invites and continues to invite
all Lutheran Synods in America to
join in the one general organization
on this basis. The new boards of the
Church viii probably be chartered in
The states in which they have their
central Office. These boards will prob
ably be located in New York, Phila-
delphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg and Chi
! cago.
The union to be consummated rep
resents the older parts of the Church.
The Synodical Conference and hide
pendent Synods still remaining out
side this body largely represent the
recent immigration to America begin
ming before the middle and continuing
until the latter part Of the nineteenth
century.
The property value of the eonsoli-
dated Church is over fifty-three mil
lions of dollars with an annual ex-
iDenditure for local up-keep and sala-
iries of between six and seven millions
of dollars, and an annual expenditure
for benevolence and missions of about
a million and half dollars.
This great combination of forces,