The History
of the Evangelical Lutheran Trinity-Congregation
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commissioned by the Congregation at the Occasion of Its 50th Anniversary, October 17, 1897,
Composed by Friedrich Lochner
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Germania Publishing House
Translated from the German by Shawn T. Barnett
St. Louis, Missouri, 2016
Chapter I
The Establishment of the Congregation
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” Romans 16:17
The struggle of the Prussian Lutherans that broke out in 1830 and lasted until 1845 against the Union between Lutherans and the Reformed which had been commanded by King Friedrich Wilhelm III, himself an adherent of the Reformed church, and which he sought to effect by force, is doubtless among the most significant events in Church history of this century. Under the leader of the faithful witness Dr. Scheibel, Professor of theology and deacon at St. Elisabeth in Breslau, who has long since gone to his rest, a small group of Silesian Lutherans took up the battle against this unscriptural [schriftwidrig] Union and soon the faithful Lutherans of other provinces of Prussia, especially from Brandenburg and Pomerania, entered the fray in growing numbers. Neither military force, nor the police hounding the pastors who had faithfully persevered in serving their flocks, nor the imprisonment of pastors, nor the garnishment of property, was able to weaken the resolve of the true confessors. Finally, a not insignificant number decided, however not without anguish, to emigrate across to ocean to establish a new home in which they could live according to their faith unhindered by state power. A portion of them, namely Silesians, chose Australia, but the majority chose America.
It was in the Fall of 1839 when a large emigration cohort under the leadership of Johann Andreas Grabau, mostly consisting of Pomeranians, landed on America’s free ground as the first ecclesiastically organized cohort of Prussian Lutherans. The smaller portion of this cohort, mainly poor, settled together with Pastor Grabau in Buffalo. The larger portion, to which the well-to-do belonged, turned toward what was at that time the Territory of Wisconsin, since from the outset that was determined as the main settlement. The greatest part of his latter group, mainly consisting of farmers, established a settlement out in the wilderness about 12-15 miles from Milwaukee under the name Freistadt, likely the first large settlement of German Lutherans in Wisconsin. A smaller portion settled in Milwaukee which at that time was just developing into a city.
Both the settlers in the city and in the country were without a preacher. Upon invitation to visit, P. Grabau answered that he could not come. Since, however, children were waiting to be baptized, young people were waiting to be married, and the sick desired to receive the Holy Supper, and an inquiry sent to Pastor Grabau asking what should be done was left unanswered, these settlers did what was occasionally done upon Dr. Scheibel’s advice during the time of persecution. The Pomeranian school teacher Joachim Luck, who had already instructed a number of their children, that he should conduct the public divine service and not only read a sermon in the service, but also administer the sacraments until they had acquired a well-prepared pastor, whereby they already had their eye on the Saxons pastors in Missouri who had immigrated at nearly the same time. However, Pastor Grabau had hardly caught wind of this procedure in Milwaukee when he suddenly broke his silence through a letter in which he strongly disciplined this emergency set-up and aroused a great indignation. In order to calm the unrest which had now also arisen in among those in the country through this letter of discipline and through many other things and to order the ecclesiastical situation in Wisconsin, Pr. Grabau sent a so called “Pastor Letter’ [Hirtenbrief] before the end 1840. Far from pacifying and healing, this writing increased the unrest and confusion and became the occasion for a schism first of all here in the city.[1]
In the Fall of 1841, at the recommendation of Pr. Grabau our settlers in the city and in the country together called as their pastor [Seelsorger] L.F.C. Krause[2] from Silesia who had arrived in Buffalo in September . But because those who were in the city were divided in their opinion about the Hirtenbrief, Pr. Krause, misled by Pr. Grabau, declared directly after his arrival in Wisconsin, that he could only be the pastor of those who agreed with the Hirtenbrief. Those who declared themselves in favor of the Hirtenbrief organized the St. Paul’s congregation, and built an unadorned little Church without a steeple on 4th Street between Well St. and Cedar St. and was served as a subsidiary of Freistadt, which Krause had chosen as the seat of his parish, for all of six weeks.
Yet already after a couple years of its existence there was also a schism in this St. Paul’s congregation as a consequence of the appalling misuse of excommunication which was increasingly exercised by Pr. Krause, his “Senior” Grabau who acceded to him, and his “Ecclesial Ministerium of the Synod of Buffalo” which had since come into existence. Nevertheless, this misuse was increasingly acknowledged as a fruit of the false doctrine of the Church and Ministry expressed in the Hirtenbrief and the resultant practice.
The congregation had rented a vehicle every time that Pr. Krause came to serve them. In order to no longer be dependent upon someone else’s vehicle, Pr. Krause requested the congregation to assist him in acquiring his own horse to the effect that each of the 150 communicants would pay 3 cents for 20 weeks whereby the sum of 90 dollars would be gathered. Since the congregation did not come to a conclusion after numerous negotiations, after the conclusion of the divine service on the feast day of St. James, 1845, the Pastor called upon the congregation to give him a definite answer after the course of a week. After holding a meeting immediately thereafter, the congregation reported to him that it temporarily could not adopt his request and that it had, therefore, resolved to procure in the future a proper vehicle every six weeks; if, however, he wanted to come more often, they would be all the more thankful, yet he would have to do this in such a way that it wouldn’t incur any costs for the congregation, since it could not raise the money for travel. (Each trip cost the congregation 8 dollars—at that time not an insignificant sum.) In response to this communication, the pastor issued a severe letter of discipline. According to this letter, the congregation had intervened in his office with their resolution, had made him a supply preacher [Terminprediger], and had replaced him from his office. Those who had composed this resolution had regarded 20 times three cents greater than their own salvation. Under these circumstances, he could with a clean conscience no longer administer the office in the congregation at Milwaukee. The congregation answered avail in a respectful letter to no avail that they had by no means intended to intervene in the office of the pastor with the resolution; and that he might forgive them wore they had sinned by their words or otherwise.
On the 16th Sunday after Trinity, Pastor Krause came and held a thoroughly severe sermon of admonition regarding this matter in which he chided the members as puffed-up ruffians, dumb oxen, old swine, moths, dung beetles, etc. and then after the sermon read a announcement to the effect that everyone who had participated in this resolution would not be permitted to the Holy Supper until they had openly confessed and pleaded for their sins! (Cf. documents in the congregations archive as well as “Erster Synodalbericht d. Synode von Missouri, 1847, pg. 12) The congregation, upset and disturbed, immediately sent both councilmen Bruss and Eggert to the pastor in his quarters to request that a congregational assembly be held that afternoon, since the congregation wanted to come to an understanding with him an account of his harsh sermon, and to be informed as to which of them had deserved refusal from the Holy Supper and so that they could be admonished to repent. Pr. Krause refused this request with the words, “I have preached and that’s that!”
In order to resolve the sad discord between the congregation and the pastor, the congregation turned via the councilmen Bruss and Brewersdorf to the mediation of a neighboring pastor, Pastor Kindermann, who in 1843, together with the congregation that had immigrated with him, had founded Kirchhayn about 7 miles from Freistadt. Since Pr. Kindermann did not achieve anything with his brother in office, he advised the congregation to take the matter to the Ecclesial Ministerium at Buffalo, i.e. Pr. Grabau, and wrote these words of encouragement “I can’t imagine that Pr. Krause would be justified in such a clearly unjust matter on his account.” Nevertheless, in response to the letter of complaint, which had first been reviewed by Pr. Kinderman, Pastors Grabau, von Rohr, and Kindermann issued a three-fold assessment [Gutachten]. Grabau placed all the blame on the congregation that in the absence of their pastor they had in retrograde frivolously overturned a resolution composed in the fellowship of their pastor on the feast of St. James to purchase a horse. But in regard to his sermon of admonition and his additional announcement regarding the refusal of the Holy Supper it was wished that “he had been more in control [ein Herr] of his otherwise customary demeanor” and , in an assembly after the divine service, should have made the congregation aware of the injustice of holding an assembly behind their pastor’s back in order to overturn resolutions that had already been made. Von Rohr essentially agreed with Grabau. Pr. Kindermann’s assessment, given that he was knowledgeable about the matter, reads differently. He attests that the Congregation did not overturn any resolution, since no resolution was made on the feast of St. James, that in his letter from the 11th of August Pr. Krause had sinned against the 8th commandment in a loveless and unchristian manner when he asserted that they regarded the contribution demanded for the purchase of a horse to be worth more than their own salvation, and, moreover, that he had demonstrated an ungodly zeal in his sermon and, moreover, in the frivolous manner in which he had terminated his office, yet in his open announcement after this sermon had unilaterally excommunicated the opponents of his request and afterwards treated some of them upon occasion as excommunicated.
Given the varied assessment on the part of the members of the Ecclesial Ministerium the rift between the pastor and the congregation continued. However, as a great unrest arose in Freistadt as well on account of the unjustly exercised excommunication, and as dissentions arouse between the two neighboring brothers in office, the Senior of the ministerium, Grabau, showed up in Spring of 1846 first among those in the country and then among those in the city.
Proceedings began among those in the city on the afternoon of Ascension. However, although right at the beginning of the assembly the true state of affairs was once again put forward to Pr. Grabau both orally and in writing, he again proceeded from the false assumption that a resolution which had been composed in a completely just form had been overturned in an assembly held behind the pastor’s back. As it has been unanimously reported from eyewitnesses, Pr. Kindermann more than once admonished both pastor Krause to repentantly acknowledge many undeniable offenses and Senior Pr. Grabau to conduct a conscientious, unbiased procedure toward the plaintiffs. Although the assembly lasted from the afternoon until midnight, it was without any result. Unsatisfied with the Senior’s procedure, Pr. Kindermann was sitting on his wagon in the morning, ready to return home, when he finally let Pr. Grabau convince him to climb back down. Thus the proceedings began anew on the afternoon of Exaudi. Finally, toward midnight it came to a sort of reconciliation. Upon Grabau’s urging, Krause let himself be moved to make the lame declaration that one might forgive him “where he may have erred;” the congregation should take the rest upon itself. Sleepy and tired of the inquiring, most assented to such a reconciliation. Yet this was done in the repeatedly expressed expectation that Pr. Grabau would provide a transfer for Pr. Krause, since given what had occurred the trust necessary for a blessed conduct of the office could no longer be regained. When on the next day, it became clear that Grabau in no way intended the desired transfer, but that everything was to remain as it had been, since there had been reconciliation, most withdrew their assent to reconciliation with Krause.
And so soon after Pr. Grabau’s departure a split resulted in which the larger part of the congregation renounced in writing Pr. Krause’s pastorate and submitted to Pr. Kindermann a request for service in Word and Sacrament. Admittedly, Pr. Kindermann denied the desired service in a letter from July 15, 1846, and advised attempting an understanding with Pr. Krause through a private exchange; although it read further: “If you do not want that, then at least seek assistance for your grievances of conscience within the ecclesiastical order as long as it is in any way possible. So, for example, you could invite the advice of unbiased Lutheran pastors outside of our Synod or transfer the decision to a synod.” As had been all-too-well experience, however, nothing more was to be expected from the assembly of their synod which consisted of four pastors and a few deputized voters. In addition, they had begun to recognize that the practice of pastors Krause and Grabau was the fruit of a false doctrine of the church and the ministerial office. So they followed Pr. Kindermann’s advice and turned to “unbiased Pastors outside of the Synod,” namely the Saxon pastors Walther, Löber, Keyl, Gruber, Bünger, Fürbringer and Schieferdecker; a portion of the Freistadt congregation which had now also come to a split through Krause’s fault , joined in with this request. Since, the first steps toward establishing an orthodox synod, the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other states, had been made by the Saxon pastors and a number of like-minded clergy and their meeting was to take place in May of the coming year, the petitioners were refered to this assembly with the comment that Pr. Grabau had also been cordially invited , in as much as he had finally demonstrated that he was willing to meet at a place, as yet undetermined in Spring of 1847 to discuss doctrinal differences with the Saxon pastors. Likewise, Krause was to be informed of the request from those who had separated from him in Milwaukee and Freistadt, so that he could be present in Chicago, if he wanted.
Meanwhile, church discipline was exercised against those in Milwaukee, although they had already dissolved any connection with Pr. Krause through their formal renunciation. Yet directly after his departure, Grabau had released a letter to the congregations in Wisconsin in which he admonished them to guard against not allowing themselves to be reconciled and declared the separation from Pr. Krause to be nothing less that mortal sin. In a second letter, he instructed the pastors to set into motion the three steps of admonition with those who were resistant. Already three weeks after the renunciation, that is only a week later, after the letter to Pr. Kindermann from June 15, Pr. Krause emitted a summons written in legal style to all those who had broken away. The second summons then followed on the 17 September, and the third written summons on March 6, both times by Pr. Kindermann, the man who had first advised them to turn to non-synodical pastors with their concern and whose advice they had followed! The last summons concluded with the words, “May God give grace that this pleading of the Christian church would not once again be disregarded and the Lord Jesus Christ’s command: ‘If he will not listen to the congregation, then consider him as a heathen and a tax collector’ (Matth. 18:17) would not apply to you.” Since no one responded to this summons, the excommunication was extended to everyone.
Since as soon as the renunciation of Pr. Krause had been announce, he had already taken steps with the authorities to secure the church property for the small group that had remained with him, councilmen Bruss and Bewerdorf who as trustees had vouched to for payment of the property, a burden of 340 dollars, requested their counterpart to negotiate with them and to dispute their competing claims, but they received the mocking answer: “The Church of God never has to negotiate with her enemies.” Upon the refusal of the counterpart, which in any case had for years contributed little or nothing all to paying off the church’s debt, both trustees paid a further 40 dollars, since it was high time for this, and demanded the church keys from their counterpart, which only responded to this in consequence of a threat with the authorities.
May 24, 1847, our precious Synod was born in Chicago. Those in Milwaukee had sent councilman Bewersdorf to advocate for their cause and those in Freistadt had sent councilman Carl Kauffung and had sent with them the delegated powers furnished with 57 signatures and the relevant documents. Both delegates asked the Synod for an assessment [Gutachten], “whether they and those who were in agreement with them whose powers had been delegated to them with signatures could or could not call another pastor in the place of their previous pastor, Pr. Krause?” Since neither Pr. Krause nor Pr. Grabau were present, nothing remained for the Synod than to give an assessment on the basis of the oral reports of both delegates as well as a number of presented manuscripts and transcribed documents. This assessment is printed in its entirety in the first Synodical proceedings from 1847, pgs 11-13 and read “that Mr. Bewersdorf and Mr. Kauffung along with their concerned brothers who sent them not only have the right, but they have the holy duty to flee from and avoid Pastor Krause as a dangerous false teacher and a callous sinner and that they should be provided with a faithful pastor as soon as possible.”
This communication from the Synod was the occasion for no little joy and reassurance in both congregations. In June 1847, with a happy conscience both congregations unanimously called one of the Saxon pastors, namely the one who had been suggested to them, Pastor E.G.W. Keyl from Frohna, Perry Co., Mo.
The course of events in the separation of the congregation from Pr. Krause and the Buffalo Ecclesiastical Minsiterium has already been accurately depicted by the writer of monograph in 1853 in the supplement to vol. 9, no. 8 of the Lutheraner. As there, it should also be mentioned here, that Pr. Krause, who fell out with Pr. Grabau and the Buffalo Synod and now looked to join the Missouri Synod that he had once so despised, appeared at the synodical convention in Milwaukee in November of the same year in order to be reconciled with those who had broken away from him in Milwaukee and Freistadt and acknowledged the legitimacy of the separation from him. It must still be a living memory for many of those who were present.
Chapter II
The Foundational and Organizational Work of the First Pastor.
Initial Expansion under his Successor
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 1 Cor. 3:6
Ernst Gerhard Wilhelm Keyl, born in Leipzig in Saxony, May 22, 1804, from 1827-1837 pastor of the Saxon territorial church, was one of the pastors who emigrated under the well-known Pastor Stephan for conscience sake in the year 1838 and until his call to Milwaukee he served a small congregation of Saxon emigrants, mostly members of his earlier congregation in Germany, which settled in Perry County, Mo with the largest group of the Saxon emigrants and there established the settlement Frohna. He was a man under whom once a significant awakening had arisen in Saxony in Muldenthal at a time when Rationalism was still dominant, an awakening that brought with it much persecution. He was a man who since is immigration had occupied himself especially with the study of Luther’s writings in which he was entirely at home like few others were. He died as Pastor Emeritus on August 4, 1872 in Monroe, Michigan.
At the time of his call to Milwaukee, Wisconsin was still a Territory and the city had a population of 9000, a considerable portion of which already at that time were German emigrants, namely Pomeranian Lutherans. Trade and commerce was, as a whole, still insignificant. So it happened that Pastor Keyl along with his family first reached Milwaukee on October 27, 1847 after 14 days of travel.
Because a special installation of the newly called pastor could not take place due to the local and ecclesial circumstances at that time, he held his inaugural sermon on the Gospel lesson of the day about the healing of the paraplegic. In this sermon, he gave witness to the joy with which he entered his office, because he was certain that the congregation had rightly separated itself from his predecessor as an manifest false teacher and that, therefore, his vocation was divine. He gave similar testimony in the introduction to his sermon in Freistadt the following Sunday. As he was diligently preparing for these first sermons for the morning and afternoon divine services, the councilman Bruss who was temporarily quartering with him, said to him: “Our previous Pastor didn’t prepare much for his; with him everything was shot from the hip!”
Since it seemed more beneficial to Pastor Keyl to make his dwelling in the city instead of in the country, and both congregations had left the choice up to him, he served Freistadt with Word and Sacrament every 14 days from here so that he could only be present in each of the two country congregations every 4 weeks. In the absence of their pastor, a read service [Lesegottesdienst] was regularly held in all three congregations, which was everywhere diligently visited.
When Pastor Keyl entered his office, he was confronted with a sad picture of ecclesial disunity; for there were six to eight different parties who all wanted to be Lutheran. Two of these made the exclusive claim to true Lutheranism. Both were, therefore, also harsh opponents of the congregations that were now Missourian. The one was the old Grabau party, the other was the so-called Klügel party. The later came into existence through the former emigration companion of Pastor Keyl, the former candidate and later pastor G. Klügel. After Stephan’s exposure and removal from Missouri, Klügel fell out entirely with the Saxon pastors, came to Wisconsin in 1843, and found supporters both here in the city and in the country, first in a larger, later in a constantly diminishing number. How he propounded a grossly Calvanistic doctrine of election by means of a false invocation of Luther, especially his writing against Erasmus on free will—and this in a very trivial manner—and how he misused the doctrine of Christian freedom is retained in the memory of us old folk. Since the arrival of Pastor Keyl and still at the beginning of his successors time, the Missourians and their preachers were the object of attacks and defamations in the sermons of both the Buffalo and the Klügel parties. All of this painted a sad picture of ecclesial disunity.
Given these circumstances, it was all the more incumbent upon Pastor Keyl as much as possible to establish the congregation that had been entrusted to him in the pure Lutheran doctrine and to pattern it accordingly. The city congregation was, of course, especially poised to benefit from this. Besides his instructive sermons on the periscopes for Sundays and feast days in which he, as is known, exclusively used Luther as his example, he held expository sermons on Wednesday evening on all the books of Scripture, Sunday afternoons were devoted to catechetical preaching and an examination of the youth thereafter who had to take part in this until they were of age [Mündigkeit], but house fathers and house mothers were also mostly present. Whenever there was opportunity, there was longer or shorter discussions of doctrine in the congregational assembly and as a rule doctrine and church happenings formed the main subject of conversation in the sociable get-togethers in members’ homes, especially when the pastor was present. Those who applied for membership first had to go through a a small doctrinal course for several evenings. As much as the pastor pressingly recommended the reading of Luther’s writings, especially his postils, in both sermons and in private conversation, it couldn’t fail that Luther’s postils were to be found in most homes.
Right after Pastor Keyl’s installation, the task of composing a congregational order was taken up. Upon his suggestion, the congregational order as well of the St. Louis congregation as well as their council order was made the basis of the discussions on October 21, 26, and27, and the former was adopted with a few changes, the latter in its entirety. (Although both orders had to be revised in later years, neither experienced any essential change)
In regard to the form and manner of the public divine service, no change was necessary, since the forma and manner of the old Lutheran divine service was customary in both the separated Lutheran church in Prussia and here in the Buffalo Synod. Pastor Keyl could, therefore, make complete use of his old Leipzig Agenda, since at that time our Synod still did not have its own agenda. At that time and sill several years later, the morning divine service on Sundays and feast days began around 9 a.m. and with the Supper, which was held every two weeks, it lasted until noon since the congregation still did not sing rhythmically, interludes were played not only between every stanza, but also between every line, and it was not Pastor Keyl’s custom to preach too briefly. Nevertheless, no proposals to shorten the service can be found in the congregation’s minutes.
To his great joy, Pastor Keyl discovered that private confession was still practice and, in fact, in exclusive use which it even retained until the year 1866. This, which was proceeded by an announcement in the course of the week, took place on the Saturday evening and was proceeded by vespers. The latter consisted of a the singing of a penitential hymn, the reading of a penitential psalm, singing of No. 193, collects and a blessing, whereupon it concluded with a confessional address and then the confessions of individuals.
The unadorned little church without a steeple, which is depicted by a drawing made by the author, was originally located, as mentioned, on 4th St. between Wells St. and Cedar St. According to a resolution from May 15, 1848, the property and the building were offered for sale for $600; but since no buyer could be congregation obtained via trade a piece of property on the south side of Wells St. which extended from the corner of 5th street eastward to the alley, but this property was part of the swampy cedar marsh that spread out from Wells to Prairie St. and which only had firm ground on the 3 to 4 foot wide side-walk which had been filled in like a dam. The little church was removed there and set on stakes on the east corner of the property , where it look just like a remnant from an earlier construction period [Pfahlbauzeit], until the lower section was covered with boards. Inside there was a simple little altar over which there was a lectern as a pulpit and next to which stood a bare wood chair as a seat for the pastor, since there was no sacristy, as well as a small organ without pedals. The black hymn board was disproportionately large, since it had to have room for the numbers from two hymnals, the Pommeranian, or Bollnhagen Hymnal, and the Breslau hymnal, to which was soon added for several years the St. Louis hymnal, so that no less than three times seven, that is in total 21 numbers had two be indicated. Since school also had to be held in the little church during the week by teacher August Lemke, the necessary small room was separated by a movable wall of boards that had to be removed every time for the divine service on Sunday and Wednesday evening.
Yet the destitute and limited space of the little church exceeded in true adornment many magnificent cathedrals with its pure and richly preached word and the unadulterated sacrament as well as through the diligence and zeal with which these services were attended by old and young.
So it struck pastor and congregation like a stroke of lightning in fair weather when in Adventide of 1849, St. Paul congregation in Baltimore, Maryland, whose pastor, F. Wyneken, had received and accepted a call to St. Louis, Missouri, and recommended Pastor Keyl as his successor. Since the congregation which was not a little agitated along with its pastor was not able to come to a decision in this matter of a call in several special congregational assembly, on December 18 they agreed upon the pastor’s suggestion to request the president of the Synod, Pr. Walther of St. Louis, Mo, along with neighboring brothers in office, to give an assessment in regard to this matter. This assessment came out in favor of accepting the call from Baltimore, and the congregation, although with a heavy heart, finally gave its assent to this.
In heartfelt prayer to God, the congregation immediately took steps toward calling a successor. After a preparatory assembly on February 12, 1850, two days later Pastors f. Lochner of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois (who had signed the assessment [Gutachten]) , A. Selle of Chicago, Illinois, and G. Franke in Lafeyette County, Missouri, were established as candidates. After the sermon on the election of a pasto in the Sunday divine service on February 17, the step was taken to elect and the F. Lochner received 43 of the 51 votes. The next day he was informed of the election in a provisional way via telegram and on February 21 a certificate of vocation was prepared. This was beautifully written on parchment and was signed by the church councilmen Julius Wegner, Carl Groth, Carl Schubert, and Martin Bruss in addition to Pr. Keyl.
When the congregation gave their assent to the acceptance of the call from Baltimore, it did so with the pressing plea that, if possible, Pr. Keyl would continue to administer the office among the congregation until the arrival of the successor. Since a renewal of the call had become necessary, it wasn’t until the 4th Sunday after Trinity, June 23, that Pr. Keyle held his farewell sermon. Speaking on 1 Cor. 1:4-9, his voice was often choked up with tears. The following day, the newly called pastor arrived with his family, and, since Pr. Keyl could no longer remain until Sunday, he was introduced to the congregation in a quickly called congregational assembly. So on the following Sunday, the fifth after Trinity, June 30, 1850, the newly called pastor gave is inaugural sermon on 2 Cor. 3:4-11.
Johann Friedrich Carl Lochner, born September 1822 in Nürnberg in Middle Franconia, pastor of a small congregation in Toledo, Ohio from August 1845 to October 1846, and then from December of the same year until his call to Milwaukee pastor of the newly founded country congregation in Pleasant Ridge and in Edwardsville as well as the congregation founded by him in Collinsville, Ill, was one of the earliest emissaries of the American mission established by Pr. Löhe in Middle Franconia and a cofounder of our Synod. Still a young man who had only served in office for five years, he entered the office as the successor of an experienced servant of the Gospel and as shepherd of a congregation that was surrounded by enemies. He was still for the time being lonely and alone with great fear and trembling, yet full of the certainty of his divine call. During his resettlement, when he took his leave from the blessed Dr. Walther in St. Louis, Walther said: “Go forth, beloved brother-in-law, and care for this congregation without expecting that it will expanded under the current circumstances and ecclesial confusion there. Your only task will consist in maintain that which the congregation received through your predecessor and supporting that.” That God in his counsel had determined otherwise against any human assumptions has been demonstrated in the time following until the present. But the growth that followed would not have been what it was by God’s grace, had not Pr. Keyl, whose gifts were more those of establishing and organizing than in gathering, not laid such a foundation and left behind for his successor a well-directed branch for the growth outwards.
Already after a couple of month the little church was hardly able to hold all the listeners. When in Fall of 1850, the Synod which was gathered in St. Louis accepted the invitation of the congregation to hold the synodical conference next year in her midst, the congregation saw itself all the more obliged to think about the construction of a larger church. Already on December 1, the congregation resolved to erect a wooden frame building 70-feet long, 40 feet wide, and 25 feet high on the remaining portion of the property on the corner of Wells and 5th St. the building. The building was supposed to have a basement with a height of 10 feet that could be furnished for the school and a dwelling for the teacher, a plan which as time passed proved all the more unfeasible, since in that precinct, the ground had to be filled in higher and higher. Since most members of the congregation were without means, all the work, including carpentry, was done by the members themselves, and a few of the synodical congregations were approached to chip in a bit. Already on Trinity Sunday, June 15, 1851, the church was able to be dedicated. In the morning, Pr. Lochner preached on the Epistle, Rom 11:33-36, and in the afternoon Pr. O. Fürbringer from Freistadt preached on the Gospel for the dedication of a church, Luke 19:1-10. The picture below has been prepared from a drawing of the author, only that because at the time of the drawing the ground had since been filled in, the basement is no longer visible.
The following Wednesday, June 18, the Synodical conference began in the new Church. Right at the beginning, it was resolved upon the suggestion of a pastoral conference held in St. Louis on the 14th and 15th of May to send Professor Walther and President Wyneken to Pastor Löhe in Franconia, ince his deviation from the example of true doctrine in the question of church and office increasingly became apparent; for this man had up to then been the most faithful friend and supporter of the Synod, and, therefore, it lay all the more heavy on the heart of the Synod to restore the disturbed unity of spirit with him though a delegation, since all of the scriptural proceedings had been without result up to that point. The most important of these writings were the theses on church and office written by Prof. Walther which were discussed in eight sessions and which were the basis of the epochal book “The Voice of our Synod in the Question of Church and Office.” These sessions which were attended by a considerable number of congregation members were a great blessing for the free course of pure doctrine in Milwaukee and for Wisconsin in general. During these sessions Pastor L. Dulitz from St. John’s joined as a advisory member and then became a faithful friend and witness to the pastor of Trinity. And how many at that time let go of their prejudices against our Synod and could thereafter be counted as the truest, most steadfast, and active members of our congregation.
That same year the congregation obtained a valuable increase of mostly Pomeranian Lutherans who had emigrated under Grabau. As a consequence of that which they had experienced with Pastor Grabau, especially in a doctrinal dispute over the person of Christ and, likewise, with the doctrine and practice of Pr. Klügel, they went astray due to the lack of an orthodox preaching office and formed a separate congregation under the leadership of an old, knowledgeable man named Roggenbuck. This congregation edified itself during its divine services by only reading from Luther’s postils. However, when they became convinced of the orthodoxy of our Synod after the convention was held and through discussions that they had requested with Pastor Lochner and then with Pastor Fürbringer of Freistadt, they considered it their duty, to give up their separate existence and to join our congregation. Besides both of the since deceased, former teachers of Pastor Grabau, Zion and Dreyer, one of these members was the still-living, 77-year old Johann Pritzlaff.
Since as a consequence of Pr. Dulitz joining the Synod, both pastors were able to exchange pulpits and to provide mutual assistance, an attempt was made, as the minutes from April 28, 1853, show, at the prompting of Pr. Dulitz to merge St. John’s with Trinity. When this was without result, St. John, which as yet did not belong to any synod, made a request that year for acceptance into the Missouri Synod, and renewed that request when the Synod was divided into four districts in 1855 with the seat of the Northern District in Milwaukee. Because here, as in 1853, the Synod required an arrangement of parochial relationships as a condition of acceptance, both congregations requested both presidents, the Synodical President Pastor Wyneken and the District President Pastor Fürbringer, to attend a general assembly after the conclusion of the Synod Convention and to advise them in this matter. The result of separately held discussion of the Synodical President with the St. John’s congregation was the impossibility of a geographical boundary and the necessity of a merger. However, things were still not mature enough for a merger.[3] Rather, the following year St. John’s experienced a division and as a consequence, Pastor Dulitz saw himself compelled to take another call. The party that stayed with him then joined Trinity. Among this group was, among other, Jobst Heinrich Büning, a long-time councilman of Trinity and chairman of the congregational assembly.
The growth of the school, however, did not keep stride with congregation at fist. When the new church was dedicated and the old building was set up for school instruction, Teacher Lemke resigned his office and moved to Freistadt to support his aging parents. The school, which up to then had 50 children in winter, but only between 24 and 30 children in summer, had to be taught provisionally by various persons and, naturally, under such circumstances could not grow. He was a man who had not only been trained at a seminary, but who was also very capable in terms of his gift of teaching and discipline, so that the school quickly grew under his guidance. Unfortunately, he not only lacked the necessary musical education but he also only wanted to be hired provisionally from the onset.
[28]
Chapter III
Continuing Growth in Church and School
Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. Jer. 54:2
Especially in the first half of the 1850’s and even beyond that, the number German, and especially Pomeranian, emigrants n Wisconsin grew significantly. Because of this our congregation grew from year to year. Although still at that time no one could suspect that the south side of the city which at relativel to that time was still sparsely populated would experience such a boom as it now has, nevertheless it was considered well advised, given the increasing immigration, to preemptively set about mission work there. Initially pastors Lochner and Dulitz, supported by several members who lived there, made the attempt to establish a school. So, an old school house that stood on a hill near St. John’s Episcopal Church was rented at a low rate and the instruction was handed over to an old school teacher named Riebling who had just immigrated from Holstein, but so that catechesis was given by the two pastors. Then in July 1853 bother pastors began to trade off preaching in this school on Sunday afternoon. As early as July of the following year this resulting in [29] a branch-off. The small number of members of our congregation who lived on the south side, along a few members of St. John’s and a few other Lutherans living in the area, organized an independent congregation under the name St. Stephen’s congregation and called Pastor Philipp Fleischmann from Rochester, N.Y. who had been suggested to them by the synod. Just how much the growth on the south side of the city increased the growth of the church is shown by the fact in 1884 an entirely new congregation could be established by St. Stephens, the St. Martini congregation, whose leadership was taken over by Pr. Gotthold Löber who up to then had acted as an assistant preacher. According to this year’s parochial report the voting membership of St. Martini has already climbed to 335. And these two congregations have already daughtered a pair of new, small congregations: Ebenezer from St. Martini and Jehovah from St. Stephens. According to the parish report Jehovah has 384 voting members.
In June of 1855, just one years after this branching off, our congregation’s school was able to be expanded to include a second class. Franz Bodemer, was appointed teacher of the lower class that was created by this expansion. He was first graduate of a seminary exclusively for educating private school teachers [30] which pastors Lochner, Fleischmann, and Dietz brought into existence in 1854 with the help of Teacher Dietz and with the charitable support of the congregation. Since teacher Dietz acted as organist and cantor in the divine services, the new teacher was given the office of sexton, which he administered with great love and extraordinary skill.
In the middle of this prosperous development, it suddenly seemed as if the pastor’s work for the congregation and the church in general would come to an end. The pastor caught a cold during while administering an official act in a distant house in January 1856 which brought with it a throat ailment. Because of this, Pastor Lochner could only talk at a whisper and started to wonder if he would ever be able to preach again. Until Easter, only a liturgy of the word could be held and communion only took occasionally place under Pastor Fleischmann. Yet the Lord, to whom prayerful hands were raised, give the pastor his voice back.
Things turned out differently for Teacher Dietz. After he had the joy of seeing the small organ without pedals which had been used heretofore replaced by a organ which for that quite large considering conditions at the time and which had been built for 900 by Wolfram in Chicago[4], an organ with which his playing was finally able to really serve the edification of the congregation, he was affected with chest disease [Brustleiden]. Because of this, he had to permanently resign his office at the school after seven years of blessed work. But he has continued to occasionally serve the congregation by playing organ even to the present and was a member of the school council for a time. [31]
After a long vacancy during which a number of calls were without result, August Brose, up to then pastor of a small rural congregation in Woodland, Wisconsin, was called as successor upon the recommendation of the District President, and he was also engaged as an assistant preacher, so that he assisted with communion and preached every four weeks. He entered his office in January of 1860, but followed another call already two years later as pastor of a rural congregation. His successor as teacher was Franz Härtel, previously teacher of the Lutheran congregation in St. Charles, Mo. Elected on February 3, 1862, he was installed at the beginning of May. He also was also proficiently educated in music and rendered outstanding service for congregational singing and by leading the choir.
Not long after the branching off of St. Stephan on the South side, one began to think about beginning a mission work in a similar manner on the North side. But when a so-called “mission school” had been begun by unionists and sectarians in the area of the current St. Matthew congregation, in which school our congregation members who lived there were expected to participate, a branch school had to be established there without hesitation for the sake of our [32] children. Admittedly, it was small, exceedingly small, at first. An old congregation member who lived on Teutonia St., F. Herbst, made room for instructing in his quaint, little home. The instruction was taken up provisionally by another congregation member who lived in the vicinity, F. Kohls. In Spring of 1960, work was begun on the construction of a one-story schoolhouse on the corner of Teutonia Street and what is now Garfield Ave. The property had been donated by J. Pritzlaff. The buiding was dedicated late that year and at this occasion Teacher W. Kohlman, previously teacher of the congregational school in Freistadt, who had been definitively called was installed in his office. However, after a year and a half he resigned and the school was taken over by Teacher Gottfried Dreyer.
Soon after the dedication of the school, Pastor Lochner began to preach there on Sunday afternoons. But because the work for the pastoral office had become excessively great due to the constant growth of the congregation, in June of 1865 the congregation called candidate August Crull, at that time professor at Concordia College in Fort Wayne, as assistant preacher. Through this it became possible that divine serves could be held every Sunday morning in the branch school which was most often conducted by the assistant preacher. To the sorrow of the pastor and the entire congregation, Crull saw it necessary to resign his office a half year later due to a serious throat ailment. After some time, at the recommendation of Prof. Walther the congregation called Pastor George Reinsch, who shortly before this had left the Iowa Synod. Because it was seen as both necessary and beneficial that the pastor who had been called should live in the vicinity of the branch school, but the congregation nevertheless did not wish to branch off quite yet, but to remain in connection with the congregation for a while, [33] the congregation split itself into two geographical districts, just as the congregation in St. Louis had done, the Trinity district and the Immanuel district. Pastor Reinsch was, therefore, not called as an assistant preacher, but as a second pastor and, in fact, with the addition that the Immanual district should become an independent congregation during his time there. Until then, both pastors were to serve in the Sunday and weekday divine services in both congregations by regularly exchanging pulpits; each district held monthly separate assemblies and both congregations handled their common concerns in quarterly general assemblies.
Although shortly before this was established the school room had to be expanded through the construction of a small altar choir, in a short amount of time the building couldn’t contain the listeners anymore. Thus the construction of Immanuel by the entire congregation came sooner than expected. This church was able to be dedicated as early as the third Sunday in Advent, 1866. As is known, this church has for some years had a stately façade with two towers, a large one and a small one. Originally, it was 103 feet long and 44 feet wide including the choir altar and cost 11,000 dollars with the uncompleted tower and the interim altar and pulpit. Meanwhile, the school had grown to two classes. Teacher Hoppe was appointed to the upper class. Two years after the dedication of the church, the relationship which heretofore existed in church government was dissolved at the desire of the Immanuel district and it became an independent congregation. Just how much this congregation has increased in the course of time, especially under the current pastor, Pr. G. Küchle, who has served the congregation since 1873 after P. G. Reisch was called away, is seen in the large congregation Zion which branched off of Immanuel. According to this year’s parish report, Zion counts 152 voting members und the current [34] Pastor E. Albrecht and has a school in two classes with 173 children, while Zion still has a voting membership of 430.
It cannot be left unmentioned that two mission congregations have been founded since 1890. One is Emmaus. This congregation was founded by the congregations on the north side which to this end purchased 6 lots on the corner of Hadley and 23rd St. upon which a s. With the continuous support of the sister congregations and namely our Trinity congregation, Emmaus was finally successful in having its own pastor in the person of Pr. J. Rubels and a beautiful frame church with a steeple. According to this year’s parish report the congregation consists of 197 voting members and has, besides the church building, a school consisting of three classes. The other mission congregation is Bethany. This was founded on October 4, 1893, by the inner mission as a city mission with 14 members and it called Pastor W. Rudolph who was installed as city missionary on November 26. At the beginning this congregation held its services in a private houses, supported by other congregations and has grown in its number of members. It ventured to build a frame church along with a school room on the corner of Brown and 33rd St. which was dedicated May 27, 1894. At the same time it serves as the springboard for city mission work. According to this year’s parish report it counts 46 voting members and has a school with 74 children under Teacher A. J. Dorn. [35]
As is known, the colloquium in held in Buffalo in November 1866 under God’s gracious assistance led to a desired brotherly agreement between a significant portion of the Buffalo Synod and our Missouri Synod. Trinity along with Immanuel was able to enjoy the sweet fruit of this agreement in as much as some of the portion of St. Paul’s which left the Buffalo Synod joined Trinity and others Immanuel at the beginning of November, 1968. The siblings Gustav, Franz, and Wilhelm Wolläcker, and Wilhelm Will, Eduard Hinze et al. became members of Trinity.
Not long after Immanuel branched off, Trinity heard again the call to enlarge her tents and expand her curtains. This time, however, it happened in an entirely unexpected and special way. On the corner of Prairie and 9th St. there was a steep hill grown up with bushes and flower that had been constructed in the form of a terrace extending to 8th street upon the summit of which there was a house with a portico to the east and west and from which one could enjoy a glorious view of the city and the sea. This was the “terrace garden” which was created and inhabited for a number of years by Franz Lackner, one of the earliest settlers. The inhabitance, which had fallen into other hands, was changed into biergarten and as such it was favorite place of entertainment for a number of years, especially on Sundays. When on account of the expansion of the school, the congregation again found itself in the difficulty that the property did not offer any more room and [36] the adjacent properties had to be filled in significantly which confronted the congregation with the prospect of significant costs, Johann Pritzlaff secretly obtained the terrace garden which had been offered for sale and surprised the congregation in the assembly on April 5, 1868, with the news that he had some time ago secretly purchased the terrace garden with the adjacent two lots, altogether 8 lots, next to the 15 foot wide alley and was willing to donate the 6 lots that made up the terrace garden with the condition that the congregation was willing to build a church and a school upon it regardless of whether or not the school or church was built first. It can be imagined that the congregation which was so happily surprised unanimously accepted this so valuable gift with great thanks and resolved to take on the construction of a school that year. In the next monthly assembly, it was further resolved to build a massive brick building for this purpose at the cost of 14,000 dollars at the foot of the terrace garden on 8th St. and eventually to build a stately church on the location.
Already in the middle of July 1868, the cornerstone could be laid, and Sunday after New Years, January 3, 1869, the school dedicated. It holds four great school rooms with high ceilings and in the basement it has a confirmation room and an assembly hall. Also, if necessary, the large space in the attic could be used accordingly. There were already three teachers that moved into the new building with their students: George Steubner who took the place of Franz Bodemer teaching the lower class after the latter was called away; Johannes Wegner, who in 1866 [37] was called to instruct the newly established middle class, and Wilhelm Hoffman as teacher of the upper class and successor of Franz Härtel, called away in 1864.
What’s more, two other teachers along with their students moved in as well. In Spring of 1868, pastors Lochner, Steinbach, and Reinsch, supported by the members of their respective congregations, worked on starting up a progymnasium which was to become a Realgymnasium and called Pastor Crull who had since recuperated for the institution-in-the-making. Lackner’s inhabitance was then offered to him and his family to live in and for instruction of his students. At the same time, the congregations of the Wisconsin Synod in the area nurtured thoughts of establishing a similar institution and when Dr. Hermann Dümling who had arrived from German offered his significant competence as a natural scientist and, because the first steps had been already taken to establishing a brotherly connection between both synods, the congregations of both synods combined efforts in the common work on this new institution, formed it as a high school [höhere Bürgerschule] and also called Dr. Dümling to work there. For a while, instruction was held in the Lackner inhabitance; when, however, the rooms there [38] no longer sufficed, the congregation offered for use the fourth room of the school house which was still empty which room was then divided in two for this purpose.
However, after the school had found its new and stately home at the foot of the terrace garden, the old church soon followed suit, i.e. on February 1, 1869, it used the sales of the previous property and the old school house on Wells St. to place the school on rollers and move it to 9th St. Because a storm moved in shortly after the move had begun, and progress became increasingly difficulty the more it went uphill toward 9th St., it took seven weeks to get the school to the place. During this time St. John’s which belongs to the Wisconsin Synod, kindly let us use their church to hold evening services for which we here express our thanks. It was Good Friday when Trinity could again hold services in its church.
The last part of this was the construction of a parsonage on the new property which was taken up that year. Up to then the pastor had to rent his lodgings. This parsonage was built on 8th street, but 10 years later it was brought to 9th street where it now stands. Likewise, the teachers Steuber, Hoffmann, and Wegner also built modest, one-story houses on the property in a row next to the parsonage. The attached picture is a copy from a photo of the school along with the two-story parsonage and the house of Teacher Steuber to the right and the church in the background. [39]The new schoolhouse [40]
At this new location, the congregation continued to grow year to year. Despite the branching off of Immanuel, the voting member ship of the congregation came to 287 in the year 1875 and had with God’s blessing developed a school in five classes which was visited 358 and instructed according to a unified curriculum. The widow Josephine Gosch taught the first or preparatory class, Teacher Georg Steuber taught the second class; Teacher Christian Weigle taught the third class; Teacher Gustav Scholz taught the fourth class; and Teacher Johannes Wegner taught the fifth class. The last of these had taken Teacher Hoffmann’s place since Hoffmann had to resign his position due to his ailing circumstance.
At the beginning of 1876, year of the pastor’s activity at this place came to an end after 26 years when it pleased the Lord to call him to another part of his vineyard.
[41]
Chapter IV
A New Period in the History and Development of the Congregation
Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. Joel 2: 23
In the Winter of 1875, the practical theological seminary of the Missouri Synod was moved from St. Louis to Springfield, the capital of Illinois. Since both the institution and the congregation there, Trinity, needed an experienced pastor given their circumstances at that time and Pastor Link was called, and when he declined the call, the author accepted. The call stuck both pastor and congregation in Adventide like a bolt of lightning out of fair weather. During his 26 years there, the pastor had received so many calls, but did not see any of them as divine, not even the call from the previous year to serve at the teachers’ seminary. Also, with call the Lord’s voice could not immediately be discerned. But when three requested assessments—one from Professor Walther, the other from Pr. Fürbringer, the District President, and the third from Pr. Crull, the previous assistant preacher—unanimously advised the acceptance of the call; [42] and Professor Walther’s assessment especially called attention to the importance of this call for the theological institution; proven members of the congregation from every side expressed along with the moved heart of the entire assembly, “It is the Lord who does what pleases him!” Since there was danger in hesitating on account of the congregation in Springfield, the pastor had to hurriedly prepare his 60 confirmands and hold his farewell sermon already on the Septuagesima, Frebruary 12, 1876, whereby the basis of the sermons was the words of the Lord Matthew 28:20, “And see, I am with you even unto the end of the age.”
Against everyone’s expectations the congregation remained vacant up until July, despite having submitted call already at the end of December. During this long vacancy, the student Friedrich Wambganss gave the sermon on Sunday and feast days members of the clergy in that area helped with performing official acts. Finally, after suggestions sought from Prof. Walther were without result, the congregation turned to the District President at that time, Pr. C. Strasen at Watertown who immediately referred a younger pastor in Minnesota.
This was the present pastor, Heinrich Friedrich Sprengeler, oldest son Heinrich Sprengeler now pastor emeritus at Mankato, Minnesota. Born August 1846 in Obendormark, Hannover, he immigrated as at ten years of age with his parents, who then settled in Minnesota. After completing six years of preparation at the Concordia Gymasium in Fort Wayne, he studied theology for three years under Dr. Walther at the preachers’ seminary in St. Louis and then followed a call to [43] a newly established rural congregation in Minnesota, St. Peters in Town Elysian, Le Sueur county, were he was ordained and installed by his father August 21, 1870. Besides the main congregation, he had to serve four branches which were 8 to 30 miles distant from one another and to hold school as well. After six years of work at this, his first post, he followed the call of our Trinity congregation and was installed by his predecessor with the assistance of Pastor H. Löber from St. Stephan’s on the 7th Sunday after Trinity, July 30, 1876. The text of the installation sermon was the Gospel of the day, the feeding of the 4000, which was applied to the newly called pastor and the congregation. A few months before accepting the call from Milwaukee, he was—according to God’s inscrutable, but always wise counsel—hit with a heavy blow when death tore from him his dear wife, Martha, nee Stüble, who had left behind two young daughters. But in May of the following year, the Lord brought to him a pious wife and a faithful mother of the two orphans in the person of Miss Julia Löber, the oldest daughter of Pastor H. Löber and the niece of his predecessor. [44]
On the following Sunday, the 8th Sunday after Trinity, Pastor Sprengeler held his inaugural sermon on Jeremiah 1:6-8. He answered the question: “Where do I find joy in assuming my office among you?” upon the basis of the text: “1. Not in myself, but rather 2. In the Lord, my God.” How happy was the congregation to again be provided with a shepherd after such a long vacancy! And how richly has the Lord blessed his faithful work until the present day!
At the time of when he entered office, the congregation had circa 280 voting members. But because the number of the congregation members began to grow dramatically, the construction of a larger house of God was drawn into serious consideration at the congregational assembly on August 5, 1877, at the suggestion of the council, and the same assembly named a committee which would report to the following committee on the means and ways for a construction. On October 7, 1877, the committee reported “that corresponding to our circumstances 25 to 30,000 dollars could be raised.” Upon this it was resolved that the present plans should be hanged in the basement of the schoolhouse for everyone to see and a committee would be named that would gather subscriptions in the course of the month. As soon as the November assembly the committee could report about 16,735 dollars in subscriptions. Upon this it was resolved: 1. To build a new church, 2. To begin construction before 20,000 had been subscribed, and 3. That the entire construction along with the interior should cost 20 to 25,000 dollars. For this purpose a building committee was named consisteing of Wilhelm Wolläger, Jobst H. Büning, Johann Koch, Julius Bruss, Ferdinand eissfeldt, Wilhalm Harttert, Adam Kronenberger, Fredinand Buth and the trustees Johann Pritzlaff, Friedrich richter and Heinrich Starke. [45] The congregation demonstrated great joyfulness which was not even dampened by the fact that the construction was to cost a significantly greater amount. Under God’s blessing the work was begun and performed in peace and unity.
After preparations were favorably completed, the traditional laying of the cornerstone took place on the afternoon of the third Sunday after Trinity 1878 with a huge turn-out. Along with other documents, the following pieces of writing were laid in the cornerstone: the Book of Concord, the hymnal, Dietrich’s catechism, the Synodical publications Lutheraner, Lehre und Wehre, Schulblatt, along with the congregation’s constitution and a short history of the congregation written by this author. The festival address was held by Pastor Sprengeler on 1 Cor. 3:11
While construction was going on, the congregation made another important resolution on May 4, 1879. This concerned the acquisition of a new organ and this matter was handed over to a committee consisting of Gustav Wolläger, Johann Koch, Christian Diez, Teacher J. Wegner, Teach L. Wissbeck, Teacher G. Steuber, and Franz Feiling. More detailed information will be given later concerning this organ. For now, it should be mentioned that the organ used up to this point was sold to a sister congregation in Manistee, Michigan.
Then came the day of festive dedication of the new house of God. A great number of people participated on Misercordia Domini, April, 1880. After a farewell service in the old frame church on 9th street, we marched in a procession into the new church. At the invitation of the congregation, the author of this history preached in the morning on Psalm 2:11. In the afternoon, the District President, Pastor C. Strasen from Watertown preached, and in the the evening Prof. A Crull from Fort Wayne, IN., preached in English. Monday evening there was a church concert with a speech from the author. [46]
The church, a brick building with a massive foundation out of Milwaukee quarrystone towers at the corner of Prairie and 9th St. and was build under the direction of architect F. Vellguth from Milwaukee.
As the picture on the next page show, the church was built in a cruciform. The main nave measures 55×106 feet, including the 36 foot long sanctuary (altar choir) is 142 feet long; the transept is 42×47 feet on both sides. The basement has a hall with a narthex for holding congregational assemblies. The portal with both steeples faces west and the altar faces east. The smaller steeple on the Southwestern side is 128 feet high, and the height of the main steeple on the northwest side is 200 feet. Given the impression of strength and power that it makes, it rises lightly and in a slender way into the air passing from a square form into an octagonal form. Is a very accurate clock from the factory of Howard, N.Y. and under the clock is a belfry at a height of 84 feet from which three bells molded in Troy, NY., call to service with their harmonious tones in a D-minor triad. The largest bell which strikes a D weighs 6,263 pounds. Besides the name: “Deutsche Ev. Luth. Dreieinigkeitsgemeinde U.A.C.—A.D. 1880” each bell bears its own inscription in a particular language. As a testimony to the connection with the ancient Western Church, the largest bell has an inscription in Latin which following Luke 2: 14 reads: “Gloria in Excelsis Deo, et in Tera Pax, Hominibus Bonae Voluntatis” (Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth and good will toward men;” on the second-largest bell is written in the language of the congregation, the mother tongue of the Reformation, following Ps. 100:2: “Dienet dem Hernn mit Freuden, kommt vor sein Angesicht mit Frohlocken,” (Serve the Lord with joy and come before him with shouts of joy), and upon the third, [47] The new Trinity church building [48] the smallest bell, in the language of the country in which the Lutheran church had found such a glorious place of freedom, according to Ps. 150:6: “Let everything that hat breath praise the Lord.” The interior corresponds to the exterior. The altar and pulpit, carved according to the blueprints of the architect, is a piece a art. Besides that, an oil painting depicting the resurrection of Christ adorns the altar painted by F.W. Wehle, a member of the congregation at that time. To the right and left of the altar in the sanctuary are two arched windows with stained glass, each displaying two evangelists, and above the altar is a large round window with a diameter of seven feet displaying Jesus, the friend of children. This points at the same time to the beautiful baptistery in the form of a chalice which is placed at the entrance of the sanctuary. This was built and donated by A. Thiedt, a previous member of the congregation who is now a member of Immanuel. According to ecclesiastical custom and with the correct understanding—not above the altar, as is unfortunately done here and there in imitation of the English sect, but rather opposite the altar the West end of the nave is the place the from which the congregational singing is led and edified by the artful singing of a choir from the congregations midst, is located on the west end of the nave. This is the loft for the organ and the choir which is born by a few columns. The organ which is 30 feet high and 20 feet wide was built by the well-known organ builder W. Schülke, a member of the Lutheran St. Matthew congregation here in Milwaukee, for the price of 3,500 dollars. It has 34 registers alongside four combination pedals and 1,600 pipes among which are 34 front pipes in nine panels. The housing corresponds in style to the carving of the altar and pulpit. This organ is an excellent work in every respect and distinguishes itself with its gentle and melodious sound.
[49]
The total cost of the church’s construction which had been contracted under favorable circumstances came to circa 40,000 dollars. The congregation members came up with most of this at the beginning without any outside help and later completely paid off the rest. Busack supplied the masonry; Mand the carpentry; Bierfach and Niedermeyer did the shingles and the galvanized iron; Goodman did lighting and the gas piping; the chancel, altar, pews and other interior furniture were supplied by J. Bruss and W. Wolläger; the organ housing, doors, wood panels for the walls and the winders, as well as the rails for the organ choir by W. Willer; the iron work was by Jobst H. Büning—all of them from Milwaukee and most of them congregation members. The stained glass was supplied by G.A. Misch from Chicago and the frescoes by Jansen and Schubert of Chicago.
The main nave, covered with a ceiling of a gorgeous crossvault with pointed arches, has 1,000 seats. It has neither side galleries or porticoes which could break up the sound; although the northern side-arm does, for its part, compromise the sound for the middle seats and a powerful voice and a well-articulated expression is necessary to fill all the spaces.
Since the number of members increased steadily and Pr. Sprengeler had additionally been asked by the superintendents of the newly founded Progymnasium to weekly provide two hours of catechism instruction in the institution, in the assembly on December 4, 1881 the congregation called as assistant preacher candidate Carl Huth who had been called as professor at the institution. He was then ordained on the 3rd Sunday after Ephiphany 1822 by Pastor Sprengeler.
Furthermore, in the congregational assembly from June 1, 1882, the school council was commissioned to advise concerning the usefulness, vid. necessity, of the establishment of a new [50] school district in the west of the city and to report at the following assembly. The report in the March assembly was favorable. Although this matter would be taken up energetically, it was delayed until May 6, 1883. When school councilman Johann Koch informed this assembly that he had purchased piece of property on 24½ St. and Cold Spring Ave. to donate it to the congregation and when it was thereby mentioned that Wilhelm Willer had offered to supply at no cost all the doors and windows for the first floor of a frame building to be erected on this property as well as that 250 dollars had already been commited by a few congregation members for the construction, the congregation then seized upon it with cordial thanks. The congregation resolved to take up the construction of a “mission school” and elected to a construction committee Johann Koch, Carl Hilgendorf, Wilhelm Landeck, Johann Schwarz, Wilhelm Willer, Wilhelm Harttert, and Christian Widule and Teachers G. Steuber and L. Wissbeck along with Julius Grunwald as collectors. Since the gathered subscriptions came to $1000, the congregation accepted the suggestions of the building committee in the next assembly and resolved to erect a two-story school building 26 feet wide [51] and 46 feet long. For the soon to be created “fifth class,” the congregation called the teacher candidate J. Schmitt who had been recommended to them. He was then installed in his office on the 15th Sunday after Trinity 1883 by Pr. Sprengler. In the afternoon on the same day, however, the new school building was dedicated with a sermon by Pr. G. Küchle. Neverthless, the addition of this “mission school” gave rise to the thought of a new institution. The congregation handed over temporary leadership of the school to G. Steuber. Because, however, a second teacher became increasingly necessary for this “mission school”, the congregation finally called Friedrich Buuck, then teacher at Cross congregation, as teacher of upper class. He was installed on the 22nd Sunday after Trinity, 1884, by Pr. Sprengeler.
At the convention of the Wisconsin District of 1885 which was held at Trinity, Pr. Sprengeler was elected District President. Since his work was increased considerably thereby and furthermore since too much was being demanded of the assistant preacher, Prof. Huth for him to offer sufficient assistance in [52] the pastoral office, the congregation called the St. Louis candidate of theology, Wilhelm Knuf, who had been recommended as assistant preacher. He was ordained amid the congregation on the 6th Sunday after Trinity, 1886.
During this, Trinity was constantly growing. Toward the end of 1886, the number of voting members had climbed to 537. More and more the conviction took hold, that the founding of a new congregation through a branch-off should be undertaken. The congregation believed to have compelling reasons for not accepting the offer of a Mr. Johnston, who had heard about the intended branch-off, to donate four lots in the so-called Moltke Park, if the congregation would build a church on it. But when Pr. Sprengeler made the announcement on April 4, 1886, that John Pritzlaff and John Koch had purchased two lots next to the branch school on Cold Spring Ave. and were offering these to the congregation as a gift, the congregation accepted this officer with heart-felt thanks and resolved to purchase two further construction sites, in order to have enough room for a parsonage along with the church to be built next to the school. On August 8, a separate meeting of those members who lived in the vicinity and were interested in a separate congregation took place in the branch school under the chairmanship of Franz Wolläger. This meeting was able to report in the regular congregational assembly that it was the express desire of a number of members to proceed with founding such a congregation. To this goal a committee of 5 members was named to collect money for the purchase of the two recommended construction sites and 350 dollars was immediatedly subscribed by 35-40 gathered brethren. This work also flourished in peace and under God’s blessing. After Pr. Sprengeler [53] and Pr. Knuf alternated conducting service in the morning and catechesis was hald by Teacher Buuch in the afternoon, the cornerstone of a frame church after the plan of the architect Schnetzky was able to be laid and on the 12th Sunday after Trinity 1887 the completed house of God under the name Bethlehem was able to be dedicated to the service of the Triune God. This newest daughter congregation, richly endowed by its mother, then obtained in Pastor Johann Schlerf, up to then pastor in Janesville, Wisconsin, its own pastor who was installed by Pastor Sprengeler with the assistance of Pr. Carl Huth on September 30, 1888. How much this congregation has grown in a timeframe of 10-11 years is proven by the fact that the according to the Statistical Yearbook at the beginning of this year the congregation had 241 voting members and the number of school children was 303 which are instructed by three male teachers and a female teacher.
Since after two years Pastro Knuf exchanged his office as an assistant preacher for a sole pastorship in the northern Wisconsin, Prof. Huth again took up his position for the time being. Since, however, Prof. Huth later on again desired to be relieved of his office as assistant preacher, the congregation on August 4, 1889, called their former pastor, the author of this history, as its assistant preacher. Indeed, the author finally had to resign his pastoral office in Springfield, Ill., because of illness and had moved with his family in June 1887 without any hope of ever being able to serve again in the pastoral office. However, a year of complete rest had unexpectedly strengthened me, so that already in 1888 I was able to assist here and there with preaching and again mount the pulpit at Trinity. In the diploma of vocation which the congregation issued it read that “[I] was to assist the pastor of our congregation according to my ability in his office, especially in the administration of the Holy Supper.” On the 12th Sunday after Trinity 1889, [54] in the morning, the author was installed into the office of assistant preacher with a sermon by Pr. Sprengeler under the assistance of Pr. G. Kückle and Pr. O. Willkomm from Planitz, the president of the Saxon Free Church who was present here at that time. The latter held a guest sermon at the evening service. Since then it has been grantet to the author of this history to service his former, beloved congregation in the office of assistant preacher and even if because of his age he is no longer able to assist much with preachers as he could two years ago, but must rather limit himself to other assistance, he is nevertheless capable of one again mounting the pulpit should the case arise.
To conclude this chapter, two events must be remembered in retrospect. The first regards the old Trinity church, which, as already mention, was still located at 9th street at the dedication of the current church. Shortly afterward, it was dismantled, but not made to ruins, but to be rebuilt in its old form at the then northeast border of the city in “Williamsburg, and there to further serve God’s kingdom. Because of it’s firm timbers, the sister congregation there, Holy Ghost, obtained the old church for a small sum, dismantled it, and rebuilt it at the location and there it stand almost unaltered both externally and internally, including the alter and pulpit, to this day, a place for the proclamation of the pure gospel by Pastor. L. Osterhus. Trinity’s parsonage took over its place on 9th street which was moved there from 8th street.
We cannot say depart from this old house of God without pondering its historical significance for the Church which it achieved through the church gatherings held therein on account of which [55] the blessed Pastor F. Bünger used to call Milwaukee the “American Nicea.”
First of all, here belong a series of Synod conventions. Besides the epochal convention which took place directly after it was dedicated in 1851, the Northern District comprising Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota held its first convention there which was followed by conventions in the years 1858, 1865, 1870, 1873, and 1879.
Furthermore, the decisive colloquium between representatives of the Missouri and Iowa Synods took place in this church in 1867 from November 13 to 19, which was recorded via stenography and published by Pr. Beyer and is preserved for the recognition and judgment of posterity. Not only a significant number of member of our three congregations were present for the, but also besides the pastors of our Synod, pastors from the Iowa Synod, the Buffalo Synod, and the Wisconsin Synod. The differences that existed between both Synods in the doctrine chiliasm and the Anitichrist as well as in respect to the so-called open questions and the obligation to the Symbols were treated. Unfortunately, this did not result in agreement, but rather the doctrinal gulf between the two synods first became completely apparent.
With God’s blessing the colloquium held October 22, 1868 between the Wisconsin and Missouri Synod met with much better success. This colloquium was not held in the church, but in a private resident, the house of the brothers Eissfeld, but occurred in the midst of the congregation. The result was the brotherly unity of both synods that exists even to this day and through [56] which by God’s grace both synods fought shoulder to shoulder for the correct doctrine confessed in the 10th article of the Formula of Concord in the doctrinal controversy that broke out in 1878, 1880, and 1881 on election.
And finally, another, older brotherly connection should be briefly recalled, which had was first occasion in the old Trinity church. It happened in the second half of the 1850’s that a Norwegian pastor who was traveling through held a sermon for the Norwegians living here from the pulpit of the old church. This preacher was the old, but still living Pastor J. A. Ottesen, now pastor emeritus in Decorah, Iowa. This first provided the occasion for a personal exchange between Pastor Ottesen and some of his colleagues with the pastor of the church and his colleague at that time, Pastor F. Steinbach from St. Stephen. Through pronunciations on the burning questions of that time, the question of church and office and the efficacy of the sacraments, wherein a few difference at first came to light, and through the recognition of issues of the first volume of Lehre und Wehre, the theological montly of our Synod, which had already been published at that time, a closer familiarization of the Norwegian brothers with the doctrine of our Synod. When these Norwegian brothers made themselves known through a trip to St. Louis, Mo with Dr. Walther and his colleagues at Concordia Seminary, this resulted in a brotherly connection between the Norwegian Synod with ours and eventually in their participation in the establishment of the Synodical Conference. And that this intimate, brotherly relationship continues to despite the fact that that portion which remained true to the correct doctrine found it good solely in consideration of the bond of love to break off its connection to the Synodical Conference as a consequence of the rift in the Norwegian Synod that resulted from the Election Controversy, is demonstrated by a submission in issue 13 of the previous volume of the Lutheranerwhich [57] bears the title: “Among our old allies, the honorable Norwegian Synod.”
The other synodical gathering in the midst of our congregation was the gathering of the delegate synod in 1890. This was opened with a service at Trinity with a sermon from Pr. Bühler of San Francisco, Cal., and the proceedings took place at the Lincoln Hall which was rented by the congregation.
[58]
Chapter V
Various Conflicts Within and Without.
“Every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.” Neh. 4:17
As with its inception, the growth of the congregation did not proceed without conflict. The first two decades were especially marked as a time of confict, often by very upsetting conflicts both without and withing.
First there was the drawn-out conflict with the Buffolo Synod which arose just as our Synod was coming into existence with the acceptance of our congregations and which placed our congregation on the frontlines. This conflict was most heated when the second synodical report from Buffola just after the author entered office in June 1850 (the first appeared in 1845). In this report, mien like Professors Walther and Loeber were called “deliberately false teachers and public sinners” whom “one should avoid according to God’s Word.” The entire Synod of Missouri was called an “Ahab’s Synod” and a “Synod of Abomination” etc. and the title page of the synodical report referred to President Walther along with Loeber as “guardians of mobs” [Rottenbeschuetzer]; likewise the Missouri congregations in Milwaukee, Freistadt, Kirchkeyn, and Buffalow were called abominable “mob congregations” [Rottengemeinden] and their pastors Keyl, Lochner and Bürger [59] were not legitimate Christian preachers according to 1 Pet 4:15 and John 10:1, but rather “mob priests” and “chieftains in Satan’s service” and therefore had to recalled by our Synod and their congregations had to be returned to the Buffalo Synod.
Since misgivings toward the acceptance of these congregations and the legitimacy of their pastors’ calls had been aroused here and there within our Synod because of such attacks and as a consequence of the distortions of that synodical report, in Autumn of that year our Synod gathered in St. Louis saw itself compelled to deal once again with the matter of these congregations and pastors which had been so harshly accused and with it the matter of the Synod itself. This occurred in six sessions that were so extensive that all misgivings disappeared and the Synod became all the more convinced of the legitimacy of accepting the congregations and the legitimacy of their pastors’ calls. The Synod made a declaration to this effect. (Cf. the 4th Synodalbericht 1850, pg. 34) According to another resolution, however, both a refutation of the false doctrine expressed in the Buffalo synodical report as well as a justification of the Synod’s proceedings in accepting those who had left the Buffolo synod were published in which in particular the matter of the congregations in Milwaukee, Freistadt, and Kirchheyn was discussed. This was done in the 9th volume of the Lutheraner, the former in a serial “tabular” overview, the latter in a supplement, as well as in the Nothwehrblatt which was published by the author of this history from the middle of 1857 until the end of 1858 at the behest of the pastoral conference of St. Louis and the pastoral conference of Milwaukee. Praise God that this heated battled came to a complete and good end in the Buffalo colloquium held in 1866 which has already been mentioned. May it, therefore, not be considered superfluous when [60] a passage from the presidential address with which Pr. Fürbringer opened the first meeting of the Northern District at Trinity in 1855 is cited for the evaluation of this heated conflict. After it was pointed out that the Buffalo Synod which was so inimical toward us had so bitterly accused us in the Old World, in Saxony and namely in Prussia and Bavaria, the two motherlands of our northern colonies, it read further: “The Synod of Missouri would never have set a foot in Wisconsin’s parishes or sent a preacher to one of the congregations that had separated from the Buffalo Synod, had not the loveless, falsely placed spirit, which with blatant injustices and mistreatments demanded recognition and submission with blatant injustice, driven to us consciences which were burdened beyond measure. At the end of the 28th article of the Augsburg Confession it read: “St. Peter forbade to bishops such dominance as if they had the power to coerce churches however they wanted. It is not that we want to take from the bishops their power, but rather we ask and desire that they would not coerce consciences to sin. When they, however, will not do such and despise this request, they might consider how they will have answer to God how with their callousness they have given occasion for a separation and schism which they ought to help prevent.” Not everything that glitters is gold; not all have proceeded against their preachers in the Spirit of Christ; but it was honest, pious souls which despite all attempts toward their Synod found no protection who sighed out and sent to us! How could answer before God, had we ignored them. But as their previous pastors continued to brand them as the most abominable sinners before all the world, sp that anyone who was not aware would come to the thought that they were guilty of this or that scandal, unchastity, gluttony, etc.
After the struggle for the legitimate right of the congregation’s development and existence and for the legitimacy of their pastor’s call had been fought, a conflict over confession which had broken out in the midst of the congregation caused a good amount of distress, especially when a such a controversy soon broke out in the neighboring congregation in Freistadt.
At first private confession was used exclusively in the congregation. Along with its beautiful order of service, it had taken this practice over from the Buffalo Synod. It was, therefore, no small joy for Pastor Keyl, as well as his successor, to find this in place. Private confession was with only very few exceptions the only manner of confession before the Holy Supper, namely as this is presented in the 5th chief part of Luther’s catechism, and its great worth is witnessed not only in the writings of Luther, but also in the Confessions of the Lutheran Church in the 9th and 25th articles of the Augsburg Confession where the accusation is refuted as if private confession were to be done away with in the Lutheran Church. General Confession which is now common first gained currency at the beginning of the previous century, namely since the intrusion of rationalism.
Admittedly, the desire of a few individuals for the introduction of general confession alongside private confession was made known already in 1851 and 1852 and this was dealt with in the congregational assemblies. However, when an advisory opinion [Gutachten] requested of the Synod in 1852 in regard to the prevailing circumstances in Milwaukee came out against the admission of general [62] confession and in whose commission Pr. Fürbringer dealt orally with the congregation directly after his return from the Synod [convention], this had the result that the congregation unanimously resolved to make no changes in the matter of confession.
And so it remained for the next five years without any unrest on the side of the pastor or the congregation. There no more talk about change even though the congregation continued to grow yearly and the new members for whom private confession was a completely unknown institution, learned to practice it and by this practice grew fond of it. However, when considerably unrest arose in sister congregation in Watertown, in which private confession was likewise in exclusive use, due to the handling of private confession, and finally it was seen necessary to permit general confession, a formal proposal for the introduction of general confession was then made by a member, who meanwhile had made an small addendum that claimed that the exclusive use of private confession had compromised Christian freedom. Through various negotiations as well as through a couple special sermons, those who were mistaken at such a pretense were able to be convinced that just as little harm was done to Christian freedom through the exclusive use of private confession as through the holding to the ancient observance of Sunday as with every ancient ecclesial order which once established had proved to be salutary. Although the overwhelming majority of congregation members were steadfastly determined not to make any changes, it was feared—not without reason— that the motives of the leader of the movement and some of his friends were not impure. So it was difficult for the pastor and the congregation to continually have to hear the accusation that Christian freedom had been compromised. In addition, it happened that because of the actions of the leader and his friend, a few others began to refrain from the Holy Supper on account of their new disinclination toward private confession which had been in use for years, even though it was offered to them that they might go to Holy Supper without making confession so long as they could not be free of their disinclination, if only they would, as they had up to then, notify the pastor and would avail themselves of the general confession and absolution after the sermon for the sake of love and peace. Since the upcoming convention of the District was to be held again in the congregation, the congregation made use of the opportunity and placed two questions in a submission to the convention to which the pastor then added a third. It would require too much space to give even a brief sketch of the proceedings of the convention toward answering these question, but these can be read in the 4th report of the Northern District, pgs. 28-34. But enough, according to the answer given and justified by the convention, the congregation rejected the appeal for the introduction of general confession and did so all the more because the leader of the opposition and his friend characterized private confession and part of the papistic leaven that has to be swept out. Also during the course of the proceedings, he declared that because young people felt put off by the church due to the catechesis on Sundays [sonntägliche Christenlehre], the congregation had to duty to change this order and to allow for evening sermons on Sunday in the manner of English churches here. Finally, he along with his family separated himself from the congregation and joined the English Episcopal Church, but it also became apparent after his departure that he was a member of an order of freemasons which had long been suspected of him. Likewise, his friend-in-arms separated himself from the congregation, but remained churchless. Apart from them, no one else left the congregation.
Yet once again an appeal was made for the introduction of general confession. This happened eight years later. Those who made the proposal as well as supporters of it were not opponents of private confession, and had up to then supported private confession and were otherwise tried and true members of the congregation. They wanted the introduction of general confession only because it became more and more apparent that enemies were successfully using the exclusive use of private confession to keep newly immigrated believers from joining our congregation. The concern was expressed that given the current size of the congregation, the pastor’s time and energy would not continue to suffice for hearing confession before large communions. After a few calm proceedings, the congregation agreed on the resolution to request an advisory opinion from the theological faculty at St. Louis. When this opinion came out in favor of the introduction of general confession given the current state of affairs with the addition that private confession should be retained, the congregation resolved on April 8, 1866, to allow the introduction of general confession alongside private confession. The former took place on Sunday morning or the morning of a feast day, whereas the latter continued to be held on Saturday evening after vespers and confession address [Beichtrede]. For a number of years a large number continued predominately to avail themselves of private confession, not least of all those who had supported the introduction of general confession. Even up to the beginning of the 1880’s several members were present for private confession.
When this resolution was reached, the country had just come through the sad and frightening time of a five year-long civil war. The anxiety of that time was not lacking within the congregation. Especially relevant at that time was the question of slavery. Since the sectarian preachers at that time began to make a religious question out of a political one by misusing Scripture, e.g. John 8:36, and confused and blended spiritual and physical freedom, the Lutheraner had to testify against such dangerous errors and present the correct teaching on slavery. This took place in a series of articles. As in many places so also in our congregation objections were made against this. Although exactly this teaching on slavery had long previous been treated at the occasion of the exposition of the Pentateuch in the Wednesday services, the 10th commandment and the table of duties in catechesis and in the epistle on Jubilate Sunday and no one raised any objection, nevertheless many members now took offense at the articles in the Lutheraner and made complaints against them in the congregational assembly. At the same time another concern disturbed the congregation. A number of congregation members had joined a secret political association that had arisen at that time which had completely taken on the character of a lodge and even had religious ceremonies as more intimate knowledge of the same made doubtlessly clear. Other members had misgivings about this and rightly so. When in a congregational assembly the question was directed to the pastor whether members of a congregation did not permit the existence of a lodge in their midst could belong to this political association, and the pastor answered “no” but added: not in as much as it is a political association, but in as much as it has the character of a lodge; there arose quite a bit of unrest for some time. With God’s help the pastor succeeded at calming the storm with an advisory opinion that he wrote and the correct teaching on slavery was retained and this unrest passed over without any division or separation. Oh, the time of the Civil War was in more than one respect a dangerous time, full of temptations, for our Lutheran Christians regardless of what political party they may have belonged to.
At the beginning of 1870 the congregation once again wound up in great distress and a long-lasting period of unrest. A substantial amount of confusion arose in one of the daughter congregations due to the matter of a call and the pastor of Trinity had to intervene in his capacity as vice-president and visitor and also because he had been called upon by the district president. A small number of members of Trinity who had been led astray took offence at this and although the Synod which had met in Spring had exhaustively investigate the entire matter and had found the intervention and procedure of the vice-president to be completely correct, nevertheless those members desired to be released from his pastoral care to join one of the other congregations of the Missouri or Wisconsin Synod and, as they expressly testified when question, not because the pastor was guilty of anything in doctrine, life, or any other matter of his conduct of the office, but because in reference to that matter they had lost the necessary trust and to remain in the congregation could no longer be a blessing to them… The members wanted to turn to the next convention. So the matter remained pending until it was held in Detroit in 1871. Upon the advice of the convention, the desired release was granted.
From that point on until the departure of its pastor and thereafter, the congregation enjoyed and was built up in undisturbed peace. Admittedly, there was no lack of conflicts even under the present pastor; for how could the devil leave an orthodox congregation in peace and quiet for very long! Namely, there were cases of church discipline that even to this day cause distress and concern for the pastor and the congregation. But the time from 1850-1870 can be characterized as the main time of conflict. As much distress and sorrow, sighs and tears were brought about by all these conflicts, nevertheless they gave testimony from the ecclesiastical live and the interest in the greatest concerns and, under the hand of the Lord, they served to grow the congregation in saving knowledge rather and instead of destroying the congregation, as the wicked foe had in mind, it served to edify and strengthen the congregation. Times of conflict are better than a graveyard’s peace.
Chapter VI
Jubilee
Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. 1 Sam 7:12.
In the middle of the times of conflict and then later in the time of peace the congregation celebrated a series of jubilee festivals of various types both general and special.
1. First the general jubilees, ie. those jubilees which were for the most part jubilees of the Lutheran church or which they celebrated in part together with the congregations of the Synodical Conference.
The first of these jubilees was the memorial of the Peace of Augburg which the congregation celebrated in 1855 with the entire Synod and in connection with St. Stephen. On the morning of September 25, a festival service took place in both churches. The text of the sermon at Trinity was Psalm 147:12-15. In the afternoon service at St. John which likewise held a festival, Pastor Dulitz preached on Rev. 3:7-13. On Sept. 26 another festival service took place at Trinity in which Pastor Fleischmann from St. Stephen preached on acts 9:31. The afternoon was set aside for a common celebration in the open air during which the school youth were especially considered. There a group of grown students from our private school teacher seminary including Bodemer, Deffner, Schönfeld,as well as Teacher Dreyer and Pastor Ruff and Th. Eissfeld gave a performance of a conversation between Romans, Augsburgers, Wittenbergers, Wartburgers and a poet that had been composed by Pr. Fleishmann which was received with general applause. Also, the pastor of Trinity handed out to all the school children a festival booklet composed by G. Schaller for school children along with a memorial coin and gave a speech in reference to this.
The next jubilee festival was the 450 year celebration of the Reformaiton in 1867 which was celebrated by Trinity together with both daughter congregations St. Stephen and Immanuel. Following the example of the congregation in St. Louis, it was decided to not only celebrated a festival service but also to hold a great festival procession of the three congregations and their students on the afternoon of October 31. Everything had been prepared for this procession, when unfavorable weather came upon us on October 30, as it snowed and rained into the night. When it was considered during a meeting that evening whether the procession should be cancelled due to the weather, the decision had finally been reached: “We will process nevertheless!” And look, when dawn broke on October 32, the sky was clear and fair and the sun shined so warm and lovely until sunset like on a spring day, and the hearts of all those celebrating were full of joy and thanks. The morning of October 31 festival service were held in the three churches. The text for the sermon at Trinity was Acts 26:22,23. Around two o’clock in the afternoon, Immanuel on the North Side set the procession into motion. Each congregation had a band at the front and aside from the school children most of the men and women members of each congregation marched two-by-two. Each participant was decorated with a memorial coin minted for the entire Synod and by its commission which was worn by young and old during both days of the festival. As the procession drew past Trinity, Luther’s hymn “A Mighty Fortress” was sung with the accompaniment of instruments. The procession was so long that as the front end crossed the Menominee bridge, part of the procession was still passing by Trinity. When the last of the procession reached St. Stephan on the South Side, the entire crowd before dispersing sang the song of praise “Now Thank We All Our God” to the accompaniment of three bands.
On the following day, Nov. 1, there was a common divine service at Trinity in the morning with a sermon and communion which a large number of members from the three congregations participated in along with the pastors. The conclusion of the [71] entire festivity was a children’s service held that evening at Trinity for which the pastor had composed a dialogue of the teachers with the children and in which he explained to them in a speech the memorial coin they had received at the beginning of the festival.
Likewise at the end of May 1877 the Synod and therefore our congregation celebrated the tricentennial of the Formula of Concord and on June 25, 1880, a double jubilee: the 450 year jubilee of the Augsbug Confession and the tricentennial of the entire Book of Concord.
Then followed three jubilee festivals the Missouri and Wisconsin Synod congregations of Milwaukee in a common divine service in the large exhibition building. The first was the Luther jubilee or the memorial of the Luther’s 400th birthday in November 1883. Pastor Th. Jäckel held the sermon on Rom 3:28 about the church of grace. (Translators note: “the church of grace,” the church triumphant, the church before Christ’s return, is meant over against the “church of glory,” the church triumphant, the church in the resurrection.)
The second was the quadracentennial of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus which the United States celebrated in 1892. Here and elsewhere church celebrations were organized because it has come to light that God, the Lord, had provided this land so that the Church would enjoy complete freedom in it and that under the blessing of the freedom of conscience through the constitutional separation of church and state the old Lutheran church would gloriously bloom at the evening of the world. Pastor Sprengeler, chosen as the festival preacher, had the text: Malachi 1:11. The theme and outline of this sermon were: The great significance of the discovery of America for the church of Christ. It is namely 1. This large portion of earth which was buried in the darkness of paganism was again opened to church of Christ and 2. as a consequence of this the pure gospel had found a refuge so that the church of the Reformation could bloom again. After this sermon, Pastor Bendler from St. Matthew held a speech. The Te deum laudamus rang out powerfully which was sung antiphonally with musical accompaniment by crowd of a couple thousand people.
The third was the 50th anniversary of Milwaukee’s incorporation as a city which took place in 1895. On Sunday afternoon, Nov. 3, at the belatedly organized church celebration, Pastor Bading from St. John preached in German on Acts 18:9,10 and Pastor Sieck from the English Lutheran Mount Olive preached in English on Psalm 144:15. The singing of a hymn of praise with three stanzas by a mass choir with over 1,500 school children to the accompaniment of brass instruments was gripping.
2. The special jubilees were held in honor of the ministries of both pastors and four of the teachers as well as the 25th year of the male choir.
On the 9th Sunday after Trinity, August 14, 1870, the author celebrated his 25th year in the office of the ministry. He himself held the sermon on Ps. 116. To this was added his 25th anniversary in this congregation which was held on the 5th Sunday after Trinity, June 27, 1875, with a sermon on the Gospel of the day, Peter’s catch of fish.
Within a time frame of 15 years there followed the 25th anniversaries of four teachers. Three of these were observed with a short celebration in the morning in the class of the jubilarian and in the evening in a gathering place in the presence of congregation members and members of the teachers’ conference with speech from Pastor Sprengeler, the presenting of gifts, singing, and a small meal.
The series of the jubilees began in 1880 with Teacher Christian Weigle. Born in Marchbach, Würtemberg, June 22, 1827, and educated as a teacher at the mission seminary in Basel and then at the Würtemberg teacher’s seminary in Lichtenstein, he emigrated in 1855 and became a teacher in Pastor Mühlhäuser’s school at Grace congregation here in Milwaukee. Afterwards he served from 1858-1861 at St. Stephen, until 1863 at the congregation in Addison, Ill., and from then until 1866 at Immanuel in Chicago. However, because of a throat ailment he had to resign his office. Having recovered after two year, he took over the third class at our congregaton on Oct. 3, 1869. On June 23, 1883, he observed his 25th anniversary in office which was celebrated in his dwelling with the participation of the teachers’ and pastors’ conference. When the branch school erected on the northwestern side was given over to the teacher of the fourth class, Weigle took over is position in which he remained until his death on August 5, 1890.
Teacher Georg Steuber, born in Braunskirchen, Hessendarmstadt and educated at our Synod’s teachers’ seminary, at that time in Fort Wayne, IN., in October 1864 followed the call of our congregation to teach the underclass after he had already worked four years at the school of the congregation in Carondelet, now South St. Louis, MO. On October 7, 1885, he observed his office jubilee. When a branch school was afterward established at Coldspring ave. and what is now 24½ St., the congregation handed its leadership over to him. This school was soon expanded to two classes through the calling of Teacher C.F. Buuck. After Bethlehem branched off, he later moved to Detroit, Michigan where he took over a class at Pastor Moll’s school. When he later returned to Milwaukee, he worked with blessing and great skill as an agent of the Lutheran “Kinderfreundgesellschaft.”
Teacher Johannes Wegner, who taught the middle class from Sept. 30, 1866 and since Sept. 3, 1871 the upper class, observed his jubilee in April 1889. Born March 11, 1846 in Altona, Schleswig-Holstein, at 5 years of age he emigrated to America with his parent and settled in Chester, Ill. Educated form 1860-1864 at the teachers’ seminary in Fort Wayne, he became a teacher at Immanuel in Chicago and a year later at Pastor Löber’s congregation in Coooper’s Grove, IL, now Homewood. Two years later he followed the call of our congregation. Almost right after his call, Teacher Wegner has served as director of our congregation’s mixed choir.
The fourth jubilarian among the teachers of the congregation to be acknowledged is Ludwig Wissbeck, born in Vach, Bavaria, Oct. 12, 1851. At four years old, his parents emigrated and settled in Monroe, Michigan, where he enjoyed the school instruction of Simon, now a seminary professor, and the confirmation instruction of the blessed Pastor Hattstädt. He was educated as a teacher at the seminary in Addison and was installed by Pastor Reinsch on June 19, 1870 as teacher of Immanuel here in Milwaukee. In 1872 he followed a call to New Orleans where he first served the school at St. Paul and from 1874 the school at Zion. Since Nov. 19, 1876 he has led the second class our congregation’s school. On June 19, 1895, he observed his jubilee.
A year earlier Teacher Missbeck together with the congregations men’s choir “Gemütlichkeit” whose director he has been for many years, observed the 25th anniversary of this singing group. This consisted of a concert held April 8, 1894, to the mixed choir under the direction of Teacher Wegner and music Teacher Dietz as organist. The author held the festival speech. Added to the church celebration was a social celebration that evening at the neighboring hall.
Already 8 weeks after the last teacher jubilee followed the double jubilee of both pastors—the 50th year anniversary of this author, the previous pastor [Seelsorger] and current pastor adjunctus and the 25th anniversary of the present pastor, H. Sprengeler. Since the jubilee of the former fell on August 10 and that of the latter on August 21, the congregation decided to observe both together in an evening service on Sunday, August 25, in order to give the Lutheran pastors of the city and the vicinity the opportunity to participate in the celebration. Because such a double festivity rarely occurs, the congregation insisted on a properly solemn occasion. After the council in the name of the congregation had congratulated both jubilarians in the parsonage, where a significant jubilee gift of gold and silver was presented, the council accompanied them in the church which was overflowing and tastefully decorated. Here a divine service that was musically and liturgically rich took place in which Pastor. H.H. Succop, at that time president of the Illinois District, who had been invited by the festival committee, held the festival sermon. Preaching on Psalm 103:1-3, he treated the good reason for the jubilee celebration: 1 the good reason for the congregation to put on such a celebration and 2. the good reason for the dear jubiliarians to be pleased with such a celebration. Besides this, both jubiliarians were congratulated and given gifts by the women’s association and deputies of the youth association and at a celebration on Tuesday evening in the school hall by both singing groups, the mixed choir and the men’s choir where the then president of the men’s choir, W. Wolläger, held a speech.
For the time being, the 50-year anniversary of our Synod and the 50 year anniversary of our congregation make up the conclusion of the jubilees. Both belong to the present year and stand in a special relationship to one another, since it was at the first Synod convention in 1847—as was depicted in the first chapter—tht the congregation was recognized as legitimate and after a few months Pastor Keyl became the first pastor.
The first preparation for these festivities were already made in the second half of the previous year. This began with the undertaking to renovate the interior of the church. Since painting the interior had become a necessity in the course of time, the congregation did not want to delay this work until the anniversary since it would likely require a couple months. The decorative painting was performed by the firm Peter Peterson and Sons who belonged to the congregation and was done tastefully, avoiding anything bright, and to satisfaction. Likewise the altar was raised up a level, the altar choir, the space in front of the altar next to the middle aise was furnished with a new carpet by the women’s association, all the panels were newly furnished, electric lighting was installed alongside the existing gas lighting. It was undertaken to acquire an electric motor for the organ as well as a cleaning of the organ by its builder W. Schülke and to install a new console with pneumatic piping. Apart from what the women’s association had collected for this purpose, the entire costs ran 4,205 dollars.
During the renovation, the congregation for a time held its services in the evening at St. John, which was amicably offered to the congregation for this use and for which we here want to express our thanks to St. John and its pastor. Since it was preferable that the congregation could gather for service in the morning rather than the evening, service was held in the basement of the church for the last few Sundays. On November 1, the congregation could with thanks and joy move into the renovated house of God. At the morning service, the congregation observed Reformation Day, and that evening a special service was held in respect to the renovation of the interior in which the author preached on the words of Psalm 45:14: “The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.” The choirs and the altar which was tastefully decorated with flowers and place enhanced the festiveness.
On Jubilate Sunday, May 9 of that hear, our congregation together with the entire Synod observed the Synod’s golden anniversary. The celebration took place in the following way. In the morning, Pastor Sprengeler preached on Ps. 126:3 and showed what great things the Lord had done in these 50 years for our dear Missouri Synod, and in the afternoon there was a children’s service with catechesis by Teacher Wegner and a speech from Pastor Sprengeler along with lovely antiphonal singing between the children’s choir and the congregation.
Those who worked as teachers of the congregation school: August Lemke, Christian Diez, Franz Bodemer, Franz Härtel, Gottfried Dreyer, Friedrich Hoppe, Christian Weigle, Wilhelm Hoffmann, Georg Steuber, Gustav Scholz, as well as widow Jesephine Gosch. Those photographs which could be obtained are inserted here.
Conclusion
In Psalm 70, verses 2-11, Assaph sings:
I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.
Mindful of the words of this Psalm, the 50-year history of our congregation has been portrayed in the most possibly faithful manner.
May this account above all serve that we—and especially our children and posterity, might catch sight of an entirely unique memorial of divine grace and mercy. To Him, the Lord, alone and to his free, undeserved grace, be the glory. Yes, to his free and underserved grace; for if he had wanted to deal with us according to merit, he would have had to remove from us his pure word and sacrament a long time ago. That we still have it is a miracle before our eyes!
May this account, however, in accord with the above words of the psalm continuously admonish us to guard ourselves from false security and ingratitude so that the Lord might night be compelled in the end to take from us that which out of pure grace he has not only given to us but has extended to us for far over a generation.
O Lord, grant by your Holy Spirit, that we might keep what we have and let us at last participate in the eternal jubilee year. Amen!
[1] When the opposition to the Hirtenbrief increased in Wisconsin, Pastor Grabau reached out to the Saxon pastors in Missouri, Walther, Löber, Keyl, and Gruber, to give their assessment of the letter. When, however, these pastors openly, yet in a peaceful and modest way, expressed to him their misgivings toward the papististic and hierarchical principles that he had laid out in the letter, Pastor Graubau in a written rejoinder treated them as nothing other than false teachers and demanded them to recant their supposed heresies (cf. Lutheraner vol. III, pgs. 35,36). Thus it came to a conflict between Grabau and his like-minded bothers in the office and those Saxon pastors, and after a few years to a drawn-out, heated battled between the synods of Buffalo and Missouri, in which, however, the pure doctrine of the Church and the office of the ministry advocated by the Missouri pastors was victorious.
[2] Krause was pastor of a small group of Silesian Lutherans who had found a temporary home in Buffalo already before the arrival Pr. Grabau. After a short time in office, just as Pr. Grabau arrived in New York with his cohort of emigrants, Krause abandoned his congregation by night and fog and under inane pretenses hurried back to Germany. When he didn’t find his hoped-for accommodation there, he sent a letter of repentance to Pr. Graubau upon which Grabau made possible his return to America and recommended his calling to those in Freistadt and Milwaukee.
[3] See …As well as the justification for the condition of accptiance in the first report of the Northern District 1855, pgs. 22,23.
[4] The small organ was sold for 35 dollars to St. John’s in Cedarburg and later as this new organ gave place to the current large organ, it found its way to Manistee, Michigan.
Brosamlein 