United Evangelical Lutheran Church
Encyclopedia
| The United Church | |
|---|---|
| Official Title: | The United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church (1896-1946) The United Evangelical Lutheran Church (1946-1960) |
| Founding: | 1896 in Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States... , by a merger between the North Church and the Blair Church |
| Successor church bodies: | American Lutheran Church American Lutheran Church The American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher... (1960-1988) Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them... (1988-present) |
The United Evangelical Lutheran Church (commonly known as the United Church) was one of the many denominations formed when Lutherans came to the United States from Europe. Originally known as the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, the United Church merged with other Lutheran groups to form the American Lutheran Church
American Lutheran Church
The American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher...
in 1960.
History
The Danish Evangelical Lutheran Association in America (or Blair Church) was formed in 1884 by a group of Danish members who left the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of AmericaConference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America usually called the Conference was a Lutheran church body that existed in the United States from 1870 to 1890, when it merged into the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America....
. Many of Blair Church pastors were supportive of the Inner Mission
The Church Association for the Inner Mission in Denmark
The Churchly Association for the Inner Mission in Denmark , or in short Inner Mission is a conservative Lutheran Christian organisation in Denmark. It is the largest revival movement within the Danish National Church. Despite its name, people do not belong to the Inner Mission as members separate...
. The Blair Church was based in Blair, Nebraska
Blair, Nebraska
Blair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2000 census. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
.
The Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America (or North Church) was formed in 1894 when seminary president Kristian Anker
Kristian Anker
Kristian Anker was a Lutheran minister who served as the first president of the combined Trinity Seminary and Dana College.-Background:...
and professor Peter Sørensen Vig
Peter Sørensen Vig
Peter Sørensen Vig , commonly known as P. S. Vig, was a Danish American pastor, educator, and historian in the Lutheran church...
, along with a number of pastor and congregations, left the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over theological differences. These two churches merged in 1896 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
to form the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church (in addition to being known as the United Church, this new church continued to be referred to as the "Blair Church").
The United Church quickly formed a system of education, centered in Blair, Nebraska. The center-piece was Trinity Seminary, an institution designed for the training of pastors. Trinity was supported by the Dana School
Dana College
Dana College is a now defunct baccalaureate college located in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre campus is approximately 25 miles northwest of Omaha, and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley....
. The Dana School was originally intended to provide future pastors with a pre-seminary education, and others in the community with a secondary education. The school, eventually became a two-year college, and then a four-year college, now known as Dana College
Dana College
Dana College is a now defunct baccalaureate college located in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre campus is approximately 25 miles northwest of Omaha, and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley....
.
In 1946, as the second and third generation of Danes in America started to merge into the American culture, the word "Danish" was dropped from the official name of the church. In 1960, the United Church merged with churches that were ethnically German and Norwegian to form the American Lutheran Church
American Lutheran Church
The American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher...
. At the time of the merger, there were 73,000 baptized members of the United Church in 182 congregations. In 1988, the American Lutheran Church became a part of the largest Lutheran denomination in America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
. As a result of the merger, Trinity Seminary closed its doors, becoming a part of Wartburg Theological Seminary
Wartburg Theological Seminary
Wartburg Theological Seminary is a Lutheran seminary located in Dubuque, Iowa. It offers three graduate-level degrees , a TEEM Certificate, and a Diploma in Anglican Studies, all of which are accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and the Higher Learning Commission of the...
. Dana College
Dana College
Dana College is a now defunct baccalaureate college located in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre campus is approximately 25 miles northwest of Omaha, and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley....
in Blair continued to be a college of the ELCA until its closure in 2010.
Theology
In the 19th century, the Lutherans in Denmark were divided into three different camps. Many in the church followed the ideas of the theologian and hymn writer N.F.S. Grundvig. Another group, known as Inner MissionThe Church Association for the Inner Mission in Denmark
The Churchly Association for the Inner Mission in Denmark , or in short Inner Mission is a conservative Lutheran Christian organisation in Denmark. It is the largest revival movement within the Danish National Church. Despite its name, people do not belong to the Inner Mission as members separate...
, was strongly influenced by European Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
. This group was so opposed to the ideas of Grundtvig that they were often referred to as the "Anti-Grundtvigians." Finally, a third group known as the Centerists attempted to keep the church together by incorporating ideas from both groups.
The United Church fell firmly in the Inner Mission or Anti-Grundvigian camp. There was a strong emphasis on personal holiness in the United Church, and not much talk about the sacraments. This emphasis led to the United Church being known as the "sad Danes" or "holy Danes." While other Danish Lutherans in America tended to prefer pastors and leaders trained in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, the United Church more quickly moved toward pastors trained in America in order to avoid the influence of Grundtvigian theology.
Presidents of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church
- G. B. ChristiansenGottlieb Bender ChristiansenGottlieb Bender Christiansen was an American Lutheran Minister who served as President at Trinity Seminary in Blair, Nebraska and was the first president of the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church.-Background:...
(1896-1921) - M. N. Andreasen (1921–1925)
- N. C. Carlsen (1925–1950)
- Hans C. Jersild (1950–1956)
- William Larsen (1956–1960)
Further reading
- Jensen, John M. The United Evangelical Lutheran Church: An Interpretation. (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1964)
- Nyholm, Paul C. The Americanization of the Danish Lutheran Churches in America: A Study in Immigrant History. (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1963)
- Todd W. Nichol All These Lutherans (Minneapolis: Augburg Publishing House, 1986)