St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne (An Eastern Lutheran Perspective)

DEAR BR. KURTZ:—I would respectfully beg leave to present, through the columns of the Observer, a few facts to its numerous readers relative to our church—its present policy and position. During my recent journey with my family from Pennsylvania to Illinois, I had occasion to pass through Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the institution of the hyper-orthodox Missourians is located. It so happened that we spent the Lord's day in that vicinity. On Sabbath morning, I made my way to the city with a view to seek out the English Lutheran church. On my arrival in town, the bells were already chiming, and the streets were lined with the church-going community. I inquired of a number of persons whom I met, and was variously directed—some pointed me to the German Lutheran church, others again, pointed me to the French Catholic church. After roaming the streets for about half an hour in fruitless attempts to find the English church, I concluded to go to the German church. And here allow me to give a brief statement of matters and things I there beheld. The edifice is a large and commodious building, with galleries, and was filled with worshippers in every nook and corner. The church is surmounted by a cross. The first thing that attracted my attention on entering, was the gilt crucifix with a gilt image of Christ suspended upon it, erected in front of the pulpit [Actually, on the altar before the reredos; in many Eastern Lutheran churches, the pulpit stood behind the altar—hence this mistake]; on either side was an angel, and in addition to this, a candlestick with a candle in each, resembling wax. The minister who officiated on the occasion was, as I learned afterwards, a theological student; (the regular pastor being absent) his habit consisted of a black gown with what might perhaps be termed a white cravat—after the Episcopal style. He introduced the exercises by turning and bowing to the image and offering up a short invocation; then turning round, he read the gospel of the day; turning again to the image and bowing before it, he offered up the first prayer; he then, while the congregation was singing, retired into a small apartment adjoining the altar and pulpit, (probably the confessional [but actually the sacristy].) In a short time he again appeared at the altar, read the epistle of the day, then again retreated into the aforementioned apartment whilst the congregation sung a few verses; he then ascended the pulpit and delivered a short harangue on religious intolerance. At the close of the discourse he offered up the Lord's prayer, during which some person near the door tolled the bell, and whilst the congregation again sung, he descended from the pulpit and disappeared in the closet, and at the close of the hymn, once more appeared before the crucifix and the image, with his back to the congregation in an attitude of prayer. On beholding these things, it occurred to me that I must after all have entered a Catholic church. I tried by some means to get a glance at the title page of their hymn book, and at last I succeeded in getting my eyes on the title on the back of one of the books, which convinced me beyond a doubt that it was indeed a Lutheran congregation, at least by profession.

And now, dear Doctor, what think you of such papal mummeries and idolatries? And what think you of the fact, that by general consent and our present policy, we recognize these idolators as an integral part of the Lutheran church? yes, brethren in the faith? Look for example at our Lutheran Almanac; there, their institution is enumerated with Lutheran institutions, and their ministers' names are registered in our clerical list.

"These things ought not so to be." I therefore would take the liberty to offer the following preamble and resolution, to wit:—

Whereas God saith, and our symbols teach "thou shalt have no other gods before me, thou shalt not make unto thee any graven imagine, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them; and whereas, Paul teacheth, "What agreement hath the temple of God with Idols? Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing."—Therefore,

Resolved, That unless these Missourians repent of their sins and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, (i.e. destroy their idols,) we will no longer own them as brethren of that faith once delivered to the saints....

E. FAIR.
Lena, Ills., Jan. 15, 1857.

From the Lutheran Observer, February 13, 1857, p. 1, col. 6-7. The foregoing was also reprinted in the Fort Wayne Weekly Times, April 23, 1857, p. 2, col. 5, under the title "Sihlerites Read!" and with the following introduction: "The present easy affiliation between the Sihlerites  under office seeker Piepenbrink, and the papist may be seen in the following description of the idolatrous mummeries practised at the Dutch Lutheran church in this city under priest Sihler." N.b. Wilhelm Sihler was the pastor of St. Paul's German Ev. Lutheran Church, the church discussed in this article.

The German Protestant Churches of Fort Wayne

This post is a follow-up of yesterday's post, "The German Citizenry of Fort Wayne." While yesterday's vitriol-filled post gave the Know-Nothing approach to German immigrants and their families, today's post will give a rather more favorable perspective. It was penned by the thoroughly neutral, unbiased pastor of a German Lutheran church in Fort Wayne.

"Judging from the membership of its German Protestant [and Roman Catholic] churches a large percentage of the population of Fort Wayne consists of German-speaking people; a large percentage of these Germans are Protestants, and a large percentage of these Protestants are churchly people. The large quota of good, law-abiding loyal citizens, many of them prominent in political, social and business circles, which these German Protestant churches have contributed to the population of Fort Wayne, proves that they have had no small share in making Fort Wayne the thriving, prosperous city which it is at present. Their church buildings are among the finest in the city; their school houses, parsonages, cemeteries, etc., are in keeping with the city's thrift and progress.

"There are three Protestant denominations represented among the German churches of this city: the Lutheran, the Reformed and the Evangelical Association. Of these the Lutherans are the oldest and by far the strongest in number, while all are comparatively strong, flourishing organizations, as is attested by their large membership and valuable church property. It is significant, however, that all these German denominations have found it expedient to use the English language more or less, and there may be some truth in the prediction that, sooner or later, the English will predominate in our German churches, and perhaps even supersede the German entirely. This is not considered a dire calamity by any of these German churches, as far as we know, for all are meeting the demand for English as fast as it presents itself. Besides, it requires an extra expense of money and labor to keep up the German. But these churches are German by necessity, and the necessity will continue as long as German immigrants come to our shores and settle in Fort Wayne. Shall German immigration cease? No man who knows what these very German have already contributed to the prosperity of our city can ever harbor such a wish. In the name of his fathers and grandfathers, who today are some of the most well-to-do, honored and influential citizens of our city, let the sturdy, honest, hardworking, thrifty German be welcomed in Fort Wayne, and let us bid God-speed to the churches that take care of his spiritual interests."

Dannecker, Henry P. (Pastor of St. John's Ev. Lutheran Church), "The German Protestant Churches of Fort Wayne" in The Fort Wayne Year Book for 1906. Fort Wayne: The Fort Wayne Commercial Club, 1906.

The German Citizenry of Fort Wayne

German immigration to the United States reached its peak in the mid- to late-19th century. During this time, many American-born, English-speaking citizens developed a deep resentment towards their "Dutch" neighbors, much in the same way that they came to despise the Irish (though not usually to the same degree, at least not until the onset of World War I). The following quote demonstrates some of this Germanophobia as it manifested itself in Fort Wayne, Ind.

"On Saturday night last, according to previous Dutch [German] [St. Mary's] Catholic and Sihler [St. Paul's] Lutheran notice, the faithful met at the Buzzard Roost, to nominate a candidate for Mayor, Marshal, Clerk, Treasurer, &c., and before the hour of eight, such a promiscuous crowd of lame, halt, blind, crop-eared, slit-nosed, gorbellied, blisterfaced, scurvey teethed, fetid-breathed, brandy budded, leprous, syphalitic, adulterous, lewd, perjured, murderous, Jesuitical crowd, any ten of whom would not make the ninth part of a man, never before were congregated this side of the Papist's Purgatory. The air was so impure that animal life seemed to begin to die in it, and the very tapers, that were intended to open up to view the unparalled mass of vice and filth there convened, burned dim, by reason of surrounding impurity. But we must proceed...."

John Dawson, ed. "Lager Beerjam.—Design on Free Schools," Fort Wayne Weekly Times, April 23, 1857, p. 2, col. 3-4.

Decision Theology in the Service Prayer Book

The following pictures are from the WWII Service Prayer Book, authorized by the Army and Navy Commission of the LCMS. See if you can spot the bad theology.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne, IN

The following pictures show some of the many changes, renovations, and alterations which have occurred in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne, IN, over the past 155 years. Built in 1859-1860 as St. Augustine's parish, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is the oldest building in continuous operation in Fort Wayne and is also the city's oldest religious structure. Although this does not fall under "Lutheran history," it may still prove of interest to any who stumble across this blog. All photos except the last two are courtesy of the Allen County Public Library.

Late 1800s

After 1924. Note the higher reredos which obscured much of the main stained glass window.

Pre-Vatican II

Post-Vatican II

The Cathedral altar today (post-1999). Note that the center section of the reredos was lowered, showing more (but still not all) of the window behind it. Note also the installation of choir stalls. Image from Cathedral website

The Cathedral today (post-1999). The old altar railing was removed and partially reused in the ambo and baptismal font. Image from Cathedral website

The Future of Old Lutheranism (from S.S.S.'s perspective)

The following excerpt was written by the Rev. Dr. S. S. Schmucker, the foremost proponent of "American Lutheranism" in the mid-19th century. In it, he predicted the imminent demise of the "Old Lutherans," that is, those who maintained the historical Lutheran (and Christian) doctrines/practices of the Real Presence, private confession and absolution, etc:

"If our old Lutheran brethren are willing to regard their peculiarities [such as baptismal regeneration, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and the ability of ordained ministers to pronounce Absolution] as non-essential, and live in peace with us, they are welcome to take part with us in our ministry and ecclesiastical organizations; but if they cannot refrain from either regarding or denouncing us [the so-called American Lutherans] as dishonest, and pseudo Lutherans, and perjured, because we do not believe every thing contained in confessions which we never adopted, and because we will not adopt books as symbolical, which contain numerous error and Romish superstitions; for ourselves, whilst we wish them well as individuals, we desire no ecclesiastical communion with them, either in our Synods, or General Synod; and believe it will be for the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ, that they should be associated with those who share their intolerance and bigotry. In less than twenty years they will themselves see their error, and change their position, and their children will be worthy members of our American Lutheran Church."

Quoted from Samuel Simon Schmucker, The American Lutheran Church: Historically, Doctrinally, and Practically Delineated, in Several Occasional Discourses (Springfield: D. Harbaugh, 1851), pp. 245-246

In reality, of course, the picture was far different. Already at the time this book was published, confessional Lutheranism began to experience a revival within the "American Lutheran" General Synod (Schmucker's church body). In 1866, fifteen years after the publication of this book, a number of Lutheran synods left the General Synod to form the more confessional General Council. Furthermore, in 1870, a group of very strongly confessional Lutheran synods joined together in the Synodical Conference, which claimed more Lutheran members than either the General Synod or the General Council. By the early 20th century, Schmucker's dream of an American Lutheran Church which would be free from "Romish superstitions" was all but dead. The Old Lutherans had triumphed.