The Lutherans of New York Part 6

The pastors of these incipient congregations were men of vision who had been attracted to the work in New York by its difficulty and its opportunity. They came from different seminaries and synodical a.s.sociations and they had to minister to congregations in which all varieties of the older churches were represented. But they soon learned to cooperate with one another in measures looking to the larger interests of the entire field. Team work became possible. A stimulus was given to the work such as had never before been felt in the Lutheran churches of New York.

A Ministers' a.s.sociation, to which all Lutheran pastors of the Metropolitan District, are eligible, was organized in 1904. Its monthly meetings brought about a mutual understanding and fostered a fraternal spirit that have been of great value in the promotion of the general work of the church.

The synod of New York and New England, composed of the English churches of the New York Ministerium was organized in 1902. It found its special mission in planting and rearing English missions in the new sections of the greater city. It has added nine English churches to the roll.

The Synod of New York, a merger of the New York and New Jersey, the Hartwick and the Franckean synods also devoted itself to the special task of caring for the English speaking young people. Under its auspices thirteen new churches have been organized. To the indefatigable labors of its Superintendent of Missions, Dr. Carl Zinssmeister, much credit is due for the success of the work.

The Synod of Missouri, although largely a German body, rivals the other synods in its fostering care of the English work. At least thirteen English congregations in this city have been organized by "Missouri"

since the beginning of this century.

The relation of the various boroughs to the growth of the church may be seen from the following figures in which the number of communicants in 1918 is compared with that of 1898.

Boroughs 1898 1918 Increase Manhattan 21,611 15,928 5,683*

Bronx 2,048 5,932 3,884 Brooklyn 17,405 28,270 10,865 Queens 1,671 7,139 5,468 Richmond 956 1,948 992 43,691 59,217 15,526 *Decrease

The starred figures for Manhattan call attention to the change of population that has taken place in New York, particularly as it affects Manhattan. While the total increase of population in New York from 1910 to 1915 was 667,928 there was a decrease in Manhattan of 193,795.

This decrease in numbers, and still more the subst.i.tution of Catholic and Jewish peoples to an unprecedented extent for those of Protestant antecedents, produced a marked change in the membership of Protestant churches. The decline in Protestant membership in Manhattan from 1900 to 1910, according to Dr. Laidlaw, amounted to 74,012.

It is not surprising therefore that the Lutheran churches were called upon to bear their share of the loss. As we have seen, it amounted in two decades to 5,623 [sic]. Most of this deficit, 4,042, is chargeable to the churches south of Fourteenth Street, where Protestants of all denominations fail to hold their own. The balance, 1,837, came from other churches south of Forty-second Street.

Three churches were added during the past twenty years, Our Saviour (English) in 1898, Holy Trinity (Slovak) in 1904 and a mission of the Missouri Synod in 1916 in the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood, the most northern point thus far occupied by us on Manhattan.

For three churches gained there is an offset of four churches lost: Bethlehem in East Sixty-fifth Street, Christ Church in West Fiftieth Street, Immanuel in East Eighty-third Street and the Danish church in Yorkville. The Danish church removed to Bronx while the others effected mergers with sister congregations.

The present indications are that we have come to a standstill on Manhattan Island and that it is no longer a question of how many churches we shall build, but how many we shall lose.

Our a.s.sets at present may be described as follows: We have thirty congregations, twenty-six of them owning their houses of worship. The net value of their property, deducting debts, is $3,160,000. The average value of each church is $100,000. Besides the thirty organized congregations there are seven missions in which services are maintained in the following languages: Finnish, Lettish, Esthonian, Polish, Italian and Yiddish.

The number of communicants is 15,978. The number of pupils in the Sunday Schools is 7,245. The number of children in eight parochial schools is 669. The number attending instruction in religion on weekdays, including catechumens, is 1,580.

But although our churches in Manhattan are declining in numbers while those of the other boroughs are growing, Manhattan still holds the key to the city. For generations it will be the community in which the most serious problems of church and society will have to be studied and solved. Manhattan has strategical value not merely for Greater New York but for every city in the land where similar problems must be solved.

If our churches run away from such a field, we shall never gain a victory else where. If we win here, we shall be ent.i.tled to a place in the legion of honor.

Four higher schools connected with the churches of New York have endeared themselves to the hearts of their friends and are giving promise of growing usefulness.

Concordia College originated in St. Matthew's Academy, in 1881. After years of struggle and sacrifice it was moved to Bronxville in 1908, where it occupies a valuable property. It has 110 students.

Wagner College was called into being in 1883 in Rochester. It belongs to the New York Ministerium. Numerous pastors in this city are alumni of Wagner College. In 1916 it was decided to move the college to New York.

A splendid property of 38 acres was purchased on Grymes Hill near Stapleton, Staten Island, and in the Fall of 1918 it will take up its work within the precincts of Greater New York.

Upsala College began as an academy in Brooklyn in 1893. It belongs to the Swedish Augustana Synod. It was moved to Kenilworth, N. J., in 1898, and became a college in 1904. Within ten years it has contributed more than forty pastors, missionaries and teachers to the work of the church.

Hartwick Seminary is on the headwaters of the Susquehanna in Otsego County. It is a product of the eighteenth century and not of the twentieth. But since Johann Christopher Kunze, pastor of the Old Swamp Church, was one of its founders, and since it still contributes pastors to the work of the churches in New York, in spite of its distance from the city it must not be overlooked in our mention of the schools of New York.

Under the auspices of the Inner Mission Society Pastor Buermeyer has developed a much-needed work among our brothers and sisters who in their old age or by reason of sickness, loneliness or poverty are not reached by the ordinary ministrations of the congregation. It is known its the City Mission and it will doubtless receive the continued support of all who read carefully the 25th chapter of St. Matthew.

The Hospice for Young Men is another form of Inner Mission work in which a good beginning has been made.

The Lutheran Society was organized in 1914. "Its object is to promote the general interests of the Lutheran Church by encouraging a friendly intercourse among its members." At this writing, in 1918, it numbers over four hundred members. By bringing together in friendly intercourse active churchmen of otherwise widely separately congregations and synods it has contributed materially to a better understanding of the aims and the tasks of our entire communion.

Under its auspices the quadricentennial anniversary of the Reformation was celebrated in this city in a manner worthy of the occasion. The executive secretary of the committee, Pastor O. H. Pannkoke, reports as follows on the general results of the celebration:

"Two facts are of considerable interest, such as to cla.s.s them as worthy of recording as a permanent accomplishment. In the first place we have had the cooperation in this undertaking of every Lutheran synod represented in New York, and I believe we have succeeded in carrying through the undertaking without violating the confidence placed in us by any section of the Lutheran Church.

"In the second place, our Committee has injected into the general Reformation influence the question of the wider influence of the Reformation. Practically every section of the country has taken up the discussion of the religious influence of the Reformation, also of the influence of the Reformation on every side of life."

On the roll of Former Pastors, in the Appendix, are recorded the names of men who laid the foundations of the present congregations. Their labors and their sacrifices ent.i.tle them to a place in a book of remembrance. Some names are missing. We tried hard to obtain them. For these lacunae we offer our apologies to the historians of the next centennial. In 1918 we were still struggling with the problem of statistics.

Nowhere are ministers forgotten so soon as here in New York. The congregations themselves are rapidly engulphed in the ceaseless tides of humanity that sweep over the island. Now and then some beloved pastor is remembered by some faithful friends, but in a few years the very names of the men who built the churches are forgotten. Like the knights of old: "Their swords are rust, Their steeds are dust.

Their souls are with the saints we trust."

Before ending the story of which a faint outline has here been given, we recall with affection and reverence some of the men whose outstanding personality has not yet faded from our memory. Their labors prepared the ground for the harvests which a younger generation is now permitted to reap.

Stohlmann was the connecting link with the earlier periods. He was an able preacher, a warm hearted pastor and a conscientious man.

Geissenhainer, the pastor of St. Paul's, which he organized in 1841 after having been an a.s.sistant of his father in St. Matthew's since 1826, was another connecting link with the past.

Held of St. John's was a pupil of Claus Harms. His eloquent sermons attracted great congregations to Christopher Street.

After fourteen fruitful years in St. James' Church, Wedekind was called to Christopher Street in November, 1878, to succeed Pastor Held. Here he labored for twelve years, edifying the church and inspiring St. John's to bcome one of our most efficient congregations. Under his direction at least four young men of the congregation were led into the ministry. He died April 8, 1897.

[ill.u.s.tration: "Augustus Charles Wedekind, D.D."]

Under a quiet exterior Krotel concealed a forceful personality. He was a born leader and took a large part in the development of the General Council. As editor of the Lutherischer Herold for three years and of The Lutheran for many years his writings had a wide influence. From 1868 to 1895 he was pastor of Holy Trinity Church. In 1896, in the 71st year of his age, he accepted a call to the newly organized Church of the Advent, which he served until his death on May 17th, 1907. Under the pen name of Insula.n.u.s he delighted the readers of The Lutheran for forty years with his reflections on men and things in New York. Among his published works are a Life of Melanchthon, Meditations on the Beat.i.tudes and Explanations of Luther's Catechism.

Julius Ehrhardt was an una.s.suming, lovable and scholarly Suabian. He laid the foundations of St. Paul's in Harlem, when the little wooden church stood among the truck gardens. He died in 1899.

Moldenke was a descendant of Salzburg exiles who settled in East Prussia in 1731. He came to us from Wisconsin, organized Zion Church which was subsequently merged with St. Peter's after he had accepted a call to succeed Hennicke in that church. He was an able preacher and a scholarly writer. Under his leadership St. Peter's became a strong congregation.

In 1872 he contributed a series of articles on _Die Lutheraner des Ostens_ to Der Pilger of Reading. A reprint of these articles in book form would be a valuable contribution to the story of the Lutherans of New York and a fitting memorial of a minister of mark and influence.

Johann Heinrich Sieker was born in Schweinfurth, Bavaria, October 23d, 1839. He received his theological education at Gettysburg. His early ministry was in connection with the Wisconsin Synod. In 1876, when Ruperti resigned at St. Matthew's, Sieker was called from St. Paul, Minnesota, to become his successor. For 28 years he was the pastor of St. Matthew's and a leading minister of the Missouri Synod. In synodical matters he was an uncompromising defender of the faith as he understood it. He left the record of a singularly devoted and successful ministry. At least thirty young men were led into the ministry under his influence. Roesner's "Ehrendenkmal," a sketch of his life and character, ought to be read by every Lutheran minister in this city. He died in 1904.

John Jacob Young was a native of the Rhenish Palatinate, born at Langenkandel, September 13th, 1846. He came to America in his boyhood.

He served in the Union army during the Civil War. When the war was over he studied for the ministry at Gettysburg. He served a number of congregations in Maryland and Indiana till 1893, when he was called to the pastorate of St. John's in Christopher Street. Here for 21 years he faithfully followed his calling as a shepherd of souls.

Charles Armand Miller came to us from the South. He was born in Sheperdstown, West Virginia, March 7, 1864. He was educated at Roanoke College and after his ordination he was for a time pastor of the College Church. He succeeded Dr. Krotel in Holy Trinity Church in 1896 and gave twelve years of devoted and successful service to this congregation. His subsequent fields of labor were in Charleston, South Carolina, and in Philadelphia. He was a scholarly writer, an able preacher, a sympathetic pastor and a loyal friend. Among his published writings were The Perfect Prayer, The Sacramental Feast, The Way to the Cross and a volume of poems ent.i.tled Ad Astra.

[ill.u.s.tration: "Pastor J. H. Sieker"]

He died in the prime of his life, September 9th, 1917. Who that knew him will ever forget the genial spirit of Charles Armand Miller?

It would be a congenial task to give a fuller account of these men and of Ruperti, Vorberg, Raegener, Hennicke, Waetter, Foehlinger, Koenig, Halfmann, Frey, Weissel, Beyer and others whose names and lives a few of the older preachers will recall. Perhaps some who read this book will accept the suggestion and write accounts of these pioneer workmen. What a Ministers' a.s.sociation they would have formed if we could have gotten them together into a conference to discuss the terms of agreement. But that was impossible thirty years ago.

A singularly interesting career came to a close just as I was concluding these memorial paragraphs. Dr. Charles E. Weltner died in Brunswick, Georgia, December 22d, 1917.

He was born in Wilhelmshoehe, January 28th, 1860, where his father commanded a company of soldiers in the royal castle. In his early youth he was sent to New York to meet a relative whom he never found. One Sunday morning, homeless and friendless, he accosted me after service at the door of the church. I offered him employment in my office and for several years he was an efficient helper in the educational and mission work of my parish. Although he was already suffering from defective eyesight, which not long afterward resulted in total blindness, he expressed an ardent desire to enter the ministry. Under the circ.u.mstances this seemed to be impossible, but his earnest pleas overcame every objection. In 1884 he entered Hartwick Seminary where he was graduated with honor in 1888. Unable himself to read the text books, his friends read them for him. Especially helpful to him in his studies were Professor Hiller and his wife, the daughter of the sainted Dr.

George B. Miller.