USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > Hempfield > History of old Zion Evangelical Lutheran church in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Near Harrold's > Part 9
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"The General Council is strictly a Lutheran organization and the connection of the Synod with a general body could in no way affect the question of the rights of property in the Church.
5Burgess History of the Pittsburg Synod, General Synod.
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"In 1867 the Pittsburg Synod divided, ten of its mem- bers withdrawing from its session at Greenville, Pa., because the majority of the Synod had decided to withdraw from the General Synod and connect themselves with the General Coun- cil. The officers, official seal, and records remaining with the majority.
"From what appears in the testimony concerning this division of the Synod, it is the opinion of the Master that the majority constitute the Pittsburg Synod proper. That the action of the majority in withdrawing from the General Synod and joining the new body was not inconsistent with Lutheran methods and regulations. All the testimony there is on the subject proves that the Synod had the right to with- draw in an orderly manner and join whatever Lutheran body it wished to, and the will of the majority must prevail, and that majority is the Pittsburg Synod.""
Notwithstanding such clear testimony, the secessionists of Greenville issued a "pastoral address" in which they say, "In view of these facts we, though in the minority, claim to be the Pittsburg Synod." And thus the strife was carried into Congregations. We may safely say that the ministers were the aggressive leaders and that where congregations were divided, it was generally because of pastoral interference. It is only too sad that ministers were busy trying to stir up trouble in neighboring congregations and to undermine the local pastor's influence.
We shall see how this conflict at length broke in upon the peaceful Zion.
When Rev. Jonas Mechling became Pastor in 1849 the Herold's Church, with the entire parish, united with the Joint Synod of Ohio and adjacent states. We see that the Synodical relationship of the Parish depended largely upon the Synodi- cal relationship of the Pastor. We find no formal action of
GUllery, History of Southern Conference.
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the congregation in regard to this matter since 1796 and 1845. It was determined largely by the Pastor, the congregations concurring by electing delegates as is shown by the action of the Pittsburg Synod.
"First Church, Rev. Kunzmann, pastor, John Rugh Dele- gate. 401/2 Annual Convention 1882 Wheeling, W. Va. Min- utes page 20 .- The Committee on business of congregations reported an application for membership with the Synod from First German Lutheran Church, Greensburg, Pa., and offered this action, which was passed.
"Resolved: that the 1st Lutheran Church, Greensburg. Pa., having been one of the original congregations, which took part in the organization of the Pittsburg Synod, and having never been dismissed to unite with any body, be cordially wel- comed back to its former relation to this Synod."
Against this action, the Ev. Lutheran District Synod of Ohio protested in 1886, and a committee reported the follow- ing, which was adopted :
"Inasmuch as it appears that the reception of the 1st Church, Greensburg, under the care of Rev. J. C. Kunzmann, by the Pittsburg Synod, was not exactly in accord with the compact entered into by the Ev. Lutheran District Synod of Ohio, and the Pittsburg Synod, therefore, be it resolved that we hereby rescind our action receiving said congregation, and recommend that it apply to the Evangelical Lutheran District Synod of Ohio for dismission to the Pittsburg Synod. Resolved, that as soon as such dismissal shall be placed in the hands of the officers of the Synod, it shall become an integral part of this body."
This action was complied with on March 11, 1887, and the congregation re-entered the Pittsburg Synod.
What was true of the Synodical relationship of the 1st Church was true of Herold's Church also. That the Herold- Brushcreek-Greensburg parish was actually a part of the
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Joint Synod of Ohio and Adjacent States is shown by the entertainment of "The ninth convention of the Joint Synod, the first Delegate-Synod, from the 9th to the 14th of November, 1854 at Greensburg, Pa. At this convention Synod discussed the "unaltered Augsburg Confession and Luther's Small Catechism."
The English District of the Joint Synod of Ohio and Adjacent States met at the Brush Church in 1859.7
There was no question as to the Synodical connection of the parish at this time; it belonged to the Joint Synod of Ohio.
We might inquire, How did Old Zion's or Herold's Church come to be a member of the Ev. Lutheran District Synod of Ohio?
At first as we have seen, the Congregations west of the Alleghenies belonged to the Pennsylvania Ministerium, but as the congregations grew in number, they felt the need of closer union, hence we read, "A report of a Special Conference held in Washington County in Pennsylvania, in the month of De- cember, 1812. It was a matter of real gratification to the Synod to see that our brethren on the frontier show themselves so active in the spread of the Kingdom of God."8
The work prospered and the bonds of union grew stronger, hence, in 1817, this "Special Conference" petitioned the Ministerium of Pennsylvania "that they might be granted permission to form their own Ministerium in the State of Ohio." This permission was refused, but later tacitly granted. In 1818, at Somerset, Ohio, the first general conference was held and the "Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio and Adja- cent States" was founded. It consisted of fifteen ministers and about 3500 communicants. One of the most prominent
"History of the Joint Ev. Lutheran Synod of Ohio and Adjacent States, Peter & Schmidt, pages 134 and 181.
8Minutes Ministerium of Pennsylvania, 1813.
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founders was John Michael Steck. His parish henceforth be- longed to this Synod.
In 1833 the Synod was divided into districts and the name "Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States" was assumed. Old Zion or Herold's Church belonged to this Synod until the organization of the Pittsburg Synod in 1845. In 1849 under the pastorate of Rev. Jonas Mechling the parish again united with the Joint Synod.
In 1857 "The English District of the Ev. Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Adjacent States" was organized. This District Synod participated in the founding of the General Council and was in entire harmony with the confessional posi- tion of the same. In 1872, its relation to the Joint Synod was severed and it assumed the name "The Ev. Lutheran District Synod of Ohio, formerly known as the English Ev. Lutheran District Synod, in connection with the Ev. Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Adjacent States."
To this Synod, Old Zion or Herold's Church belonged until March 11, 1887, when it was again received into mem- bership with the Pittsburg Synod.
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CHAPTER XII Contending for the Faith Rev. George A. Bruegel-1868-1872 Rev. George A. Bruegel succeeded Rev. Mechling as pas- tor.
Rev. Bruegel was born on the 13th of June, 1837, in Goettenberg, Wuertemberg, Germany. He was baptized in infancy and confirmed by his father, Rev. Christopher J. Bruegel. He received his early training in the home and paro- chial school. He studied four years in the Gymnasium of Tuebingen and graduated from the Theological Seminary at Columbus, Ohio. He served parishes at Zanesville and Can- ton, Ohio before assuming the local pastorate. In 1872 he resigned and served parishes at Warren, Mauch Chunk and Cherryville in Pennsylvania and at Utica, N. Y. He also served as German Professor in Thiel College, then as pastor in Erie, Pa. and Philipsburg, N. J.
Rev. Bruegel was a man of talent and liberal education and an able pulpit orator.
He was the first pastor after the large parish had been divided and became pastor of the Herold's and Greensburg Congregations. He resigned in 1872 and was succeeded by Rev. Enoch Smith.
During Rev. Bruegel's pastorate, the congregation was a member of the Ev. Lutheran District Synod of Ohio, now connected with the General Council. Accordingly, the new Hymn Book of the General Council was introduced. Only a very few members opposed its introduction. This Hymn Book
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was the forerunner of the new Hymnal, which is the joint production of the General Council, General Synod, and the United Synod of the South-now adopted by the United Lutheran Church in America.
Rev. Enoch Smith-1873-1877
Rev. Enoch Smith became pastor early in 1873.
Rev. Smith was born, March 31st, 1839, in Delaware County, Ohio. He received his training in the College and Seminary of Capital University, Columbus, Ohio. He was ordained December 21, 1860. He served pastorates at Belle- fontaine, Paris, and Carroll county, Ohio, and at Mt. Pleasant, Pa., before assuming the local pastorate, which he resigned in 1877. He later served parishes in Bethlehem and in Butler, Pa., where he died May 22, 1894.
"Rev. Smith was a good man, full of faith, and the spirit of the gospel. He was an earnest and effective preacher, a conscientious and faithful pastor, whom many will call blessed .. "
During his pastorate, the congregation was chartered and a constitution was adopted. This was the first formal consti- tution the congregation ever had. It is clear that in these modern times, a church could not be well governed without a constitution. But, this was new and some members opposed it on that account. Again, it was Lutheran and recognized the Unaltered Augsburg Confession. There was also a lack of tact in its introduction that strengthened the opposition. It is claimed that few of the members really knew what it con- tained. In substance, this constitution is the Constitution of Old Zion today and it agrees doctrinally and substantially with the Model Constitution of the United Lutheran Church for Congregations.
This opposition, fanned to a flame by the opposing factions, largely by outsiders, finally led to the division of the congregation.
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Rev. William F. Ulery-1880-1881
Rev. William F. Ulery was born in Westphalia, Germany. He received his education at the Connoquenessing Academy, Zelienople; Muehlenberg Institute, Greensburg; and Gettys- burg College and Seminary. He was ordained in June, 1855, by the Pittsburg Synod. He has served parishes at the fol-
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Rev. W. F. Ulery
lowing places: Greensburg and Adamsburg; Greenville; Zion's Church, Greensburg; Fargo, N. D .; Allegheny and Hoffman's. Rev. Ulery did faithful service, adding about fifty persons to the membership of the congregation. He resigned in order that Zion's Church and Seanor's might be formed into a new parish.
Before his resignation took effect, the disaffected persons invited Rev. A. C. Ehrenfeldt of the General Synod, to preach for them, and were by him organized as an independent con-
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gregation. Both congregations now held services in the old stone church.
"Rev. W. F. Ulery was called in 1880 and served about one year, when difficulty arose. Correspondence was carried on with ministers of a rival Synod, and a General Synod minister called, against the protest of many. A meeting was called by the General Synod party Aug. 22, 1880, to deter- mine the Synodical relation of the congregation; tellers were appointed, and papers read excluding several members from voting. After some argument the General Synod party moved to adjourn, the majority voted in the negative; a division was called for but not granted. Rev. Ehrenfeld declared the meet- ing adjourned sine die. Litigation followed and the church was divided."1
On October 2, 1880 the General Synod division voted unanimously to unite with the Pittsburg Synod, General Synod.
It is noteworthy that the regular congregation, now connected with the General Council, continued its uninter- rupted services and, under the injunction granted by Judge Hunter, had control of the records and property. It was during this time that Rev. A. C. Ehrenfeld organized The General Synod adherents into another congregation. The General Synod congregation, therefore, withdrew from the Old Zion's Church and from the "Evangelical Lutheran Dis- trict Synod of Ohio, and from the General Council to which Synod and Council Old Zion Church had belonged for more than a decade, since 1866. Old Zion never belonged to the General Synod. Nor did the new congregation, until it joined the Pittsburg Synod of the General Synod, October 2, 1880.
Old Zion's did send delegates to the Ministerium of Pennsylvania. and asked to be continued in membership with
1From Preface to Old Zion Constitution written July 31, 1889. Grbg. 5
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that body. Old Zion's parish did send a delegate to the organization of the Pittsburg Synod in 1845.
The parish entertained the Ninth Convention of the Joint Synod of Ohio and Adjacent States at Greensburg, in 1855 and the English District at Brush Creek in 1859.
There is no evidence denying that the parish sent dele- gates from time to time to the Ev. Lutheran District Synod of Ohio. Since this was customary, there surely was no opposi- tion before 1875.
Since custom had much authority at Herold's, and the custom was, from the earliest times, to send delegates to Synod with the Pastor, we must infer that Herold's-Church- parish sent such delegates from time to time, thus acknowl- edging the Synodical relation, and that Synodical relation was, for more than a decade, to the Ev. Lutheran District Synod of Ohio, and the General Council.
The General Synod Congregation never applied to the Ev. Lutheran District Synod of Ohio for a dismissal to the Pittsburg Synod of the General Synod.
The decision of Judge Sharswood of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania did not occur until after the General Synod congregation had been organized and the change of property rights did not change the preceding facts.
"Zion congregation secured an injunction against Rev. Ehrenfelt and his new congregation; Judge Hunter tried the case and granted the injunction; "but an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court and Justice Sharswood reversed the de- cision of the court below. This unjust decision robbed our church of all the property which rightly belonged to it. The decision was secured by misrepresentation on the part of the General Synod people, and by our neglect, as we made no statement of facts in the case before the Supreme Court, name-
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ly, that Old Zion never was in the General Synod, as was claimed."2
Three months after Rev. Ehrenfelt took charge of the General Synod congregation, "at a regular meeting of the (General Synod) congregation, it was unanimously resolved to unite with the Pittsburg Synod of the General Synod."3
We may inquire if the General Synod congregation was so afraid of change when a hymn book and constitution were introduced into the old church, why did they almost imme- diately join a new and strange Synod, and adopt a constitution and charter, which were new.
After all, we are inclined to believe that the hymn book and constitution were occasions for dissatisfaction and not the real cause.
Since that time, great changes have come about within the General Synod; (in 1866 there was a nucleus of conserva- tive men left in the General Synod, who never ceased to labor and pray for a better confession of the old faith), there has been a growing appreciation of true Lutheranism, so that the General Synod itself felt constrained to give expression to this change, when at the Convention at Washington, D. C., 1911, the General Synod submitted the following for the rati- fication of the District Synods :
"Article 2. Doctrinal Basis"
"With the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the fathers, the General Synod receives and holds the Canonical Scrip- tures of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and of practice ; and it receives
2 Ullery History.
3(Burgess). When the Ohio Synod was formed 1818, application was made for the dismissal of the congregations west of the moun- tains. Again application was made to the Ohio Synod in 1831 for dis- missal to form a synod in Western Pennsylvania. The General Synod Congregation at Herold's was not regularly transferred from the Ohio Syrod to the Pittsburg Synod.
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and holds the Unaltered Augsburg Confession as a correct ex- hibition of the faith and doctrine of our Church as founded upon that Word."
"Article 3. The Secondary Symbols"
"While the General Synod regards the Augsburg Con- fession as a suffcient and altogether adequate doctrinal basis for the co-operation of Lutheran Synods, it also recognizes the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalkald Articles, the Small Catechism of Luther, the Large Catechism of Lu- ther, and the Formula of Concord, as expositions of Lutheran doctrine of great historical and interpretative value, and espe- cially commends the Small Catechism as a book of instruc- tion."
"Article 4. Section 3."
"Any properly organized Lutheran Synod may be re- ceived into the General Synod at any meeting, provided it shall have adopted this Constitution with its Doctrinal Basis as set forth in Article 2."
Now, compare the foregoing with the following which is condemned by the pastoral letter, published by a committee of the General Synod party. The pastoral letter analyzes the "Fundamental Principles of Faith" of the General Coun- cil as follows: "Certain 'Fundamental Principles of Faith' were proposed to district Synods by which all who adopt them agree :
1. To embrace from the heart and use the articles of faith and sacraments as they were held and administered when the (Lutheran) Church came into distinctive being and received a distinctive name.
2. To accept the Confessions in every statement of doc- trine "in their own true, native, original, and only sense," agreeing not only to use the same words, but to use them in one and the same sense.
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3. To receive not only the Unaltered Augsburg Confes- sion, but also all the other Symbolical Books, as in perfect har- mony with the Confession "of one and the same Scriptural faith." (Condemned by pastoral letter of Pittsburg Synod of General Synod, 1867).
"In explaining how the Committee came to the proposed new amended basis, Dr. Singmaster says :
1. The present form very awkwardly accepts the Con- fessional attitude of "Synods not now in connection with the General Synod." The amendment makes the Doctrinal Basis that of the General Synod itself, expressed in one plain sen- tence."4
Had the General Synod always maintained this Doctrinal Basis, there would have been no rupture at Ft. Wayne, no General Council, no two Pittsburg Synods, no rupture in Old Zion Congregation, with its resultant two congregations.
From the "Definite Platform" of 1855, which charged the Augsburg Confession with five errors, and rejected the Symbolical Books, from the admission of the Melanchthon Synod in 1859 and the Frankean Synod in 1864, which latter Synod repudiated the Augsburg Confession and boasted of it, from the "pastoral address" of the Pittsburg Synod of the General Synod in 1867, to the amendments of 1911 and 1913, was a far-reaching change in the attitude of the General Synod. Consequently there was a re-approachment of the General Council and the General Synod. They have co-oper- ated in Sunday school work and in bringing out a common Service and Hymnal.
As the great conflict of 1866-1880 recedes and the per- sonalities and bitterness die away, we can see more plainly the great central principles of the contest, and we all rejoice in the growing Lutheran consciousness among our people.
4Lutheran Church Review, July, 1912.
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The four hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation by Luther, witnessed the reunion of the General Synod, General Council, and United Synod of the South in one organization, Nov. 10-18, 1918, entitled "The United Lutheran Church in America." The stress of war and the great work of helping soldiers and sailors and aiding suffering Europe, has brought about the organization (1918) of the "National Lutheran Council." The National Lutheran Council is composed of the following general Lutheran bodies : The United Lutheran Church in America, Joint Synod of Ohio, Synod of Iowa and Other States, Augustana Synod, Norwegian Lutheran Church, Danish Lutheran Church, and practically all Lutheran bodies except the Synodical Confer- ence (Missouri Synod, etc).
May the four hundredth anniversary of the unaltered Augsburg Confession (1530-1930) witness a world-wide Federation of Lutherans.
The breach between the General Council and the General Synod has been closed. The two Pittsburg Synods have merged. Why should the two Herold congregations stand apart ?
Upon the basis of the doctrinal position of the United Lutheran Church, which both congregations sanction, Article 2, Section 1: "The United Lutheran Church in America re- ceives and holds the Canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God, and as the only infallible rule and standard of faith and practice, ac- cording to which all doctrines and teachers are to be judged.
Section 2: "The United Lutheran Church in America ac- cepts the ecumenical creeds : namely, the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian, as important testimonies drawn from the Holy Scriptures, and rejects all errors which they condemn.
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Section 3: "The United Lutheran Church in America receives and holds the Unaltered Augsburg Confession as a
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correct exhibition of the faith and doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, founded upon the Word of God; and acknowledges all churches that sincerely hold and faithfully confess the doctrines of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession to be entitled to the name of Evangelical Lutheran.
Section 4: "The United Lutheran Church in America recognizes the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalkald Articles, the Large and Small Catechisms of Luther, and the Formula of Concord, as in the harmony of one and the same pure Scriptural faith."
How closely this doctrinal position coincides with the "revers" signed by Mr. Anton Ulrich Luetge, the first preacher at Herolds.
"Section 1: To preach the Word of God in its purity, according to Law and Gospel, as it is explained in its chief points in the Augsburg Confession and the other Symbolical Books." (See Chapter 4).
Not only have both congregations the same identical faith and doctrines, but also the same Hymn Book. "Where- as, the General Synod, the General Council and the United Synod in the South have by resolution assigned their respec- tive rights in the Common Service Book, prepared by the Joint Committee representing these three bodies, and adopted by these three bodies, to the United Lutheran Church, and have authorized the latter to publish the Common Service Book under its own imprint, be it
Resolved 1-That the United Lutheran Church hereby formally adopts the Common Service Book and approves and directs the use of the words "Authorized by The United Lutheran Church in America on the title page of all edi- tions."5
"The United Lutheran Church in America shall provide books of devotion and instruction, such as Liturgies, Hymn
5Minutes of U. L. C., 1918.
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Books and Catechisms, and no Synod without its sanction shall publish or recommend books of this kind other than those provided by the general body."6
Also the Sunday School Literature is issued by the U. L. C. Board; there is one church paper : The Lutheran ; one Women's Missionary Society, one Brotherhood. With the same United Lutheran Church in America; the same Pittsburg Synod; the same faith; the same Common Service Book ; the same Sunday School Literature; the same auxiliary organizations, it should be the duty of the two Congrega- tions to unite into the one old historic "Herold's oder Zion's Kirche." The cause of separation was outside the congrega- tion itself, brought in by the agitation of Synodical strife; now that the Synods have united, may Zion unite in peace and concord.
6Constitution U. L. C., Article 8, Section 7.
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CHAPTER XIII
Rebuilding
Rev. J. C. Kunzman-1882-1887
Rev. Jacob C. Kunzman, D. D. was born in the Grand Duchy, Baden, Germany, on the 31st of December, 1852. In 1860, his parents emigrated to America and settled in Pitts- burg. He received his education in the public schools of Pittsburg, Thiel College, and the Theological Seminary at Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. He was ordained by the Pittsburg Synod and served the following parishes: At Kitanning, Pa .; Greensburg and Harrold's ; and Pittsburg. In 1899 he resigned Grace Church, Pittsburg, Pa., to accept the appointment of Superintendent of English Home Missions in the General Council. He later, under the United Board of Home Mis- sions, became Western District Superintendent, which posi- tion he soon resigned to assume the presidency of the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary at Seattle, Washington.
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