USA > Tennessee > History of the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod > Part 14
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Rev. A. J. Fox offered the following which was adopted :
Commission to the General Synod of North America.
Whereas, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Southern States, is, when compared with other branches of the great Christian family, but a very feeble body, and feeble as it is, is divided into nine or ten small synods, em- bracing in the aggregate not more than 200 ministers and 350 churches with about 35,000 communicant members ; and,
Whereas, We firmly believe in union there is strength, but in division there is weakness; and,
Whereas, The central point in the Lutheran Church is her doctrinal standards, to which she must firmly cling or cease to exist, and five of these Southern synods having united themselves in a body known as the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America, and adopted as her doctrinal basis the Augsburg Confession of Faith ; and,
Whereas, We, as a Synod, are anxious to do all we can to promote the interests of true Evangelical Lutheranism, and we think this can be done best by uniting the energies and resources of the Symbolical Lutheran Church in these States ; therefore,
Resolved, That one of our most experienced and influ- ential ministers be appointed a commissioner to meet the next regular meeting of the "General Synod, &c.," to con- vene in Staunton, Va., in May, 1867, and to confer with that body upon the practicability and possibility of uniting our Synod with said General Synod, and to report to the next session of this Synod the result of any conferences he may have with the General Synod or any of her authorized com- mittees. Afterward this Synod shall take such steps as she shall determine best. This commissioner shall observe the following instructions in all his intercourse with the General Synod : this Synod proposes a union with the General Synod upon these conditions, viz .: That the General Synod pledge
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herself that no church journal or book shall be published, or other publications shall ever be made by her order or un- der her sanction that contains anything contrary to any article of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession of Faith, and that no professor shall be appointed in any Theological Seminary who will not solemnly promise to teach correctly all the doctrines of said Confession, and that no Synod shall ever be received into her connection who does not without any reservation subscribe the said Confession ; and further, with this distinct understanding upon her part, that, if at any time in the judgment of the delegates who represent this Synod, the General Synod shall violate the above principles our delegates may withdraw from that session to report to the next session of this Synod whose action alone shall de- termine the future course of this Synod in relation to the General Synod.
The Synod proceeded to ballot for the commissioner .- Rev. Dr. A. J. Fox was chosen principal and Rev. J. R. Peterson, alternate.
The following action was taken in regard to a church paper, called Evangelical Lutheran : Inasmuch as we feel the great necessity of a good Lutheran Church journal cir- culating among our people, but not feeling ourselves able in the present crippled condition of pecuniary affairs to con- mence the publication of such a paper now, and as there is a weekly paper purporting to be strictly and symbolically Lutheran (at least in doctrinal features), published in Char- lotte, N. C., in which we find some things, it is true, of a practical character which we cannot endorse, yet in view of the above stated facts and some other things we, for the present,
Resolve, To approve the circulation of the Evangelical Lutheran among our people.
Rev. Jacob Stirewalt, having sent to Synod a copy of resolutions passed by the Virginia Special Conference, pray- ing for the advice of this Synod in regard to the formation of a new synod in Virginia, based upon the "time-lionor-
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'ed and established doctrines and usages of the Lutheran Church;" the following action was taken :
Whereas, The ministers and congregations, in connec- tion with this Synod who are located in the great Valley of Virginia, have expressed a desire to organize themselves into a separate synod, although we regret to separate from those with whom we have been for so many years associated, yet in view of the reasons presented by them, and the great distance that separates us from them and, consequently, the difficulty of meeting as often as the interest of the Church requires ; therefore,
Resolved, That we approve, unanimously, the measure proposed by these brethren, and advise them to organize as soon as possible with such constitution and other regula- tions as may not be inconsistent with the Word of God and the Symbolical Books of the Lutheran Church, and promise them that as soon as the President shall be officially inform- ed that this has been done, he will give them an honorable dismission from this Synod, with a distinct understanding, however, that a regular correspondence be maintained by the interchange of delegates or by the formation of some . central organization.
The death of Rev. D. E. Fox having been announced in the President's Report, a committee, consisting of Revs. I. Conder and J. M. Smith, was appointed to prepare suita- ble resolutions relative to him. The following was submitted :
Memorial of Rev. D. E. Fox,
who departed this life, September 4, 1866; aged 31 years.
Whereas, It has pleased the Great Head of the Church, since our last session of Synod, to remove from our midst our beloved brother, Rev. D. E. Fox ; therefore,
Resolved 1. That by this afflicting dispensation we have lost a worthy young brother, who had labored but a short time in his Master's vineyard.
Resolved 2. That, notwithstanding our deep regret for
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his removal and the loss to our Church, since it has resulted in his everlasting gain, we bow in humble resignation to the will of God.
Resolved 3. That we deeply sympathize with his afflict- ed wife in her bereavement, and commend her to Him, who is the husband of the widow, and makes all things work together for good to them that love God.
Resolved 4. That these resolutions be incorporated with the Minutes of this Synod, that a copy be sent to the Evan- gelical Lutheran for publication, and a copy, also, to the bereaved wife of the deceased.
It was adopted by rising and standing in silence.
M. L. Fox, M. D., was received under the care of Synod as an applicant for the ministry.
Spanish Grove Church, Forsythe County, North Caro- lina, was received.
Relative to the Revised Constitution and the Rules of Order and By-Laws, the following action was taken : Inas- much as the Revised Constitution, prepared by the Extra Session of this Synod convened in Zion Church, Catawba County, N. C., on the 26th day of March, 1864, upon which final action was postponed by the regular session in 1864, and again in 1865 to the present session, has been approved by a large majority of the congregations of our Synod; be it, therefore,
Resolved, That it is and shall be, until altered, amended, or disapproved by this Synod in the manner provided for in its last article, the organic law of this Synod.
Resolved, That the Rules of Order and By-Laws, which have been read and approved, rule by rule, and section by section, be now adopted as a whole, and, henceforth, until altered or amended as provided for in the last article, be in full force and effect in the Synod.
A delegate was appointed to the next convention of the Holston Synod.
With respect to the Freedmen, the following action was taken :
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Whereas, The colored people among us no longer sus- tain the same relation to the white man they did formerly, and that change has transferred the individual obligations and responsibility of owners to the whole Church; and,
Whereas, Some of them were formerly members of our congregations and still claim membership in them, but ow- ing to the plainly marked distinctions which God has made between us and them, giving different colors, &c., it is felt by us, and them also, that there ought to be separate places of worship, and, also, separate ecclesiastical organizations, so that every one could worship God with the least possible embarrassment; and
Whereas, These colored people are considered firm ad- herents to our Church, and we feel it our imperative duty to assist them in adopting such measures as will meet best the necessities of their present condition ; be it, therefore,
Resolved I. That whenever any of our colored brethren desire to preach, they may make application to some one of the ministers of our Synod, who shall inform the President, when it shall be the President's duty to appoint two or- dained ministers who, in connection with two laymen whom. they may choose, shall constitute a committee to examine the candidate upon his motives and mental and moral qual- ification, and, if they are satisfied, to license him to preach, catechise, baptize, and celebrate the rites of matrimony among those of his own race, according to the usages of our Church, until the next regular session of Synod there- after, when said committee shall report. This license, however, does not authorize them to preach in our churches, or take part in our ecclesiastical meetings; nevertheless they are permitted to worship with us as heretofore, yet we advise them to erect houses for themselves in which they may worship.
Resolved 2. That we will use every reasonable means to aid them in organizing and building up congregations.
Thomas Fry, a freedman, having frequently expressed a desire to preach, the President, in compliance with the
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resolution given above, appointed Rev. P. C. Henkel and Rev. J. M. Smith as the clerical half of a committee to ex- amine and, if found qualified, to license him.
This year, only about half of the ministers reporting, 322 infants and 20 adults were baptized, and 217 confirmed.
Synod adjourned to meet in Cedar Grove Church, Lexington District, South Carolina, on Thursday before the fourth Sunday in September, 1867.
Forty-seventh Session.
This meeting was held in Cedar Grove Church, Lex- ington District, South Carolina, commencing September 19, 1867.
The officers elected were : Revs. A. J. Fox, president ; J. R. Peterson, secretary; Daniel Efird, corresponding secre- tary; and David S. Henkel, treasurer.
Revs. J. H. Bailey, E. Kaughman, A. W. Lindler, and Prof. J. P. Smeltzer, of the South Carolina Synod, were received as advisory members.
Sardis Church, Catawba County, North Carolina, was received in connection with Synod.
Rev. Prof. Smeltzer addressed the Synod in regard to the interests of Newberry College and Theological Seminary, South Carolina. Synod took favorable action relative to these institutions.
The President stated in his message, that he had ex- tended the license of D. S. Henkel, and that he had given Rev. J. M. Wagner an honorable dismissal to the Holston Synod. These acts were approved.
The commissioner, appointed' to attend the Southern Lutheran General Synod, which was held in Staunton, Virginia, in 1867, reported. It seems he fully carried out his mission, and kept within the limits of his instructions. He spoke in the highest terms of the manner in which he was received and treated by that body. He appeared to be well satisfied with the sentiments of that Synod, as ex- pressed during his sojourn among its members. He then
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submitted the following report of a committee, appointed by said General Synod, to confer with the said commissioner :
The committee, appointed to confer with the Rev. Dr. Fox, as a commissioner from the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod, have advised with him in reference to a union of that Synod with this body.
We, with pleasure, report that the interview afforded us satisfactory evidence of the truly Christian character of the Synod which Dr. Fox represents, and the high princi- ples of integrity and church love which animates them in the propositions made to this General Synod; therefore,
Resolved, That we will cordially receive said Synod as an integral part of this body on the truly Lutheran basis which we have adopted, and in accordance with which we feel bound as an ecclesiastical body to withhold our sanction or imprimatur from any religious publication of whatever form, which shall inculcate principles opposed to the doc- trines of the Augsburg Confession as construed and defended by our Church in her Symbolical writings.
Resolved, That we feel ourselves in like manner bound to appoint or employ no Professor in our Theological schools who shall teach doctrines at variance with our time honored Confession.
In regard to this report, a committee was appointed to give an expression relative to it. The committee submitted the following :
Inasmuch as the question of a union between this body and the General Synod in North America is one of very grave importance, and should be well and maturely consid- ered, your Committee upon the Report of the Commissioner to the General Synod have examined the matter in all its bearings; and inasmuch as but a very small number of our ministers are present, and comparatively few congregations represented in this meeting ; and inasmuch as our brethren residing in Virginia may fail to effect an organization in that State, we would therefore recommend that a Committee of five, three ministers, of whom the President shall be one,
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and two laymen, be appointed to collect all the facts they can in relation to this contemplated union, and report them to the next annual meeting of Synod, that decisive action may then be taken ..
The foregoing report was adopted,and the following committee appointed : Revs. J. R. Peterson, P. C. Henkel, A. J. Fox, and Messrs. A. Costner and M. L. Cline.
Feeling the great necessity of making suitable religious impressions upon the minds of the children of our congre- gations; therefore, it was
Resolved, That the ministers of our connection be re- quested to endeavor to get up and encourage Sunday schools in all their congregations, and report their success to the Committee on the State of the Church, some time previous to each annual meeting of Synod.
License was granted M. L. Fox, M. D., to perform the functions of the ministry.
The Parochial Report shows 340 infant and 14 adult baptisnis and 257 confirmations.
Synod adjourned to meet in Salem Church, Lincoln . County, North Carolina, September 24, 1868.
Forty-eighth Session.
Synod assembled, pursuant to adjournment, in Salem Church, Lincoln County, North Carolina, September 24, 1868.
The election of officers resulted in favor of Rev. J. M. Smith, president ; Rev. C. Moretz, recording secretary; Rev. A. J. Fox, corresponding secretary; and Rev. T. Moser, treasurer.
Rev. G. D. Bernheim, of the North Carolina Synod, was received as an advisory member.
During the meeting of the Southern General Synod, at Newberry, South Carolina, in 1868, the Holston Synod was admitted.
It appears from the proceedings of this session of the Tennessee Synod, that the Northern General Synod, at its
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meeting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in its twenty-third session, adopted the Augsburg Confession. The committee of the Tennessee Synod, in reporting on the Minutes of the said General Synod, say the General Synod may have made advances in the right direction, but it does not yet seem to reach the sound Lutheran faith.
Well, it may appear rather singular that a general body, claiming to be Lutheran, should have failed to adopt the Augsburg Confession till its twenty-third session. Is it any wonder that there was a continual conflict between it and the Tennessee Synod, which was and is strictly con- fessional?
Rev. Miles J. Stirewalt, Augusta Station, Indiana, re- ceived an honorable dismission to the English District of the Joint Synod of Ohio.
The President, in his message, calls attention to the condition of the Church in the Valley of Virginia, caused by an attempt to organize a new synod in that section, called the Concordia Synod of Virginia, and recommends a suitable committee to be appointed to investigate that matter, and report the result of their investigation. The committee was appointed, and submitted the following report :
We, the committee, appointed to take into consideration the relation sustained by the body claiming the title of "Evangelical Lutheran Concordia. Synod of Virginia," to the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod, and to give an expression of Synod in regard to this matter, beg leave to submit the following :
Whereas, In the year 1866, application was made to our Synod by the brethren in the Valley of Virginia, to form a synod in that locality; and, whereas, such request was granted to these brethren, accompanied with a promise contained in a preamble and resolution passed by our Synod in regard to this matter, that, as soon as an organization should be effected in accordance with said preamble and resolution, an honorable dismission from our Synod would
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be granted these brethren; and, whereas, an effort was made to form a regularly constituted synod, but the object contemplated failed ; and, whereas, the Revs. H. Wetzel, G. Schmucker, and J. E. Seneker, with several congrega- tions, united themselves into a body, styled "The Evangel- ical Lutheran Concordia Synod of Virginia," thereby disturbing the peace and prosperity of the Church in that section of our Synod, the other brethren dissenting; and, whereas, the Rev. H. Wetzel has denied the jurisdiction of our Synod over him, and as no request has been made by the other brethren, who entered the said organization, for an honorable dismission from our Synod; therefore, be it
Resolved, That this Synod disapprove of the course pursued by these brethren in this matter, and that their names be retained in our clerical catalogue until they properly apply for an honorable dismission, or announce their withdrawal from it.
This report was received and adopted.
Several years afterwards, efforts were made to make an impression on the public mind, that a difference in doctrine between the ministers in the Valley of Virginia, in connec- tion with the Tennessee Synod, gave rise to the organization of the new synod formed in the Valley of Virginia, and called the Concordia Synod of Virginia. But these efforts failed. For the fact is, there was not, at the time of its organization, one word said about differences in doctrine, and all the ministers of the Tennessee Synod, in the Valley of Virginia, with delegates representing their congregations, were notified of the time and place agreed upon for such organization, and invited to be present and participate in its organization ; and when the time came for such organi- zation, and none of the ministers in Virginia, of the Ten- nessee Synod, except Revs. H. Wetzel, J. E. Seneker, and George Schmucker, appeared, Rev. H. Wetzel, be it said to his praise, opposed the contemplated organization, but was overruled. Since that time, all the churches in the Valley of Virginia, except two, which went into that organization,
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have returned to the Tennessee Synod, and now stand in its connection. One of the churches that did not return, now stands independent of any synod, and is served by a Missouri Synod preacher, whilst the other one stands in connection with what is called the Concordia District of Ohio. Rev. H. Wetzel was ultimately received again in connection with the Tennessee Synod, and Rev. J. E. Seneker, a year or so before his death, spoke of returning to this Synod; and even Rev. George Schmucker finally expressed a preference for this Synod, stating that he neither could conscientiously, nor would he, submit to some of the regulations of the new order of things.
That Concordia Synod, having changed its tactics a time or two, finally drifted into what is now called the Concordia District of Ohio, and so far as the material taken from the Tennessee Synod is concerned, it consists of several congregations in West Virginia, a few fragments in Vir- ginia, and a few of the fragments in North Carolina which were broken off by the withdrawal of Rev. Adam Miller, Jr., who was resting under grave charges of immorality, and was in the very act of being suspended by the Synod when he withdrew.
With respect to the President's recommendation, that an effort be made to reunite all the ministers and congrega- tions who have formerly been in her connection, with those now in it, with a view of forming the Synod into district synods, and out of these district synods, a joint synod, and that a committee be appointed to take this matter into immediate consideration, the committee on his message recommended, that such committee, be appointed to give that matter proper attention. The committee suggested was appointed, and consisted of Revs. P. C. Henkel, A. J. Fox, and T. Moser, Messrs. A. Costner and F. L. Herman.
Rev. N. Aldrich presented his credentials as a delegate from the North Carolina Synod, and was received as such. Rev. J. M. Smith was chosen as a delegate to the next con- vention of the North Carolina Synod.
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On the reception of Rev. N. Aldrich, there were mutual, fraternal greetings, upon which Rev. G. D. Bernheim made some of the most eulogistic remarks respecting the charac- ter and high orthodox standing of the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod, and the indebtedness of Lutheranism in America to her.
Revs. S. Henkel, J. Stirewalt, and J. Killian were ap- pointed a committee to report on the Book of Worship, at the next meeting of Synod.
With respect to re-districting North Carolina into con- ferences, Synod voted unanimously, that the conference embrace all ministers and churches in North Carolina, be- longing to the Tennessee Synod, and that its name be the North Carolina Conference of the Tennessee Synod.
The committee, on union with the General Synod of North America (Southern General Synod), not having had time to give the matter proper attention, were continued.
Rev. L. A. Fox received an honorable dismission to the Southwestern Virginia Synod.
Messrs. John S. Bennick and William H. Swaney were received as Licentiates.
The Committee, appointed to prepare a plan for the reconstruction of the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Syn- od, from the limited time they had to consider the matter, did not feel themselves fully prepared to mature a plan which would fully meet the necessity of the case, but respectfully submitted that it is the opinion of the Committee that a committee of one be appointed to open a correspond- ence with some of the most prominent members of the Holston Synod upon this subject, and that Synod be re- spectfully invited to consider this matter in her next annual convention ; and that this committee of one report the result of his correspondence to the next meeting of this Synod ; and that the Virginia Conference be requested to take up the subject of organizing themselves into a branch synod, and lay the same before the next meeting of this Synod.
As recommended above, Synod appointed the Corres-
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ponding Secretary a committee of one to open the corres- pondence with prominent members of the Holston Synod.
The committee, Rev. S. Henkel, Rev. T. Moser, and Mr. A. Costner, appointed to report in reference to the publi- cation of the Epistles, contained in Dr. Martin Luther's Church Postil, now in manuscript in the English language, and in the possession of parties at New Market, Virginia, submitted the following :
In regard to this subject, we recommend, that a call be made by the Synod on those parties, to make arrangements for the publication of those sermons in what they may con- ceive to be the most judicious and practicable manner, at as early a period as possible, and that the Synod give such enterprise their heartfelt co-operation and support in the circulation of the work.
The Parochial Report shows 454 infant and 29 adult baptisms, and 343 confirmations.
The place and time for the next meeting were Emman- uel Church, New Market, Virginia, and Friday before the first full moon in October, 1869.
Forty-ninth Session.
Synod convened, in its forty-ninth session, in Emman- uel Church, New Market, Shenandoah County, Virginia, October 15, 1869.
The officers for this meeting were: Revs. T. Miller, president ; S. Henkel, recording secretary; A. J. Fox, cor- responding secretary; and J. S. Bennick, treasurer.
Rev. D. M. Henkel was received as delegate from the Pennsylvania Synod. On motion, the following resolution was adopted :
.Resolved, That this Synod hail with joy the appearance of Dr. Luther's Church Postil on the Epistles, in the English language, published by the New Market Evangelical Lu- theran Publishing Company, New Market, Virginia, and that each minister is hereby earnestly requested to recom- mend this work to his people.
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