Calvin Synod Herald, 1990 (90. évfolyam, 2-6. szám)

1990-05-01 / 3. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

— 7 —

REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

5t. £vui$, 3D7i#éouri

Special Jínniverrary T**ue

January 1990

“... tf)e Evangelical Synob. although tté roots are bebbeb in tf)e (German Protestant mouement. luaS not tf)e transplantation of juSt another European dhurch to America, but waS itself an inbigenouS probuct of the American frontier, inhere the crying bemanb of the hour toaS not for a neiu Lutheran or 9?eformeb dhurch but for the Evangel of Gob... the genius of the Evangelical Synob iS refiecteb in the theological position formulateb by the fathers. Ülbe finb tf)iv most clearly embobieb in the confessional paragraph of 1848. which U)aS retaineb throughout the century anb luhich reabS aS follows

“2.be recognise the Evangelical Ghurcf) aS that communion luhich ack^mlebgeS the S?oty Scriptures of the ©lb anb Peiu Testament aS the $l'orb of dob anb aS the Sole anb infallible rule of faith anb life, anb accepts the interpretation of the 5?oly Scriptures aS gioen in the Symbolic books of the Lutheran anb the 9?efonneb dhurch. the most important being: the SlugSburg donfeSSion. £uther’S anb the ipeibelberg datechi^mS. in So far aS they agree: but rnhere they biSagree. toe abhere Strictly to the passages of Spoly Scripture bearing on the Subject, anb auail ourSelueS of the liberty of conscience prevailing in the Evangelical dhurch."

—darl E. Scfjneiber

Twenty full Scholarship* to then Theological Seminary arc being offereb to neu) StubentS. ü)bo are members of tbc 'Uniteb Gburcb of GbriSt. to mark tbc 15ütf) anniversary of tbc Seminary's parent benomination. tbc Evangelical Synob of Worth America. Stubents intereSteb in applying Sboulb write to: Tbc 5Tbmi$Sion$ Office. Eben Tbeoiogical Seminary. 475 East ilockwoob Avenue, St. Ilouis. 3)to. 65119-3192, for particulars.

Tu abbition. Then mill be bost in ftebruary anb Way to tmo

uiSitorS from (East anb AbeSt) Germany. mi)0 mill be bonoreb at tbc Seminary for their contributions to tbc ecumenical church anb to tlje on-going relationSbip betmeen tlje Aluiteb Gburcb of 6brist anb the Evangelical 6l)urcl) of tbc 'Union in Germany.

Tbc annual Spring 6oimocation of the Seminary. April 17-19. mill also einphasige tbc anuiuersary of the Evangelical Synob. .'U is bop 'Profess or 'Doctor 3oacl)im 'Kogge, of t be Evangelical 6burcb of tbe 'Union in tbc German Democratic Republic. mill lecture on tbe European origins of tbc Evaugclical trabitiou anb tbc gifts of that heritage. 'Professor Home11 Suck, of tbc Seminary faculty, mill speak on tbc .American beginnings anb tbe beucloping Sign ficance of tbc former Toaugelical Synob of Worth America. Dr. ^0»ary Gatberinc Spilkert. of AquinaS institute of Theology. St. ilouis. milt biScuSS the theological challenges that arc currently before tbe ebureb anb their implications for tbc future.

Tbc October celebration, mbicb U)ill coiucibe mitb tbe bate of the gathering at GravoiS Settlement in 1340. mbeu Per iKirchcnverein came into being, mill begin tvribay night. October 12. mill) a banquet at St. 'Paul 'Uniteb 6l)urcb of 6brist. 33cllcvillc. Til. Tbc program for tbc evening mill feature a nem film on tbc history of the Synob. prepareb especially

for this occasion. Scueral pastors mill Speak of ministry in tl)c early years of tbc benomination.

Saturbay morning activities mill take place on the Eben Seminary campus, anb mill feature lectures by tbe Wcvercnb Dr. Trcberick TroSt. Wisconsin (Conference WUniStcr anb Dr. Jlowelf Suck. Then 'Professor of 6burcb Spi Story.

At 1:00 p.ni.. a bus tour mill bepart from the campus to uiSit outlying sites of Significance in tbe Synob’S history. Stops mill be mabe at the EmmauS Sporne near 'JWartbaSville. mbicb mas tbc original site of the 'JWartbaSville Seminarylater to be knomii as Then—anb Since 1892. tbc Tinmans 5)ome for biSabteb persons. Another Stop mill be mabe at the ívemmé Osage 6burcb, one of the earliest congregations. Scrucb by 'Pastor Spermáim Garlicbs. Tar those on the tour, binner mill be Scrucb at the Tcmme Osage 6burcl).

Another tour may be Scbcbuleb to pisit Aluiteb 6burd) of 6brist institutions in tbc Greater St. ilouis area: Deaconess SpoSpital. the Goob Samaritan Sporne. tbc 6l)ilbreii'S Sporne. Weigbborboob Spouses aub others.

Tt is suggeSteb that out-of-tomn visitors mho are here for the observances, may maiit to visit Some of the historic churches in St. ilouis on Sunbay morning. Arrangements can be mabe tor such visitation.

On Sunbay. October 14—tbe actual bate mben tbc banbful of clergy gatbereb at GravoiS Settlement—a 3:00 p.m. Service mill be l)db in St. 3ol)n’S Gburcl). 11333 St. Tabu'S Gburch Woab in mhat is nom calleb AKeblville. AKo. 'Presibeut Eugene S. At'cbrli of Then Seminary mill preach.

Tt is auticipateb that Several national historical societies mill come to St. ilouis to atteub tb’.S celebration, inclubing the Evangelical aub Weformeb Spistorcal Society aub the 'Uniteb 6hurch of 6brist Spistorical Gouncil.

1990

JlnniuerSary Events

The beginnings of our

Adopting Church in America

150th Anniversary of the Evangelical Synod of N.A. organized in 1840. First Theological School (Now Eden Seminary) and our German Language sister-papers birth in 1850.

Prussia by a royal proclamation which merged Lutheran and Reformed people of the realm into one United Evangelical Church (1817). Members of this new church way migrated to America just as earlier German migrants were moving west. The Evangelicals settled in a large number in Missouri and Illinois, there continuing their noncontroversial emphasis on pietistic devotion and unionism; in 1840 they formed the German Evangelical Church Society in the West. Union with other Evangelical church associations further expanded the movement’s membership until in 1877 it took the name of the German Evangelical Synod of North America. On June 25, 1934, this Synod and the Reformed Church in the United States (formerly the German Reformed Church) united to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church. In both groups the German ethnic traits had lost their influence as the Evangelical and Reformed Church entered the mainstream of American church life. In the formation of the Evangelical and Reformed Church there is a singular blend of the Reformed tradition’s passion for unity of the church and the Evangelical tradition’s commitment to the liberty of conscience inherent in the gospel. These accents were critically important for the utili-The German Reformed Church comprised an irenic aspect of the Protestant Reformation, as a second generation of reformers drew on the insights of Zwingli, Luther and Calvin to formulate the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563. This confession of faith proved to be a unifying force, first in the German Palatinate and then in other German lands. People of the German Reformed Church began immigrating to the New World early in the 18th century, and settlement in the middle Atlantic colonies saw the heaviest concentration locating in Pennsylvania.

Independence from European supervision and the formal organization of the American denomination were completed in 1793. Succeeding years saw the church spreading across the country, and in the Mercersburg Movement, developing a strong emphasis on evangelical catholicity and Christian unity.

By the opening of the 19th century in Germany, Enlightenment criticism and Pietist inwardness had worked a marked increase in longstanding conflicts between religious groups. The change was signalized in