In 1873 the rift between Pr. Kilian and his long-time organist, cantor, and friend Carl Teinert had grown so great that Teinert left Kilian’s congregation and helped found the church that is now Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Warda. Three years passed before Kilian and Teinert met again, at the installation of Pr. Proft at …
There’s been no small amount of discussion of baptismal sponsors in our home over the last few days, partly because, God willing, our soon-to-be-born child will be baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Thorndale in early October, but also because of my post from a few days back about Pr. Kilian baptizing the firstborn …
Pastor Stiemke of Holy Cross was certainly aware of the interpersonal conflicts that had resulted in the separation of Holy Cross as well as St. Peter’s in Serbin from Kilian’s congregation in Serbin. That’s why I find this tidbit from a letter from Pr. Kilian wrote to the Rev. F. J. Biltz in Concordia, Missouri …
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Read More »
The Rev. Timotheus Stiemke was in a difficult situation. He’d been assigned to a new Lutheran congregation in the little town of New Start (a few miles south of Serbin), where he was installed on the fourth Sunday in Advent in 1874. Stiemke was the second pastor to serve the congregation, which had only been …
“And unto the Wends I became as a Wend, that I might gain the Wends…” Read More »
When it comes to the study of history, generalization is (in general) a problem. (See what I did there?) That being said, it’s difficult to begin the study of any historical event without starting with generalities. One such generality is “the Wends came to Texas to preserve their language and culture.” In general, that is …
To Generalize or Not To Generalize, That is the Question Read More »
It’s early 1855. You are one of the fortunate ones who survived the two-month trip across the Atlantic in the Ben Nevis. The brutal winter will, in a few months, give way to Spring. Unfortunately, though, your husband was one of the seventy-some souls who perished en route to Galveston. Now that you’re in Texas, …
“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone…” Read More »
Pastor Killian often had his hands full with conflicts within his congregation over theology, language (German vs. Wendish), and of course, personal matters. Besides those, it seems that the English-speaking Texans in the area didn’t know what to make of the worship of the newcomers, or how to behave in church. The following rules, which …
“It is not permitted to comb or arrange the hair during the worship.” Read More »