Author: John Ludwig Schulze

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-20

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9781331858492

Excerpt from Reports of the United German Evangelical Lutheran Congregations in North America, Specially in Pennsylvania: With Preface Kind Reader: It is well known that the German Evangelical Lutheran congregations in America have become quite numerous and strong, since the beginning of the present century. Their temporal wants, 'tis true, were generally supplied; but those Germans who did not forsake their religion upon leaving their native land, soon discovered, that it was a great disadvantage to them and to their children, that there was, in most places, a total lack of Christian pastors, or that the care of souls had to be committed to the charge of persons who, without a regular call and ordination, had obtruded themselves into the office of Christian teacher, and that, chiefly for the purpose of making a living. These circumstances constrained many of the Germans earnestly to implore of their friends in Europe, that they would send them teachers, men who would take to heart the work of recovering lost sheep and leading them in the way of salvation. As these petitions reached us and many other places already in the year 1733, the history of the pastors who were sent from Germany to America may, in fact, be regarded as having begun more than fifty years ago. It is not my object now, however, to record that history from the beginning down to the present time. It will be found complete in the first volume, that closes with the sixteenth continuation and begins with the year 1742. It was in this year that Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, who yet lives and is at this time the venerable Senior of the German Evangelical Ministerium of North America, the first regularly called and ordained pastor sent out by us, happily arrived in Philadelphia, and was greeted, by many, with a hearty welcome. This first pastor who, from the very beginning of his labors till his advanced years, adorned as they are with glory and with honor, displayed such an extraordinary activity, was followed by divers assistant pastors, whom Ave sent out from time to time as the extension of the work and the necessities of the congregations demanded. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.