| Henry Melchior Muhlenberg ( founder, first North American Lutheran synod) German born
(1711) and educated, Muhlenberg entered the university theological seminary at Gottingen
in 1737. There he came under the influence of Baron Von Munchausen, was ordained in 1739,
and in 1741 asked to become a missionary "to the scattered Lutherans in
Pennsylvania." He entered the colonies at Charleston, S.C. , in 1742 and before going
to Pennsylvania visited Lutheran ministries there and in Georgia. Once in Pennsylvania, he
was elected pastor of the three congregations: Philadelphia, New Providence and New
Hanover. A new building dedication for St. Michael's, Philadelphia, in 1748 brought
together pastors and representatives of congregations from as far as New York and York
County, Pennsylvania. Here the first general conference or synod was launched to the theme
of Muhlenberg's opening address: "A twisted cord of many threads will not easily
break. There must be unity among us...." The Ministerium of Pennsylvania was to meet
annually as a time for discussion of theological issues amid the practical problems facing
the young church. Muhlenberg published a collection of hymns and prayers and his model
constitution for congregations provided for unity and cohesion as they carried out his
motto "Ecclesia Plantanda" (The Church must be planted). By 1783 the expanding
synod had five districts, and in 1786 New York formed a separate synod. By 1801 with
districts expanded to include congregations in Maryland, Virginia and western Pennsylvania
the seeds were sown for still more churches and synods. The "patriarch of the
Lutheran church in America" died in 1787. |