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AUGSBURG LUTHERAN DISTRICT HOLDS CONSTITUTING CONVENTION 

The First Lifeboat for Confessing Lutherans Sets Sail From Elk Horn, Iowa

When Danish Lutherans came to Elk Horn, Iowa, more than a hundred and twenty-five years ago, they began to build and are still building. Not only did they build a church, but also a folk high school, a children’s home which began in the 1800’s and existed until the 1960’s, a 100 bed nursing home, a retirement home, and mothered 18 area churches as well.

They established a Danish Lutheran College which merged with Dana College, Blair, Nebraska, and have supported several missions in Japan and Africa.   Always having a strong connection with the larger church, Elk Horn Lutheran was, in 1896,  the site for the constituting convention of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church, (UELC) which eventually became a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

When a number of ELCA churches expressed a desire to assemble, (a word
about that later) the members of Elk Horn Lutheran were asked if they would be willing to host an assembly again.  True to their tradition, they extended an invitation and the offer was gladly accepted.  On July 15-19, 2001, the people of Elk Horn Lutheran hosted the constituting convention of the Augsburg Lutheran District, a brand new fellowship of churches committed to the integrity of the Lutheran witness to the gospel of Christian freedom in matters of church structure and ministry.

Why was such an assembly necessary?  The Augsburg Confession of 1530 insists that such things as ordination of clergy are not sacraments instituted by Christ, but are human ceremonies which need not be uniformly observed everywhere.   Therefore, uniformity of ordination practices and church structure, says the Augsburg Lutheran District, must never become a requirement for church unity.    According to ALD, Christian unity is found only in Christ and cannot be contrived or coerced by requiring a certain kind of bishop.

Thus, when ELCA ecumenical deal makers agreed to the demand of the Episcopal Church USA, that in order for there to be unity there must be uniformity of such things as ordination practices, people began to raise real questions.   Lutheran pastors and laity who found no such requirements in either Scripture or the Lutheran Confessions said “no!” and the people of Elk Horn Lutheran said, “our doors are open to you.”

As with the beginning of Elk Horn Lutheran and the UELC over a century ago, the beginning of ALD was also a humble but spirited affair. Because ALD is a non geographic district, representatives from twenty-six churches, from as far away as Oregon and Pennsylvania, gathered to worship, adopt a constitution and elect officers and a board of trustees.   Believing that form follows function and structure must follow mission rather than dictate it, ALD has not spent all of it’s energy creating structure but has already sponsored three new mission churches with plans for more.

On the final evening, the people gathered at the entrance to the church and commissioned their officers.   Then they marched into the church, singing, “Lift High the Cross,” and heard a sermon on Christ’s words, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lots its taste, how can the saltiness be restored?  You are the light of the world.  A city built on a hill cannot be hid.”  Matthew 5:13ff. Then they celebrated the Lord’s Supper together.   Afterward, as evening came to the rolling fields and woodlots of western Iowa, new found friends gathered on the large lawn behind the parsonage for refreshments and a fireworks display.   Elk Horn Lutheran, built on a hill at the edge of the city, is not a mega church.  But it is built upon an eternal gospel promise and the light of that promise cannot be hid.  The members and friends of Augsburg Lutheran District are fortunate to have been given such a place in which to begin their new life together.

For questions about the convention, or the community of Elk Horn, please feel free to contact Rev. Mike Williams of Elk Horn Lutheran Church by telephone at 712-764-5678 (church) or E-mail: michaeljohn75@yahoo.com.

More information about the Augsburg Lutheran District Convention can also be found at: http://www.augsburgdistrict.org/  and http://www.newlutheranfellowship.org/ 

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