Important update (imho) on the issue, at a time the culture wars were just beginning ... Keith Richburg, "America Already Has a Civil Religion," Washington Post, Sept. 8, 1985 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1985/09/08/america-already-has-a-civil-religion/89818518-9e27-45bd-814a-fbae9981a823/. Verbatim excerpts: Education Secretary William J. Bennett sparked the current debate with his unusual Aug. 7 speech to a Catholic lay organization, in which he … Continue reading WaPo story on civil religion
Debriefing ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ — notes and a copy of the script for my Oct. 7 ALPLM presentation on acculturation and creolization
Presenting my paper to ALPLM's virtual Conference on Illinois History. Some ideas and observations that came to me presenting my paper, "Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden: Acculturation in Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860" at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum's annual Conference on Illinois History. Plus a couple of pictures -- including a very nice picture … Continue reading Debriefing ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ — notes and a copy of the script for my Oct. 7 ALPLM presentation on acculturation and creolization
Augustana Synod outtakes — cut during final edit, paper for ALPLM on ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’
CUT FROM CONCLUSION: In quite a different context, folklorist James Leary suggests the multi-ethnic dance bands of the 1940s and 1950s in the upper Midwest created a “creolized, regional repertoire” out of Norwegian, Swedish, German, Slavic and “Scandihoovian” musical licks. “Here,” he proclaims, “reside North Coast creoles.” I am sure that L.P. Esbjörn, Paul Andersen … Continue reading Augustana Synod outtakes — cut during final edit, paper for ALPLM on ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’
‘Swedes in Roger William’s Garden’
Proposal for the paper I'm scheduled to present next month at the 22nd annual Conference on Illinois History sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Conference program and registration information are available HERE. Sessions will be conducted by Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My session will be from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 … Continue reading ‘Swedes in Roger William’s Garden’
‘Dear Church’: A tapestry of discipleship and a call for white folks to ‘do good white folk work’ to help dismantle racism
What can the "whitest denomination(s) in the US" do about institutional racism in this time of pandemic and racial reckoning? Quite a bit, actually. At least more than you'd think, according to the Rev. Lenny Duncan of Vancouver, Wash. Mission development pastor at a Lutheran church in Vancouver, Duncan is the author of Dear Church: A … Continue reading ‘Dear Church’: A tapestry of discipleship and a call for white folks to ‘do good white folk work’ to help dismantle racism
Augustana: Notes, quotes and a 5-paragraph theme-style outline
Jenny Lind Chapel, mother church of Augustana Synod, Andover, Ill. I write because I don't know what I think until I say it. -- Flannery O'Connor xxxx Scratch outline Intro: What do the ethnic synods have to teach us in the 21st century? Folk church -- Swedish example Luther -- prince's responsibility to subjects, Christmas … Continue reading Augustana: Notes, quotes and a 5-paragraph theme-style outline
Notes for future reference on book by AHMS on Scandinavian free churches, perceived ethnic traits
Notes from an 1884 book by an official of the American Home Missionary Society who wanted to solicit immigration from Scandinavia -- it came to me in a pretty roundabout way, a summary in the JSTOR Daily newsletter by free-lance writer Livia Gershon, "How Churches Helped Make Scandinavians 'White',” JSTOR Daily, June 30, 2020 https://daily.jstor.org/how-churches-helped-make-scandinavians-white/ … Continue reading Notes for future reference on book by AHMS on Scandinavian free churches, perceived ethnic traits
Notes on ‘melting pot’ from America’s website
By Cecilia González-Andrieu, a professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif., and a contributing writer for America. Excerpts: We know ourselves heirs of a promise that transcends the brief span of our individual lives; the promise of the resurrection. At the same time, we know that we will get there not … Continue reading Notes on ‘melting pot’ from America’s website
Swedish Lutherans: Synodical and congregational minutes on baptism and membership in the 1850s
Selected Documents: Dealing with the Organization of the First Congregations and the First Conferences of the Augustana Synod and their Growth Until 1860, Vol. 1, ed. I.O. Nothstein, Augustana Historical Society Publications, 10 (1944): 92. Chicago-Mississippi Conference Minutes, Chicago, January 4-9, 1854. 90 [92] Thereupon the following question was acted upon: "What shall be the … Continue reading Swedish Lutherans: Synodical and congregational minutes on baptism and membership in the 1850s
Luther on church, Anabaptists (copy)
Notes on my post at https://hemlandssanger.wordpress.com/2019/08/23/note-luther-quote-on-anabaptists/ on Luther's quote about the church as a "little flock of the faint-hearted, the feeble, and the ailing, who feel and recognize the wretchedness of their sins" in his sermons on John 1-4. Copied here from Hemlandssånger, Aug. 23, 2019 for convenient reference ... --- Screen shot Aug. 23, … Continue reading Luther on church, Anabaptists (copy)
