The Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

denomination that existed from 1917, when it was founded as the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA), until 1960, when it joined two other church bodies to form the second

American Lutheran Church The American Lutheran Church (TALC) was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States and Canada that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters were in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, The ALC designated Augsburg ...

. In 1959, just before its merger into the ALC, the ELC had 2,242 pastors, 2,482 congregations, and 1,125,867 members.

Background

The Norwegian Lutheran Church of America was formed by the merger of the

Hauge Synod The Hauge Synod (formally Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod in America) was the name of a Norwegian Lutheran church body in the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Background The Hauge Synod (Norwegian: ) wa ...

(est. 1876), the

Norwegian Synod The Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. History In February 1853, several Lutheran ministers in ...

(est. 1853), and the

United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (UNLC) was the result of the union in 1890 of the Norwegian Augustana Synod (est. 1870), the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (1870), and the Anti-Missourian ...

(est. 1890). The NLCA changed its name to the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) in 1946 as part of its Americanization process. In 1960, the ELC joined with Lutheran churches of German and Danish backgrounds to form The American Lutheran Church, the first Lutheran body in North America to have multiple ethnic backgrounds. This coalescence of Lutheran churches continued into recent times, with the ALC later joining others 28 years later to form the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

in 1988.

Colleges associated with the ELC

Augustana College (South Dakota) Augustana University is a private Lutheran university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The university identifies 1860 as the year of its founding, the same as its Rock Island, Illinois Swedish-heritage sister school, Augustana College. It derive ...

Concordia College, Moorhead Concordia College is a private college in Moorhead, Minnesota. Founded by Norwegian settlers in 1891, the school is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and practices the liberal arts. Concordia is accredited by the Higher ...

* Luther College *

Pacific Lutheran University Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...

* St. Olaf College *

Waldorf College Waldorf University is a private for-profit university in Forest City, Iowa. It was founded in 1903 and associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its predecessors. In 2010, it was sold to Columbia Southern University and beca ...

(junior college at that time)

ELC seminary

Luther Theological Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Presidents of the ELC

* Hans Gerhard Stub, 1917–1925 *

Johan Arnd Aasgaard Johan Arnd Aasgaard (April 5, 1876 – January 13, 1966) was an American Lutheran church leader. Biography Johan Arnd Aasgaard was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota. He was educated at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota (class of 1901). He ...

, 1925–1954 * Fredrik A. Schiotz, 1954–1960

Conventions of the ELC

From 1917 to 1926 a general convention was held triennially. There was need of holding several extraordinary conventions, so beginning in 1928 (called the 8th) it was held biennially with the general convention always falling on the even numbered years. Voting members of the conventions were pastors who were currently serving congregations of the Church, and one lay representative from each parish consisting of one congregation and two representatives from each parish consisting of two or more congregations. *Organizing convention, 1917, Saint Paul, Minnesota *1st extraordinary, 1918, Fargo, North Dakota *1st general convention, 1920, Minneapolis, Minnesota *2nd extraordinary convention, 1922, Minneapolis, Minnesota *2nd general convention, 1923, Saint Paul, Minnesota *3rd extraordinary convention, 1925, Saint Paul, Minnesota *3rd general convention, 1926, Minneapolis, Minnesota *8th general convention, 1928, Minneapolis, Minnesota *9th general convention, 1930, Minneapolis, Minnesota *10th general convention, 1932, Minneapolis, Minnesota *11th general convention, 1934, Minneapolis, Minnesota *12th general convention, 1936, Minneapolis, Minnesota *13th general convention, 1938, Minneapolis, Minnesota *14th general convention, 1940, Minneapolis, Minnesota *15th general convention, 1942, Minneapolis, Minnesota *16th general convention, 1944, Minneapolis, Minnesota *17th general convention, 1946, Minneapolis, Minnesota *18th general convention, 1948, Minneapolis, Minnesota *19th general convention, 1950, Minneapolis, Minnesota *20th general convention, 1952, Minneapolis, Minnesota *21st general convention, 1954, Minneapolis, Minnesota *22nd general convention, 1956, Minneapolis, Minnesota *23rd general convention, 1958, Minneapolis, Minnesota *24th general convention, 1960, Minneapolis, Minnesota

References

{{reflist *Nelson, E. Clifford, ''Norsemen on the Prairies. America's Lutherans'' (ed. Omar Bonderud and Charles Lutz. Columbus, OH: Wartburg Press. 1958. page 20-23) *Nelson, E. Clifford, and Fevold, Eugene L., ''The Lutheran Church among Norwegian-Americans: a History of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'' (Minneapolis. MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1960)

External links

ELCA predecessor church bodiesEvangelical Lutheran Church from LCMS Christian Cyclopedia
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America predecessor churches Christian organizations established in 1917