This was a wonderful clarification for me - as my gggrandparents were members of the Evangelical Church . The daughters of this family joined the WLS Church, but the Mother was buried from the UCC . The father died and was buried in the Evangelical Church and I am having a really difficult time finding any of HIS church records. I now have another source of inquiry. Blessings, Linda Noll [email protected] God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. ~ Ephesians 2:8-9 > [Original Message] > From: Marvin Huggins <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 1/1/2010 11:18:23 AM > Subject: [G-P-L] [Fwd: Re: Lutheran Connectons] > > > This was my second exchange with Ursula. I hope it is helpful to more list > members. > Marvin > -------- Original Message -------- > > Subject: Re: [G-P-L] Lutheran Connectons > Date: Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:12:58 -0600 > From: Marvin Huggins [1]<[email protected]> > Reply-To: [2][email protected] > To: Ursula [3]<[email protected]> > References: > [4]<[email protected]a.mail.c > omcast.net> > > Ursula, > The "Evangelical Calendar" about which you ask reflects another aspect of > the confusion many have with identifying and locating the right congregation > with records of their ancestors. > The "Deutsche Evangelische Synode von Nordamerika" developed out of the > "Kirchenverein des Westens," which was organized about the same time as the > Missouri Synod and the other midwestern Lutheran church bodies like the > Wisconsin and Iowa synods. And it also happened to be centered in Saint > Louis, which compounds the confusion. The Evangelical Synod (for short) is > an American reflection of the Prussian Union churches from Germany with a > mixture of Lutheran and Reformed confessional allegiances. It was at odds > with the Missouri Synod, which stood on a strict adherence to the Lutheran > Confessions in the Book of Concord of 1580. > However, individuals and families who belonged to congregations affiliated > with the Evangelical Synod may have thought of themselves as Lutherans and > passed down that tradition in family stories. They may also have moved back > and forth between congregations affiliated with the different church bodies. > Often it is only when one knows the name of a pastor who performed marriages > and baptisms of family members can one determine with which church body the > pastor was affiliated and trace an existing congregation where the records > might now be located. > The Evangelical Synod (see > [5]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical_synod_of_north_america)merged > with the Reformed Church of America in 1934 to form the Evangelical and > Reformed Church. That body, in turn, merged in 1957 with the Congregational > Church to form the United Church of Christ (UCC). So congregations in the > Saint Louis area and elsewhere in the midwest that had originally affiliated > with the Evangelical Synod are now usually part of the UCC. In most cases > their names have changed, for example, from Saint Paul Evangelical Church to > Saint Paul United Church of Christ. In a few cases these congregations have > retained the name "Evangelical." > The records of the Evangelical Synod and of some of its congregations are > located today in the archives of Eden Theological Seminary in the Saint > Louis suburb of Webster Groves. This is one of several archival repositories > of the UCC. > Marvin > Ursula wrote: > > Marvin, > > Thank you so much for the detailed information regarding the Concordia Historic > al Institute. > > I was confirmed in Germany in 1956 in an Evangelical-Lutheran Church. After I i > mmigrated to America, I resided in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and now Michigan. No > t until I came to Michigan [Macomb County] did I become a member of the U.C.C., > formerly known as St. Matthew German Evangelical Church in Adair, Michigan. Th > ere are several other U.C.C. churches in this area, the church records of which > I have translated. > > There are also two Lutheran churches in this area and it took me quite some tim > e and research before I understood the difference between these churches. In fa > ct I would say that most of the people probably think they are the same. > > Speaking of the Evangelical Calender that was published by the "Deutsche Evange > lische Synode von Nordamerika" [German Evangelical Synod of North America] thro > ugh Eden Publishing House in St. Louis, MO, can you tell me when the Synod chan > ged its name to "Missouri Synod"? Was it the same time as when the synod was di > vided? > > I can imagine the important role this annual calendar played in the life of the > German immigrants, especially since there were few opportunities for German-la > nguage reading material. > > To those of you who don't know anything about this calendar, let me tell descri > be it to you: it was in paperback book format that apart from a calendar had ma > ny good stories, some non-fictions and fictions, stories for children, news abo > ut current events in Germany, photographs of public officials, advertisements f > or church bells, organs, bibles, and religious instructions, postal rates, and > finally a directory of all the pastors who served in the German Evangelical Syn > od of North America. > > I once planned on scanning one of the Calendars but because they are printed in > Fraktur, few people would be able to read the text, save for the list of pasto > rs in the back of the book which are printed in Times Roman font. > > Ursula > > References > > 1. mailto:[email protected] > 2. mailto:[email protected] > 3. mailto:[email protected] > 4. mailto:[email protected]a.mai l.comcast.net > 5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical_synod_of_north_america > > For all the latest News, please visit our Homepage: http://www.germanyroots.com > > Please visit and participate in our new forum > http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message