The American Lutheran Church (ALC) was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters were in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House (est. 1891), also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher. The Lutheran Standard was the official magazine of the ALC. For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... For other senses of this word, see denomination. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Minneapolis redirects here. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Theologically, the church was influenced by pietism, and was slightly more conservative than the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), with which it would eventually merge. Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late-17th century to the mid-18th century. ... The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was a U.S. Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. ...

The ALC cooperated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in many ventures, but ties would end when talks concerning a merger with the Lutheran Church in America began. Official cross symbol of the Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. ... The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was a U.S. Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. ...

In 1966, Canadian congregations of the ALC formed the autonomous Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (ELCC), which in 1986 joined with the Lutheran Church in America - Canada Section (LCA-CS) to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) (French: Eglise Evangelique Lutherienne au Canada) is Canadas largest Lutheran denomination, with 182,077 baptized members in 624 congregations. ...

The ALC began ordaining women as ministers in December 1970, when the Rev. Barbara Andrews became the second woman ordained as a Lutheran minister in the United States. The first Native American woman to become a Lutheran minister in the United States, the Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, was ordained by the ALC in July 1987. Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Barbara Andrews is an American writer of 20 romance novels as her real name, and now with her daughter Pam Andrews Hanson, they write under the pseudonyms Jennifer Drew and Pam Rock. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ...

Formation

The American Lutheran Church was formed in 1960 out of the following Lutheran church bodies:

American Lutheran Church (1930)

American Lutheran Church, which was formed in 1930 from a merger of the German Iowa Synod (est. 1854), Buffalo Synod (est. 1845) and the Joint Synod of Ohio (est. 1818). Note: After 1960, this body was informally referred to as the "old American Lutheran Church," to distinguish it from the body of the same name into which it had been absorbed. Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1818 (MDCCCXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

• Presidents of ALC
• Carl C. Hein 1930–1937
• Emmanuel F. Poppen 1937–1950
• Henry F. Schuh 1951–1960

• Colleges of ALC
• Capital University
• Wartburg College
• Texas Lutheran University
• Luther College (Saskatchewan)

• Seminaries of ALC
• Capital (Columbus, Ohio)
• Wartburg (Dubuque, Iowa)

Capital University is a university of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Bexley, Ohio, founded in 1830, that offers five schools of study: College of Arts and Sciences; the Conservatory of Music; Capital University Law School; School of Management; and School of Nursing. ... Wartburg College is a four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Waverly, Iowa. ... Texas Lutheran University is an undergraduate, private, coeducational university affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. ... Luther College is a college and high school located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. ... Trinity Lutheran Seminary is a (ELCA) seminary (a school of theology) located in Columbus, Ohio. ... Wartburg Theological Seminary is a Lutheran (ELCA) seminary located in Dubuque, Iowa. ...

Evangelical Lutheran Church

Evangelical Lutheran Church, established in 1917 and known from its founding until 1946 as the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA). The NLCA had itself been formed from a merger of the Hauge Synod (est. 1876), the Norwegian Synod (est. 1853) and the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (est. 1890). The Evangelical Lutheran Church or ELC was formed in 1917 as the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1876 Pick up Sticks(MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in February 1853 in Iowa. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America was the result of the union formed between the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and the Anti-Missourian Brotherhood in 1890. ... Year 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ...

United Evangelical Lutheran Church

United Evangelical Lutheran Church, founded in 1896 and known until 1946 as the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church. The UDELC had been formed from a merger of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Association in America (or Blair Church) (est. 1884) and the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America (or North Church) (est. 1894). The United Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1896. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Additional member

The American Lutheran Church was joined in 1963 by the following Lutheran church body:

Lutheran Free Church

The Lutheran Free Church, which had broken away from the United Norwegian Lutheran Church in 1897, joined The ALC on February 1, 1963. (Forty Lutheran Free Church congregations chose not to participate in the merger, and instead formed the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, today the fourth-largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. with over 250 congregations.) The Lutheran Free Church was a Lutheran church that existed in the United States official from 1897 to 1963. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ... Association of Free Lutheran Congregations is the 4th largest Lutheran church body in the United States. ...

Merger

The site of the ALC's former headquarters now serves as the Hennepin County Jail

On 1 January 1988, the American Lutheran Church ceased to exist when it, along with the Lutheran Church in America and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, joined together to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. At the time of the merger, the ALC was the third-largest Lutheran church body in the United States, behind the Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. The ALC brought approximately 2.25 million members into the ELCA. Twelve ALC congregations that did not want to participate in the merger formed the American Association of Lutheran Churches, which has since grown to 87 congregations. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3200x2400, 1496 KB) Summary Image taken by Micah of the Hennepin County, Minnesota Public Safety Facility. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3200x2400, 1496 KB) Summary Image taken by Micah of the Hennepin County, Minnesota Public Safety Facility. ... Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century French explorer Father Louis Hennepin. ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was a U.S. Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. ... The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) was a U.S. church body that existed from 1976 through the end of 1987. ... The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was a U.S. Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. ... LCMS redirects here. ... The American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC) was formed on November 7, 1987 as an alternative choice for churches in The American Lutheran Church denomination who did not want to be part of the merger with two other Lutheran church bodies which formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. ...

Presidents/Presiding Bishops of ALC

• 1960 - 1970 Fredrik A. Schiotz
• 1971 - 1973 Kent S. Knutson
• 1973 - 1987 David W. Preus

Use of the term Presiding Bishop approved in 1980.

Colleges and seminaries of ALC

Colleges

• Augsburg College
• Augustana College (South Dakota)
• California Lutheran University
• Capital University
• Concordia College, Moorhead
• Dana College
• Luther College (Iowa)
• Pacific Lutheran University
• St. Olaf College
• Texas Lutheran University
• Wartburg College

• Waldorf Jr. College now a 4 year college
• Oak Grove Lutheran High School, Fargo, North Dakota

Augsburg College is a liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Augustana College is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and located on a rolling 100-acre (400,000 m²) campus in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. ... California Lutheran University (CLU also known as Cal Lutheran) is a university of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Thousand Oaks, California. ... Capital University is a university of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Bexley, Ohio, founded in 1830, that offers five schools of study: College of Arts and Sciences; the Conservatory of Music; Capital University Law School; School of Management; and School of Nursing. ... For other academic instutions named Concordia, see Concordia (disambiguation). ... Dana College is an accredited baccalaureate college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Blair, Nebraska. ... For other places with the same name, see Luther College (disambiguation). ... The university is located near Tacoma, Washington Pacific Lutheran University is located in the Parkland suburb of Tacoma, Washington. ... St. ... Texas Lutheran University is an undergraduate, private, coeducational university affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. ... Wartburg College is a four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Waverly, Iowa. ... Waldorf College is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Forest City, Iowa. ...

Seminaries

• The Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary , Columbus, Ohio (shared with LCA)
• Luther Theological Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota (shared with LCA)
• Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa
• Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, California (shared with LCA)

Trinity Lutheran Seminary is a (ELCA) seminary (a school of theology) located in Columbus, Ohio. ... Wartburg Theological Seminary is a Lutheran (ELCA) seminary located in Dubuque, Iowa. ... Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) is a seminary based in Berkeley, California. ...

National Conventions

• 1960 ALC Constituting Convention, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1962 1st, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• 1964 2nd, Columbus, Ohio
• 1966 3rd, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1968 4th, Omaha, Nebraska
• 1970 5th, San Antonio, Texas
• 1972 6th, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1974 7th, Detroit, Michigan
• 1976 8th, Washington, D.C.
• 1978 9th, Moorhead, Minnestota
• 1980 10th, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1982 11th, San Diego, California
• 1984 12th, Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota
• 1986 13th, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1987 Closing convention, Columbus, Ohio

References

Todd W. Nichol All These Lutherans (Minneapolis: Augburg Publishing House, 1986)

External links

• The American Lutheran Church (1960-87)
• American Lutheran Church (1930-60)
• ELCA predecessor church bodies
• Wolf, Edmund Jacob. The Lutherans in America; a story of struggle, progress, influence and marvelous growth. New York: J.A. Hill. 1889.

NOTE: The below papers reflect the viewpoints of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), a conservative body opposed to ecumenism. The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) is a North American religious denomination belonging to the Lutheran tradition within Christianity. ...

• The Doctrinal Situation of Three Merging Churches by John Baumgart
• A Brief Factual Presentation Of The Historical Development Of Efforts Toward Lutheran Unity In The U. S. A. by Max Lehninger
• A Basic Doctrinal Difference Among Lutherans by Elmer J. C. Prenzlow, Jr.
• The American Lutheran Church Today by Martin O. Westerhaus