[et_pb_section fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off”][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image: Altenburg museum” src=”http:\/\/images.altenburgmuseum.org\/saxon-lutheran-memorial\/siteimages\/builderfile\/slider04.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n
Trinity Lutheran Church Steeple (Left) and Altenburg Museum (Right)<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image: Employees” src=”http:\/\/images.altenburgmuseum.org\/saxon-lutheran-memorial\/siteimages\/builderfile\/slider01.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” title_text=”Altenburg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n
Lutheran Heritage Center & Altenburg Museum Staff and Volunteers<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text: Summary” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n
Early in the 19<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> century Protestant Christians were having a very rough time in Germany and Prussia. Lutheranism was discriminated against and many restrictions were placed on its free practice. Children often times had to send their children to schools that disagreed with Lutheranism and some Fathers had to seek special exceptions from the law in order to baptize their children. This unfortunate situation led a group of Saxon Lutherans, led by Martin Stephan, to ponder the possibility of immigration to America in hopes to find religious freedom. Stephan was charismatic and seemed like a true man of God; focused on a relationship with Jesus, and the importance of personal spirituality, he accumulated a decent amount of followers who thought that he was what the church was missing. <\/span><\/p>\n In 1838 the group decided that it was time to move to America. They sailed for St. Louis aboard multiple ships. Pastor Martin was on the final ship. Unfortunately, the ship Amalia did not make the trip and sunk, there were no survivors. Pastor Stephan safely arrived in February and the congregation found out that he was made Bishop while on the ship, something they were not so pleased about.<\/span><\/p>\n The congregation bought 4440 acres 110 miles from St. Louis along the banks of the Mississippi. However, due to bad planning the land they ended up purchasing was uneven and largely composed of bad soil for farming. Thankfully, even with these rough starting conditions the colonists managed to pull through and were fairly optimistic.<\/span><\/p>\n After a little bit of time, when things were settling down a bit, a woman came to Pastor Lober and told her that Stephan had been involved in some \u2018less than Christian\u2019 activities. Rumors began to spread throughout the colonists and many were very displeased. Stephan did not apologize or ask forgiveness for his actions. In May of 1839 Stephan was forcibly removed from his office and deposited on the other bank of the Mississippi in Illinois. This left many of the colonists ashamed and even uncertain on the validity of their actions and hopes.<\/span><\/p>\n After the departure of Stephan, a new Pastor rose to the office named Walther. Throughout these months the colonists were going through some very difficult times. Fever was ravishing the colonists and a lack money made it difficult to get care and food. They eventually needed to divide and sell the land that they had acquired originally. Not only did they divide the land, but the congregation divided itself as well. The colonists split into five groups, named for the regions they immigrated from. There was Wittenberg, Seelitz, Dresden, Altenburg, and Frohna. Later that year more immigrants arrived and the colony made it through the coming winter. <\/span><\/p>\n One of the first major problems the new colony faced was its distrust of the clergy. Because of the poor taste Pastor Stephan lest in their mouth many of the colonists felt disillusioned. Many felt that maybe their colony wasn\u2019t the \u2018promised land\u2019 of spiritual life they had hoped. Many of the Altenburg colonists also felt that they had been lied to and mislead. Some even went as far as to wonder if they were outcasts in the eyes of God himself. Many of the Altenburg residents left their congregations and one pastor even resigned. Many of the remaining pastors tried desperately to repair some of the damage done to their small colony and a debate arose.<\/span><\/p>\n This debate centered on the question of. \u201cIs God present in the Church of Altenburg, Missouri?\u201d Two sides emerged, one led by Pastor Burger and the other by Pastor Walther. Walther won the debate and was officially endorsed as a Pastor and celebrated by the community. This was a big event because it had been a little while since the community was excited about its clergy. Sadly, Walther did not stay in the colony for very long as his brother in St. Louis died and Walther was offered a position at the Church there. Pastor Brohm stayed behind in the colony and established what would later become Concordia College, a very important seminary and school. This seminary would later become one of the oldest, most well-known Lutheran Seminaries in America, mostly due to its involvement with Seminex.<\/span><\/p>\n By 1845 the colony and church had stabilized somewhat. The outbreak of fever had somewhat resided and people were able to return to their normal lives. Things went smoothly until another theological debate arose. This time the colonists were trying to decide whether or not they would accept Pastor Luber\u2019s proposition to encourage Personal Confession, rather than the normal general confession. Two groups, of course, emerged to debate. Luber won the debate by explaining that Personal Confession helped extend the grace of God to the individual and brought him or her closer to God, as well as help strengthen their relationship with God.<\/span><\/p>\n In 1848 the congregations joined the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri after being told that they were not bound indefinitely to the Synod. They were told that they could leave if they ever felt the Synod was harmful or detrimental.<\/span><\/p>\n By: Serena Calcagno, Caleb Carvalho and Jacob Polfer<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]\n\n