Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

Part II: Getting to know each other: Fraternal relations (1917-1955)
Chapter 1
Early relations (1917-1930)
The relations between WELS and ELS grew tremendously during the years 1917-
1955 for a number of factors. First, there were geographic reasons. The main
concentrations of ELS churches were in areas that were historically tied closer to the
Wisconsin Synod: Madison, WI; The Twin Cities area; southern Minnesota, especially
the Minnesota River Valley; the Dakotas and the state of Washington. Yet another
geographical factor was the purchase of Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN. The
lush Minnesota River Valley had been traditionally a Wisconsin Synod area. But with the
purchase and development of Bethany Lutheran College and the later establishment of a
seminary on the same grounds, Mankato would become the nerve center of the ELS.
Secondly, educational endeavors brought the synods closer together. With the loss
of the Norwegian Synod, there was no place for the ELS to train its pastors and teachers.
The Synodical Conference opened its institutions to help. The WELS opened Dr. Martin
Luther College for the training of teachers in the ELS and had their own professor, Oscar
Levorson, serving the Norwegian students. His close relations with the Norwegian Synod
combined with his highly respected ability as a teacher at DMLC would greatly enhance
the friendship of the WELS and ELS. Furthermore, with the growing doctrinal errors of
Missouri, many more Norwegian pastors, in the 1930s and 40s, would attend
Northwestern College and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and more and more leaders of
the ELS would seek WELS trained teachers and pastors to fill their pulpits and
classrooms.
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