17.07.2014 Views

Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

With such deep sentiments and his<strong>to</strong>rical ties, one cannot help but understand the<br />

feeling that the Madison area was the “turf” of the ELS. So, in 1925, when the Western<br />

<strong>Wisconsin</strong> District of the <strong>Wisconsin</strong> Synod started work in the cradle of the Norwegian<br />

Synod, without so much as a brotherly note of intention, a fire of protest was set off<br />

within the ELS.<br />

The <strong>Wisconsin</strong> Synod never had a foothold in the Madison area before 1925,<br />

which is surprising given the strong <strong>Wisconsin</strong> Synod presence both <strong>to</strong> the east and west<br />

of Madison. To a certain extent, this can be attributed <strong>to</strong> the earlier regional ethnicity of<br />

the Madison area. But by the early 20 th century, the demographic landscape of Madison<br />

was considerably different. Not only had many rural <strong>Wisconsin</strong> Synod people moved in<strong>to</strong><br />

Madison <strong>to</strong> find work, but the <strong>Wisconsin</strong> Synod was in the midst of their transition <strong>to</strong><br />

English, thereby expanding the cultural audience among whom they worked. This same<br />

cultural transition was happening among the ELS. Since both synods were now preaching<br />

the gospel <strong>to</strong> those outside of their traditional cultural enclave, it was only a matter of<br />

time before an issue of “turf” would become a fac<strong>to</strong>r.<br />

That clash came in the fall of 1925. The east side of Madison was booming. How<br />

many <strong>Wisconsin</strong> Synod parishioners had moved in<strong>to</strong> <strong>to</strong>wn? Who else was looking <strong>to</strong> join<br />

a congregation? With this line of reasoning, Pas<strong>to</strong>r Thurow of Sun Prairie decided <strong>to</strong><br />

canvass the east end of Madison in the late summer and early fall of 1925. 185 There was<br />

just one hitch. The ELS’ Our Savior’s Evangelical <strong>Lutheran</strong> Church, with its pas<strong>to</strong>r S.C.<br />

Ylvisaker, was in the midst of its own canvass of the east end. 186 They had gathered a<br />

185 The congregation that would be eventually incorporated from this early group would be Eastside<br />

<strong>Lutheran</strong> Church, Madison, WI.<br />

186 The congregation that would eventually be incorporated from this canvass would be Holy Cross<br />

Evangelical <strong>Lutheran</strong> Church, the largest congregation in the ELS.<br />

95

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!