A History of the WELS - The South Central District

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8 that the congregations which had done little or nothing be urged to do their part and help to the best of their ability to bring Synod’s legitimate and ardent desire to free itself of debt to an early fulfillment. 18 This recommendation was adopted by the Synod and so the agitation committee to liquidate the synod debt ended its work. Synod’s debt was not liquidated, though. Even though $18,600 was collected during 1899 and 1900, Synod’s deficit on current expenses and budget was still increasing. The college and seminary buildings required maintenance. In 1903 two professors’ residences were built in Watertown, and properties for two additional residences were purchased for $4,400. There was still the debt on the Wauwatosa Seminary. There were, as there always are, unexpected expenses. Synod at this time had no real indication of what its member congregations would contribute to Synod. The congregations gave sporadically year to year to the various synodical funds. There may be many reasons for this, such as, first of all and perhaps most significantly, the pastors’ feelings toward Synod and the various funds, the ones he promoted or did not promote. The conditions within the congregations were ever changing (building projects, poor harvest, etc.). The synod was growing in numbers, too, which meant expenses would also grow, and one would suspect contributions to grow also. Yet, as Dr. Kiessling relates, “synodical giving never quite caught up with synodical growing.” 19 The debt by 1904 was again up to $27,000. The synodical budget, as submitted by the committee on ways and means which had been appointed by the 1904 Synod, was $46,052. The “expected revenues” amounted to $16,225, leaving $29,800 to be contributed by the congregations. This is why Synod was so reluctant to take on a $50,000 building project at Northwestern in 1904. In the Synod meeting at Appleton in 1903 $25,000 was set as a limit for the building project. But when the sketches were presented at the 1904 Synod in Milwaukee, it was clear that the kind of building that was so desperately needed could not be put up for that sum. The Synod decided to postpone its decision until the matter could be more thoroughly considered. Finally, at a special meeting in Watertown, November 1-3, 1904, Synod decided to set $50,000 as the upper limit for the new dormitory and for the changes and additions to the dining hall and kitchen. The actual cost of the building and the improvements in the other buildings was $51,267, but President von Rohr and Mr. Graebner of Milwaukee pledged themselves to raise the excess over the sum set by Synod. The Wisconsin Synod in 1904 had a heavy financial burden to bear. The debt was $27,000, Synod budget was $46,052, and the building project was $50,000. The financial burden was so formidable that Synod in 1904 decided to call a man out of the parish ministry to devote all his time to collecting money in the member congregations for the new building and for payment of the Synod’s debt. There was considerable opposition to this: that an office in which the administrative work is divorced from the personal pastoring of souls is not a benefit to the incumbent or the body; that with the growing size of the body it may become a direct menace; and that the administration of an organization on earth is of merit only in the measure that the least member in the large organism functions properly, that is to say, is moved by the right spirit which should govern the whole body. 20 This opposition was not directed against the man who was to be called but rather against the plan itself. It was argued that an office was being created that was not in conformity with the divine call into the parish ministry, and that it would be difficult to abolish such an office and place the holder of the office back into the ministry. 21 Pastor Richard Siegler was called for this work by the Synod in 1904. He was to present the needs of the college to the member congregations and to act as special collector. His congregation granted him leave in the service of Synod. An assistant pastor took charge of his congregation in his absence. His work was important and successful. On the day the new dormitory was dedicated, October 15, 1905, he was able to report that the entire sum, $50,000, had been secured by responsible subscriptions. 18 Ibid. 19 Kiessling, Vol. 37, No. 20, p.314. 20 Koehler, p. 230. 21 Kowalke, E.E., Centennial Story, Milwaukee: NWP, 1965, p. 143.
9 Pastor Siegler was then persuaded to continue his work as collector of the pledged monies. His congregation agreed to extend his leave of service to the synod. In 1910 he resigned from his pastorate to become full time “representative of institutions” for the Wisconsin Synod. At the time there was quite a bit of discussion to keep his official position in character with the divine office. The office of “collector” savored too much of money matters. Therefore he was called to the office of “representative of institutions.” He seems to have been an unusually able collector and made house to house canvasses in the congregations that invited him. He has the gift of presenting the needs of the college so vividly and truthfully that few of the members of congregations he has visited have failed to show their awakened interest by substantial contributions.... He proceeded to visit congregation after congregation, and in each congregation he personally visited the homes of all members and aroused the individual Christians realize the responsibility for their institution. 22 By 1915 he had collected $148,167.55 from 108 congregations. Though most of his work was being done for Northwestern, indirectly it helped to reduce the synodical debt because any debt of Northwestern was a debt of Synod. It should also be noted that in 1915 a jubilee offering for Northwestern College of $17,180.12 was collected. A New Era – More Debts A new era in synodical history began with the organization of the Joint Synod in 1917. The synods of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, which had been associated in a working union for 25 years, were now joined together and divided into districts. The larger body gradually took over all the properties and it immediately assumed all the debts. These amounted to $56,000 in 1919, the year of the first meeting, and to some $80,000 more by 1921. In 1919 and 1920 the Joint Synod strongly recommended the use of the envelope system, which had recently been introduced into many congregations with great success. In fact, our publishing house was instructed to send three envelopes for each communicant to all pastors who were willing to receive them. But there were many pastors who wanted nothing to do with the envelope system. Another system the Joint Synod introduced in the early 1920’s was the quota system. What the quota system means was: The total budget (for Synod) was divided by the number of communicants and a ‘per communicant share’ was arrived at. If a congregation had 300 members and the ‘per communicant share’ was $10, then the congregation’s ‘fair share’ of the Synod’s budget was $3,000. 23 From 1921 on articles on the financial situation, on encouragement to Christian giving began to increase in the Northwestern Lutheran. From 1924-1934 there was a separate listing in the index to the Northwestern Lutheran on “Christian Giving.” These articles would often quote articles from the papers of other church bodies and from the world of finance. Statistics and methods of raising money were discussed more and more. These articles often drew comparisons. There were comparisons to what people were spending on automobiles and what they were giving to Synod. There were comparisons to what people spent on “luxuries” (such as cigars), and what they gave to Synod. There were also comparisons to what other church bodies gave to synod and what the congregations of the Joint Synod of Wisconsin and other states planned to give or were giving. For example in the April 8, 1923 edition of the Northwestern Lutheran Pastor John Brenner in an article entitled “An Enviable Record” cites the example of the Augustana Synod, a body of 205,000 communicant members, raising within a year (1922) for its institutions a special sum of almost $2,500,000. He then goes on to comment: We, too, have begun to think of our educational institutions and are planning to improve and extend them. We are making a beginning with our theological seminary. During the month of May we are going to try to raise about $650,000 to $700,000 to pay the debts of the synod and 22 Hoermann, A. Our Northwestern College, Milwaukee: NPH, 1915 p. 62 (English edition). 23 You and Your Synod, Milwaukee: NPH, 1972, p.41.
Page 1 and 2: “A History of Special Offerings i
Page 3 and 4: 1859 when synod resolved that the W
Page 5 and 6: 5 To bring this diversion to a clos
Page 7: 7 3. To rouse interest in the congr
Page 11 and 12: included in the budget each bienniu
Page 13 and 14: Budgetary Allotments” had three m
Page 15 and 16: 15 If such preaching is wanting, fi
Page 17 and 18: 17 These are explanations, but they
Page 19 and 20: any system, abuses could and did ar
Page 21 and 22: $4,000,000 special building fund dr
Page 23 and 24: many fine electronic files availabl

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