What was it Like to Have a Visiting Pastor?
In 1740, the year our congregation was formed, there were only three
ordained ministers that served over fifteen thousand Lutherans in the
Middle colonies – New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, and Virginia. One Lutheran pastor said “it was easier to be
the humblest cowherd in Germany than to serve the church in
America.” The scarcity of minister in the Middle Colonies stemmed
ultimately from the churches’ dependence upon Europe for their
clergy. A church congregation could not simply appoint its minister
from the ranks of the lay membership. He had to be educated and
ordained by institutions which were usually found only in the Old
World and they could not meet the demand of the Colonial churches.
Ministers were reluctant to immigrate to the New World and the
churches to be able to prosper found that their only alternative was to
become self-sufficient.
The pastors who did come found it was impossible to maintain the
European standards of worship because the members were so widely
scattered over the countryside. Routine duties such as pastoral visits,
baptisms, worship, and communion inevitably fell short of standards
set in Germany where congregations were in villages and the members
could easily be visited several times a year. Many pastors were forced
to lower the standards of confirmation. Pastors were short in supply
and such large distances away from their congregations, they could not
supervise the instruction of the young and confirmed them if they
merely understood the most elementary doctrines. A Pastor’s life was
difficult. He was traveling more than he was home and sacrificed their
families in support of the spiritual needs of others. Many early pastors
were serving communities of believers that were in a range of 200
miles. The traveling trails between settlements were very rough and in
the winter months they were exposed to cold temperatures for
extended period of times and frequently in their traveling dangers were
eminent.
Many young pastors when starting out learned all too quickly that you
could not minister to his flock in the same way as he had learned in the
institution back in Germany. The colonial churches did not fit the
standard model of Germany because of the complicated conditions in
Many young pastors when starting out learned all too quickly that you
could not minister to his flock in the same way as he had learned in the
institution back in Germany. The colonial churches did not fit the
standard model of Germany because of the complicated conditions in
the Colonies. If the pastor tried to make the congregation fit then the
pastor was no longer meeting the needs of the lay people and
discontent arose. For this reason many pastors weren’t long in serving
the spiritual needs of a community.
The Lutheran ministry in colonial America was threatened by the
continuing presence and operation of “pretender” or “vagabond
preachers” who were employed by many Lutheran groups desperate
for the services of Word and Sacrament in the midst of a great clergy
shortage. Many of these imposters were ex-ministers from Europe,
defrocked for reasons of immorality or false doctrine. Others were
unqualified indentured servants who made deals on the boat with
Lutherans groups exchanging the cost of passage to North America for
promised pastoral services. Many of these imposters would also
privately ordain one another and then pass themselves off to
unsuspecting Lutheran congregations as legitimate Lutheran pastors.
When an ordained minister visited the community the babes were
carried out to him and all the faithful partake in the Lord’s Supper.
The young boys and girls would come for catechetical instruction and
preparation for confirmation. Baptisms in the early years of our
church were done about once a year, whenever the pastor would come
to the valley. Baptisms were an important part of the life of the
German people. The parents were used to having the children baptized
as soon after birth as possible and now they wait for months or
sometimes a couple of years to have this sacrament performed.
Baptismal records were important because the recording of the event
would often be useful in proving the length of time you were in
America. A visiting pastor to the Germans in Frederick wrote, ‘he
saw tears of the spiritually hungry souls roll down their cheeks.’
Many young pastors when starting out learned all too quickly that you
could not minister to his flock in the same way as he had learned in the
institution back in Germany. The colonial churches did not fit the
standard model of Germany because of the complicated conditions in
Many young pastors when starting out learned all too quickly that you
could not minister to his flock in the same way as he had learned in the
institution back in Germany. The colonial churches did not fit the
standard model of Germany because of the complicated conditions in
the Colonies. If the pastor tried to make the congregation fit then the
pastor was no longer meeting the needs of the lay people and
discontent arose. For this reason many pastors weren’t long in serving
the spiritual needs of a community.
The Lutheran ministry in colonial America was threatened by the
continuing presence and operation of “pretender” or “vagabond
preachers” who were employed by many Lutheran groups desperate
for the services of Word and Sacrament in the midst of a great clergy
shortage. Many of these imposters were ex-ministers from Europe,
defrocked for reasons of immorality or false doctrine. Others were
unqualified indentured servants who made deals on the boat with
Lutherans groups exchanging the cost of passage to North America for
promised pastoral services. Many of these imposters would also
privately ordain one another and then pass themselves off to
unsuspecting Lutheran congregations as legitimate Lutheran pastors.
When an ordained minister visited the community the babes were
carried out to him and all the faithful partake in the Lord’s Supper.
The young boys and girls would come for catechetical instruction and
preparation for confirmation. Baptisms in the early years of our
church were done about once a year, whenever the pastor would come
to the valley. Baptisms were an important part of the life of the
German people. The parents were used to having the children baptized
as soon after birth as possible and now they wait for months or
sometimes a couple of years to have this sacrament performed.
Baptismal records were important because the recording of the event
would often be useful in proving the length of time you were in
America. A visiting pastor to the Germans in Frederick wrote, ‘he
saw tears of the spiritually hungry souls roll down their cheeks.’