Augustana Covenant Symposium
The Augustana Synod and the Covenant Church: Contact, Conflict, and Confluence 1860-2010
November 5-6, 2010
North Park University
Among the denominations begun by Swedish immigrants in the nineteenth century were the Augustana Synod and the Evangelical Covenant Church. Formed in 1860, the Augustana Synod was the largest Swedish-American organization in the United States until the merger in 1962 that established the Lutheran Church in America (a later merger formed the present Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). The Covenant Church was organized in 1885, subsequent to Lutheran synodical experiments during the 1870s, as Mission Friends sought a non-confessional identity as a "believers' church." Both shared roots in Sweden's religious life and a common history in North America as immigrant denominations, and followed their own trajectories in American life through the generations to the present.
As Augustana marks its 150th anniversary and the Covenant its 125th, it is fitting to observe these celebrations with a symposium that explores the fascinating nexus of relationships between the two churches. It will be sponsored by the Swedish-American Historical Society, in cooperation with North Park Theological Seminary, the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center (Augustana College), and the Augustana Heritage Association. Generous supporting grants have been received from Swedish Council of America, the Augustana Heritage Association, and the Commission on Covenant History.
Each denomination has been extensively studied and documented by several generations of historians, among them prominent scholars in American religious and immigration history, as well as in denominational leadership. The symposium will explore in fresh ways the significance and character of denominational historiography. The comparative surveys will draw out questions of commonalities and differences before 1885; ecclesiastical identity in American culture; patterns of theological conflict and ecumenical cooperation; generational challenges and opportunities; relationships to Sweden, as well as to larger American communities in which they continue to develop and fulfill their mission.
Registration Information
Registration Cost: $60.00 ($30.00 students), includes Saturday evening dinner
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Register Online: www.swedishamericanhist.org/events/historic_celebration.html
Or mail a check, along with name, address, and e-mail address to:
Swedish-American Historical Society
3225 West Foster Avenue, Box, 48
Chicago, Illinois 60625
Questions: Write to Karin Andersson (kandersson@northpark.edu) or call 773-244-5295
Symposium Hotel Information
Holiday Inn North Shore Hotel
5300 Touhy Avenue
Skokie, Illinois 60077
Rate: $99.00 + 9.5 percent tax and fees (mention SAHS or group number H5S when making the reservation), includes breakfast for up to two guests
Contact: 847-679-8900 or toll free 866-750-3369 (www.hiskokie.com)
Reservation Deadline: Friday, October 15, 2010
Program
FRIDAY, November 5
7:00 P.M. Keynote Address: Nyvall Hall
"Two Anniversaries and Five Historians"
Thomas Tredway, President Emeritus, Augustana College
SATURDAY, November 6
8:45-10:15 A.M. HISTORICAL PATTERNS (1848-1900)
"Histories from the Inside Out: Shared Origins and Denominational Historiography in the Writings of G. Everett Arden and Karl A. Olsson"
Philip Anderson, North Park Theological Seminary
"Paul Peter Waldenström: A Good Lutheran?"
Mark Safstrom, University of Illinois
"A Mission Identity on the Line: Mission Friends and Augustana's Mission to the Comanches, 1879-1880"
Maria Erling, Gettysburg Theological Seminary
10:15 - 10:45 A.M. COFFEE, Olsson Lounge
10:45 - 12:15 P.M. HISTORICAL PATTERNS (1900-1960)
"Two Churches and the Swedish-American Community"
Dag Blanck, Uppsala University and Augustana College
"After the Transition to English: Relations between Augustana and the Covenant during the 1920s and 1930s"
Mark Granquist, Luther Seminary
"To Join or 'Go It Alone': Post-World War II Ecumenism in the Covenant and Augustana Traditions"
Kurt Peterson, North Park University
12:15 - 1:30 P.M. LUNCH at area restaurants (list provided)
1:30 - 3:00 P.M. THEOLOGY, BIBLE AND MISSION
"Seeking an Interpretive Discrimen in the Evangelical Covenant Church"
John Weborg, North Park Theological Seminary
"Reading Like a Pietist: Spirit, Community, and Scripture"
John Phelan, North Park Theological Seminary
"Leaven in the Loaf or Axe at the Root of the Tree: Inclusivity in the Church as a Priority for Mission in the Augustana and Covenant Traditions"
David Lindberg, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
3:00 - 3:30 P.M. COFFEE, Olsson Lounge
3:30 - 4:45 P.M. MEMORY, MERGERS, AND MULTIETHNICITY (1960-2010)
Moderator: Martin Marty, University of Chicago
Presenters and audience discussion
6:00 - 8:00 P.M. DINNER, Hamming Hall
Post-dinner Reflections: Martin Marty, University of Chicago
8:15 P.M. PUBLIC HYMN CELEBRATION, Anderson Chapel
Gracia Grindal, Luther Theological Seminary
Glen Wiberg, Covenant Pastor
Royce Eckhardt, Covenant Church Musician
