10/23/2026
For more than 200 years, Lutherans have been building congregations across Ohio, Lower Michigan, Kentucky, and Indiana, and the ELCA Region 6 Archives at Capital University preserves their stories. Some of these records date to the early 1800s, when Lutherans first settled west of the Allegheny Mountains.
The Archives holds synod files from the ELCA and its predecessor bodies, a robust congregational history collection of over 600 history and anniversary records, and the personal papers of notable Lutheran figures such as Clarence V. Sheatsley, Richard C. H. Lenski, Frederick Stellhorn, and George Schodde. But the heart of the archival holdings may surprise you: the Closed Congregations Collection.
It might seem strange to celebrate congregations that have closed their doors. Archivist Joel Wildermuth explains why it matters: “Much of the history of the Lutheran church in America is told through the stories of each individual congregation and their endeavor to worship and serve in their communities.” He adds that these stories are worth preserving and worth telling.
Now in his fourth year as archivist, Wildermuth sees the work as his service to the Church and believes the archives play a central role in shaping its identity. “Archives supply the primary material that we use to write history, and writing history is never neutral. These records will form the basis of who we, the Church, decide to be going forward.”
