Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic

06/05/2026

As part of its Synod Assembly and in observance of the 250th of the nation, the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod will hold a Service of Holy Communion using the Church Agenda of 1748 (a.k.a. the Muhlenberg Liturgy) on Friday, 5 June 2026, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Morgantown, WV, at 7:00 p.m. While the service will be held in English, the music settings will all be appropriate to the time of the American Revolution. The service is open to the public.

05/02/2026

44th Annual Convention, The Pittsburgh Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (1886).

Note well: Thiel College faculty, at the direction of the synod, prepared theses for discussion.

04/07/2026

"Lutherans and the American Experience at 250 Years"

The Lutheran Historical Conference is accepting paper proposals for its Oct 2026 meeting (but the deadline is April 13). Here's the description:

"The Program Committee invites proposals that investigate the history, theology, and cultural presence of Lutherans in the American context from the colonial period to the present. We seek to explore the ways Lutherans have both adapted to and shaped the diverse cultural, social, religious, and political landscapes of North America over the past two and a half centuries. We encourage proposals that situate Lutheran experience within the broader American story of settlement, diversity, and change, highlighting both the distinctiveness and adaptability of Lutheran traditions across time. We are interested in contributions that consider how the American context influenced Lutheran witness and activity. Proposals from archivists are especially invited."

Visit the LHC website for details: https://www.luthhistcon.org/lhc-biennial-meeting

03/23/2026

The American Society for Church History has extended its call for papers until April 15 for its January 2027 conference.

03/07/2026

https://gettysburgconnection.org/160-year-old-mystery-solved-at-seminary-ridge-museum/

A long-standing mystery connected to a Bible ransacked from the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary during the last days of the1863 battle has finally been solved.

02/24/2026

Today, February 24, is Daniel Alexander Payne's birthday.

Dr. Mark Tyler, Historiographer of the AME Church, and the Inaugural Daniel A. Payne Lecturer, highlights the life and work of Daniel A. Payne and the importance of his years at Gettysburg Seminary. He emphasizes the importance of and the role that education exhibited in Payne’s life as an African...

02/17/2026

"Hey, Matt, how are you going to celebrate the 227th anniversary of Samuel Simon Schmucker's birthday?"

01/27/2026

The Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic will hold a doubleheader event (or should we say two events) under the theme "News from the Archives: Stories to Inspire a Public Witness" on Friday and Saturday, 27-28 February 2026. Come to one or the other or both.

Two days of offerings for the historian (amateur and professional) and the curious, 27-28 February 2026 in Gettysburg, PA, brought to you by the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic

01/09/2026

"How to strengthen the scattered congregations of the Valley, which have been depleted by long continued drains by removals to the West and other causes, has engaged attention for years. The effort to draw and hold from the outside world by high pressure; and latterly, by liturgical services and emphasizing distinctive dogmas and methods with occasional preaching, have barely kept some of the scattered organizations together. There appears to be need of new life and blood among our people, bringing into action and imparting that vital consciousness which will awake to personal responsibility."

--- "Scandinavian Immigration," Minutes of the Seventy-Third Annual Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran synod of Virginia, October 21-26, 1902, p. 17.

The paper "Scandinavian Immigration" was submitted to the Virginia Synod Assembly by a Maj. Absalom Koiner, a C.S.A. veteran of the Civil War. In the paper he noted the diminishment of the congregations of the Shenandoah Valley and thought to replace those lost to western movement (and other causes) with Scandinavians. Upon recommendation of a select committee appointed to review Koiner's paper, a committee of five (including the president and the secretary of the Synod) was appointed "to devise a plan by which [the Scandinavians] may be induced to locate within our bounds and be provided for spiritually."

Send a message to learn more

12/20/2025

Mark your calendars! More details to come!