Tag Archive for: WELS Historical Institute

Historical presentation: 175 Years of Change in WELS Worship

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175 Years of Change in WELS Worship
Saturday, April 12

Presenter: Professor Joel Otto

The founders of the Wisconsin Synod were not confessional Lutherans, and their mixed confession showed in worship practices in the early decades of the synod’s history. While a pietistic influence has always been felt in worship attitudes in WELS, changes have occurred throughout the synod’s history. By examining church architecture and the use of hymnals in Wisconsin Synod congregations across 175 years since her founding, we will note the shift toward a more confessional Lutheran understanding of worship in WELS.

Prof. Otto chairs the WELS 175th anniversary committee (2025). Since 2011, he has served at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, where he teaches church history and education and is the dean of students. Previously he served congregations in Michigan, California, and Wisconsin. He is also the chairman of the WELS Historical Institute and serves on the Commission on Inter-Church Relations. He has previously served on the Commission on Worship, the Commission on Lutheran Schools, the WELS Hymnal Project, and as a writer for Forward in Christ.

Salem Landmark Church and WELS Museum – 6814 N 107th Street, Milwaukee, Wis.

WELS 175th Anniversary Dinner

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175 Years Anniversary Dinner
Wednesday, May 28

As part of the WELS 175th anniversary celebrations, be sure to save the date for a special anniversary dinner celebrating the founding of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

Agenda:

  • 4:00 p.m. Open House at the WELS Museum
  • 5:00 p.m. Social Hour
  • 6:00 p.m. Dinner
  • 7:00 p.m. Program
  • 8:00 p.m. Afterglow in the WELS Museum Gallery

The program will include greetings from WELS President Mark Schroeder and former WELS President Karl Gurgel with featured speaker Rev. Prof Joel Otto, chairman of the WELS 175th Anniversary Committee.

Professor Otto chairs the WELS 175th anniversary committee (2025). Since 2011, he has served at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, where he teaches church history and education and is the dean of students. Previously he served congregations in Michigan, California, and Wisconsin. He is also the chairman of the WELS Historical Institute and serves on the Commission on Inter-Church Relations. He has previously served on the Commission on Worship, the Commission on Lutheran Schools, the WELS Hymnal Project, and as a writer for Forward in Christ. He is also the co-author of, Christ Through Us: A Pictorial History of the Wisconsin Synod, 1850-2025.

Tickets are $50 per person.

Register now
More information
Salem Landmark Church and WELS Museum – 6814 N 107th Street, Milwaukee, Wis.

Union Cemetary Tour 2025

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Union Cemetery Tour 2025

Saturday, May 31

Presenter: Rev. Jeremiah Gumm

Join us on the tour! The Union Cemetery Tour will take place on Saturday, May 31, 2025. Union Cemetery was first founded by St. John’s Lutheran Church (8th and Vliet) as St. Johannes Lutheran Cemetery in 1851. In 1865, the cemetery was merged with those of Grace (WELS) and Trinity (LCMS) of downtown Milwaukee. This cemetery is rich with the early WELS history of Milwaukee.

WELS founder, Rev. Johannes Muehlhaeuser, helped to select and purchase the grounds. Both he and later WELS President Johann Bading are buried there, as are the early directors of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary–Dr. Adolf Hoenecke and Prof. John Schaller, the latter of which also played a key role in establishing Dr. Martin Luther College for the training of Lutheran teachers in the Wisconsin Synod.

Union Cemetary – 3175 Teutonia Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. 53206

Historical presentation: 175 Years of Hymnals in the WELS

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175 Years of Hymnals in the WELS

Saturday, September 13

A hymn sing from the hymnals used in the history of the synod.

Presenter: Carl Nolte

This presentation will briefly look at the history behind some of the great hymns in our Lutheran hymnals over the past 175 years.  We will sing many of our beloved Lutheran hymns from hymnals that include the following:
  • Evang.-Lutherisches Gesangbuch (1870)
  • Church Hymnal for Lutheran Services (1911)
  • Book of Hymns (1916)
  • The Lutheran Hymnal (1941)
  • Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal (1993)
  • Christian Worship (2021)
Join us as we gather together to sing our historic hymns using the refurbished reed organ at the Salem Landmark Church and WELS Museum.
The presenter is the retired Sacred Music and Worship Editor from Northwestern Publishing House. He served for a number of years on the WELS Commission on Worship, including the 1993 hymnal committee. He is a graduate of DMLC, New Ulm, MN, and also has a masters in church music degree from Concordia, River Forest, IL.

Salem Landmark Church and WELS Museum – 6814 N 107th St., Milwaukee, Wis.