6ke €Buteau of &fe- b CHURCH WORK SWEDISH AMERICANS By the REV. G. HAMMARSKOLD List of Swedish Clergymen in the United States 1. ALMQUIST, P. A., St. Paul, Minn. 2. ALMFELDT, J. E., Lake Park, Minn. 3. ALFVEGREN, J. V., 544 Canada Street, St. Paul, Minn. 4. ANDREN, A., Rush City, Minn. 5. BL0MQUI8T, WM., 1,808 Fifth St., South Minneapolis, Minn. 6. BOODIN, J. E., Qrinnell, Iowa. 7. BRUNER, ALEX., Moline, 111. 8. FORSBERG, ERIK, 2,937 Grand Ave., Minneapolis, Minn. 9. HAMMARSKOLD, G., Yonkers, N. Y. 10. HOLMGREN, HUGO, 107 East 187th St., New York City. 11. KALIN, ALFRED, Adams, North Dakota. 13. KLA.REN, J. H., Shelburne Falls, Mass. 13. LINDSKOG, HERMAN, 97 Sedgwick St., Chicago, III. 14. LJUNGGREN. C. J., 83 Harriett St., Providence, R. I. 15. NYBLAD.H, C. A., Galesburg, 111. 16. RIETZ, LEWIS, 8 East Superior St., Duluth, Minn. 17. SCHULTZBERG, A. F. Cheboygan, Mich. 18. SUNDELOF, A. W., 779 Shawmut Ave., Boston, Mass. 19. SJOSTROM, G. L., Chicago (at present in Sweden). 20. TOFFTEEN, O. A., Emmanuel Church, Englewood, Chicago, 111. 21. TOTTERMANN, K. S., Duluth (at present in Sweden). 22. W ALLEN, K. P., Pawtucket, R. I. 23. WERNER, SCHURER, Litchfield, Minn. Some of these Clergymen minister to both American and Swedish- speaking congregations and all of them have charge of missionary sta- tions in addition to their respective parishes. Missionary to meet immigrants at Ellis Island, New York, Mrs. OLAF NORD- BLADH, 815 West 40th St., New York City. Church Work Among Swedish Americans THE FIRST MISSION — THE PRESENT MOVEMENT— THE PRESENT CON- DITION—WHAT OUGHT TO BE DONE — TWO IMMEDIATE NEEDS BY THE REVEREND G. HAMMARSKOLD WHEN Pytheas, about three hundred years before the Christian era, wrote the story of his discovery in the far-away North of a great peninsula, in- habited by a sturdy people destined to play an important part in the world's his- tory, all wise men of the age discredited his story and ridiculed his theory. But the story was true, and so was his theory. Cen- turies later dragon fleets, manned by stal- w a r t vikings, terrorized Europe, and Christian men and women be- gan to pray and work for the evangeliza- tion of the North. That the heroic mission- ary undertaking at last accom- plished its pur- pose in Sweden is in a great meas- ure due to the Angl o-S axon race. The first Christian king in Sweden was baptized, in 1008, by the celebrated Englishman St. Sigfried, who also built the first Christian temple and founded the first episcopal see of that country. Other English missionaries, bishops, saints and martyrs, whose names shine like bright stars in Swedish his- tory, followed, and developed the work. Later on there is a period of great progress among the Scandinavian people, THE REV. G. HAMMARSKOLD and their bold navigators made long and perilous voyages of discovery to Iceland, Greenland, Labrador, and along the east- ern shores of North America. This pre- pared the way for colonization and mis- sionary enterprises in times to come'. In 1638 the Swedes began to settle on the banks of the Delaware River, and were amongst the foremost in planting civiliza- tion in those regions. Swedish presbyters inaugurated a mission work among the In- dians several years before John Eliot and William P e n n began their suc- cessful ministry among the red men. These colonists built several churches in which services were conducted not only by the clergy officially sent from Sweden, but also by missionaries from the Church of England. When the colony became fully Ameri- canized the Protestant Episcopal Church inherited these old Swedish churches with all the accumulated property, and was thus substantially enriched by the work and sacrifices of the early Swedish settlers. After the death, in 1831, of the last clergyman sent from Sweden to its old colony, different denominations began ST. ANSGARIUS'S CHURCH, PROVIDENCE, R. T. The reredos is a memorial to Vie late Harold Brown, the donor of the Church to interest themselves in the Swedish im- migrants coming to our shores. The harvest was ripe, and the strong efforts made by various religious bodies have added about two hundred thousand Swedish converts to their respective folds. Our First Swedish flission The first y attempt of our Church to minister to Scandinavian immigrants is due to two men of different nationalities and stations in life, but.of one mind and purpose. One is the apostolic Kemper, with an acceptable policy of assimilation and union of Swedish and American Churchmen. The other is his faithful Swedish pupil and first graduate of Nashotah Theological Seminary, the Rev. Gustaf Unonius, who, after a short stay among his countrymen in Wiscon- sin, went to Chicago and organized, in 1849, St. Ansgarius's Swedish Church. Then, as now, a church building was necessary to the success of the work. The people of the congregation could barely maintain themselves, and Mr. Unonius, like his successors in the field, had to ap- peal to others. The great Swedish singer, Jenny Lind, started the subscrip- tion for the building fund with a contri- bution of $1,500, and later on Bishop Whitehouse personally aided in raising the funds needed to complete both church and rectory. After nine years of success- ful work in Chicago, Mr. Unonius re- turned to his native land. Four years later the Rev. Jacob Bredberg, ordained in the Church of Sweden, was appointed as minister-in-charge of the parish. Bishop Whitehouse recognized the valid- ity of Swedish orders, and. without hesi- tation received Mr. Bredberg, "on his let- ters of orders and other papers from the Bishop of Skara","* as priest into the dio- cese of Illinois. The same liberal policy was characteristic of this venerable prel- ate in all his dealings with Swedish Churchmen on both sides of the At- lantic. The result was full confidence in the Bishop, and success of the work. During the fifty-three years' existence of St. Ansgarius's Church its clergy have baptized nearly 7,000 persons, prepared over 2,225 candidates for Confirmation, * Bishop Whitehouse's Tenth Annual Address, p. 21. ST. ANSGARIUS'S CHURCH, BOSTON solemnized 5,475 marriages, and officiated at about 5,000 funerals. Of these minis- terial acts more than half have been per- formed by the present rector, the Rev. Herman Lindskog. These figures tell their own story of God's blessing upon a work plainly allotted to our Church by her Divine Head. The Present flovement With the exception of the work in Chicago and a few sporadic experiments in the West, our Church hardly made a serious attempt to minister to Swedish- Americans until 1887. In the early spring of that year some Swedish Chris- tians of Providence, R. I., were greatly perplexed by the ecclesiastical bewilder- ment and unrest of their own people. The. remedy these men so earnestly sought for they found in the Chicago- Lambeth platform. This appealed to their sentiment as Swedish Churchmen, because it expressed the position of their mother Church as they understood it. This welcome discovery led to confer- ences with the Rev. David H. Greer, d.d., who shortly afterwards inaugurated, in connection with Grace Church, Provi- dence, the first Swedish mission in the East. Prom the outset it was clear to all concerned that organic unity between Swedish and American Churchmen did not mean supplanting, but supplement- ing, not a surrender of the catholic faith, liturgy and usages of the Swedish Church for something new and strange that the people could not understand or appreciate, but a securing of that which Swedish Churchmen in this country es- pecially needed, namely, the historic ministry and Church government. The people toek a deep interest in the work, and, as a result, the mission from the start was entirely self-supporting. This creditable beginning and the steady growth of the work so impressed the late Harold Brown, of Providence, that he, three years later, visited the first minis- ter-in-charge and offered to build a church for the mission on the following conditions: "That the consent of the proper authorities was procured and the canons in relation to new parishes were complied with and a suitable lot, not far from the centre of the city, was bought and paid for, and provided ; further, that the new parish shall be dedicated to, and SOME OF THE SWEDISH CLERGY AT WORK IN THE UNITED STATES 1. H. Holmgren, New York. 2. K. P. WalUn, Pawtucket, R. I. 3. August Andren, Rush City, Minn. 4. J. E. Almfeldt, Lake Park, Minn. 5. Herman Lindskog, Chicago, 111. 6. J. H. Klaren, Shelburne Falls, Mass. 7. Erik Forsberg, Minneapolis, Minn. 8. A. W. Sundelof, Boston, Mass. 9. L. Rietz, Duluth. Minn. 10. C. A. Nybladh, Galesburg, 111. 11. J. V. Altvegren, St. Paul, Minn. 12. C. J. Ljunggren, Providence, R. I. always called after, some Swedish saint or saint connected with the Church in Sweden." The stipulated conditions were soon complied with, and two years after the above promise was made the new and beautiful St. Ansgarius's Church was consecrated by the Bishop of Ehode Island, who, on that memorable occasion, ordered the Holy Communion to be cele- brated in accordance -with the liturgy of the Church of Sweden. As American and Swedish Churchmen knelt beside each other to partake of Christ's "most blessed body and blood" the Swedish communicants learned, as never before, the meaning and power of the Sasiour's words: "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they may be one in TJs: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me." Gradually the work spread out to other Swedish settlements in the dioceses of Ehode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Chicago, Quincy, Minnesota, Du- luth and North Dakota. In 1887 the Church had but one ordained missionary in active work among the Swedes. To- day we have twenty- three clergymen and several students and lay helpers working faithfully and successfully in thirty-four parishes and missions, which are not only developing themselves, but are branching out into new fields. Fifteen of these parishes and missions, located at important centres, have their own church buildings, representing a value of about $226,000, and four of them have their own rectories. The average num- ber of children baptized by our Swedish clergy is 781 yearly for the last three years. If we stop to consider that the Episcopal Church has been the last of all religious bodies to enter the fields we are now working, and that the work was un- dertaken in the face of many obstacles, prejudices and misrepresentations of its character and aims, these figures will convince us that there are great oppor- tunities and possibilities for develop- ment and expansion of our missionary work among the Swedes. The results so far obtained are just so many illustrations of the working power of the Chicago-Lambeth platform and the wise policy followed by our bish- ops having Swedish work within their respective jurisdictions. Supplant this policy with a demand for conformity in ritual and usages, and the work, even at this advanced stage, will collapse and become a failure. But the time will come, and is not far distant, when the very people who now necessarily require a foreign tongue and liturgy for their spiritual life and development will be- come fully Americanized and ask for the Book of Common Erayer and our Hymnal in English. No one can be brought into contact with our Church for any length of time without growing in that direction. It is the natural de- velopment, and we could not stop it even if we would. The Present Condition According to the census of 1900 the Scandinavian-speaking population of our country was about 2,230,000. Of these 1,084,580 are designated as Swedes, and the rest as Norwegians, Danes and Swedish-speaking Finns. This number is constantly increasing. During the year ending June 30th, 1901, the immi- grants from Sweden alone numbered 23,- 331. They have settled in all parts of the country and may be counted as loyal and patriotic citizens, who take an active interest in all departments of our na- tional life. Among them may be found men who, like John Ericson, render the country and humanity at large im- portant services. With few exceptions, the immigrated Swedes have been brought up within their national Church, and all of them have attended the Swedish public schools, which eminent authorities as- sert to be the best in Europe. In these schools the pupils are daily instructed in the catechism and Bible history, set forth by the Church. After their con- firmation they are catechised by the parochial clergy at stated intervals. Con- sequently they have a good knowledge EMMANUEL CHUKCH, LITCHFIELD, MINNESOTA of the Christian faith as held and prac- tised by their mother Church. That more than two-thirds of these well-instructed people to-day remain outside of all religious organizations of our country is evident from the statistics of the different denominations working among them. The reason for this condi- tion cannot be attributed to lack of Chris- tian training and sentiment, for they are not lacking in either. Why, then, do the great majority of them re- main unattached to any organized body of Christians ? Because they have looked in vain for the Church of their fathers and its ministration, and be- cause they do not feel at home in religious bodies whose puritani- cal discipline is so ! strikingly differ- ent from that of their own Church. Hence their present religious condition, with all its bewilderment, compli- cations and conse- quences. We and others may deplore it, but that will not remedy the evil. What Ought to be Done The only policy that will change this condi- tion for the better is to give these people the re- ligion of Jesus Christ in a tongue and type al- ready familiar to them. That is what they es- pecially need and de- sire. Of all American bodies our Church is the only one in a posi- tion to offer this policy. But the people must be approached on their own ground by men who understand their training, temperament and traits of character, and who can win their con- fidence and affection. Well organized and persistent efforts must be made wherever needed. There are two ways of making such efforts effective. One is for our bishops and parochial clergy to learn enough of the language and pe- culiarities of the people to meet them ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, GALESBURG, ILLINOIS on their own ground. The present Bish- op of Minnesota has endeared himself to the whole Swedish population hy trying this method. At Brewster, N. Y., the rector has brought aM Swedes of his community into the Church by employ- ing it. But for several reasons this method of solving the problem will con- tinue to be a rare exception, and there- fore inadequate. The other way is to divide the great field into several districts and appoint experienced Swedish clergymen as gen- eral missionaries who may be depended Church of the American people, we must bring it to all of them, foreigners and natives alike. Swedish immigrants are not only a part of the American people, but a part of our own household of faith. We must be prepared to welcome them when they land on our shores, and to carry the Church to their settlements. For this we need men and means. The men suitable for this particular work are already at our service, and new ones are constantly added to their number. But the funds needed for putting the proposed machinery in motion and keep- ST. ANSGARIUS'S CHUKCH, MINNEAPOLIS ST. ANSGARIUS'S CHURCH, CHICAGO on to establish and develop missions within their respective districts. At present we have but one such missionary for the whole country, and he plainly realizes that the one great achievement is not to get work done, but to get it well done, so that permanent results will grow out of it. If our Swedish work in different parts of our immense coun- try is to be well done, is to be extended and developed in proportion to its needs, the proposed system, or something similar, must be put into operation. This would insure needed unity of ac- tion in the different fields and meet the crying need in a most practical way. If we really desire our Church to be the ing it going must for awhile be provided by the Church at large. Two Immediate Needs Our Swedish missions are doing what they can to help themselves, and to aid others. In proportion to their income our Swedish communicants are as liberal in their support of charitable and missionary work as are our American people. Last year one of our Swedish congregations in the East, consisting en- tirely of ordinary working people, raised, in addition to its running ex- penses, $1,800 for necessary improve- ments of church property, and over $260 CHOIR AT ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S SWEDISH MISSION, NEW YORK for missionary and charitable purposes. Not long ago the same congregation sent nearly $100 to a missionary in a West- ern field. This obedience to the law of duty and love is practised by most of our Swedish missions, and their readi- ness to aid others has often been the only source of relief in cases of emerg- ency. But there are at present especially two immediate needs that cannot be met by these missions. One is the support of a missionary to meet and aid immi- grants, especially women and children, when they land on our shores. Through the efforts of a noble woman, now gone to her rest, this work has been carried on for nearly three years past. Unless others undertake to provide the neces- sary means this most important work must soon be discontinued. The other immediate need is a church building for our Swedish mission at Du- luth, Minn. Bishop Morrison, the mis- sionary and the people have done all they can to help themselves, but the un- dertaking cannot be accomplished with- out outside^ aid. The appeal for this ob- ject has the following endorsement of the Board of Managers of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of our Church: "This Board cordially com- mends the work of the Bev. Mr. Ham- marskold and endorses his efforts to aid the Bishop of Duluth in the endeavor to secure funds for building a church for Swedes in Duluth." So far the appeals for this object have been made in vain. CONFIRMATION CLASS AT ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S SWEDISH MISSION, NEW YORK Statistics Number of Swedes, according to United States Census of 1 900 North Atlantic Division, 217,087; South Atlantic Division, 4,200; North Central Division, 739,811; South Central Division, 15,443; West- ern Division, 105,173; Alaska and Hawaii, 1,809. Total number of Swedes, Norwegians, Danes and Swedish- speaking Finns, : . 2,198,187 Clergymen, • . 23 Candidates for Holy Orders, 3 Postulants for Holy Orders, 2 Parishes and Missions, 34 Number of persons communing, about, 9,000 Baptisms, yearly average for three years past, ... 781 Confirmations, yearly average for three years past, . . 263 Sunday-school scholars,yearly average for three years past, 2,158 Needs of the Work Three more General Missionaries to develop the work at important centres. The support of a Missionary at Ellis Island, New York City, to meet in- coming immigrants. More church buildings, especially in the missionary jurisdiction of Duluth. CH I S leaflet may be obtained from the Corresponding Secretary, 281 Fourth Avenue New York, by calling for Leaflet No. 952. a 0 0 a 0 a a ~D All contributions for Church Missions among the Swedes should be sent to George C. Thomas, Treasurer, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York 00000000 3| tliedomestic and f or- eign Missionary Society of the Protestant Epis- copal Church in the United States, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York; 0 0 0 The article in this leaf- let is reprinted from Ci)e Spirit of 09ts0tons Every subscription means more money for Missions. Will you take one? The cost is One Dollar a year. The address is 281 Fourth Avenue, New York. "/ lake this occasion to say how improved The SPIRIT 0/" MISSIONS seems to me to be and how much interesting and well selected matter it contains.'''' — A LFRED T. Mahan, Captain United States Navy. First Edition, 4 M., April, 1903