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The Georg Sverdrup Society
The Georg Sverdrup Society was organized in December 2003 and is open to anyone interested in the life and work of Georg Sverdrup (1848 - 1907), considered as among "the ablest theologians" in the history of Norwegian-American Lutheranism.. The society is registered in the state of Minnesota as a 501(C)(3) nonprofit corporation.
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To promote the study and understanding of New Testament congregationalism as understood by Georg Sverdrup. |
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To promote the concept of "free and living congregations." |
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To encourage the study and understanding of the "Fundamental Principles" and "Rules for Work" as were used in the Lutheran Free Church and continue to be used in the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations. |
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To promote translating Sverdrup's writings into English. |
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To widen the readership of Sverdrup's works and provide a forum for the discussion of his ideas. |
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To facilitate research by providing a place in the Free Lutheran Theological Seminary Library for Sverdrup's original writing, translations of his writing, and articles and books published about him and his work. |
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To maintain an updated bibliography of Sverdrup's translated work as well as a bibliography of work written about him. |
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To encourage research and study of Sverdrup's life, work, and ideas by publishing an annual journal. |
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To publish a newsletter for members that provides information on the society's activities and general information. |
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Loiell O. Dyrud, President |
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Francis W. Monseth, Vice-President |
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Martin L. Horn, Secretary |
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Terry L. Olson, Treasurer |
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Marian Christopherson |
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Dennis D. Gray |
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Robert L. Lee |
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Larry J. Walker, Journal Editor |
On Saturday, October 13, the Georg Sverdrup Society will be holding its Fourth Annual Meeting at the Medicine Lake campus of The Association Free Lutheran Theological Seminary in Minneapolis. The program will begin at 1:00 in the chapel and will be a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Georg Sverdrup's death.
A hundred years after his death, it is difficult to assess what the passing of Georg Sverdrup meant for Augsburg College and Seminary as well as for the newly formed Lutheran Free Church. He died on May 3, 1907, from what was believed to have been a stroke or heart failure. He was only 57.
The loss was enormous for Augsburg Seminary where he was president and where he and his close friend Sven Oftedal had introduced a revolutionary pastoral training program that focused on educating the pastor to serve the congregation rather than to be its master.
But his death was an even greater loss to the Lutheran Free Church (LFC). The church body that he and Oftedal had organized in 1897 was in its infancy. Developing a Lutheran church body based on the New Testament model was a fine idea in theory, but how would it work in practice? For ten years, Sverdrup had written article after article in Folkebladet, attempting to explain how the principles behind "The Fundamental Principles" were to be practiced. He died far too soon for the practitioners (congregations and pastors) to have felt comfortable on their own. For many it seemed he died in the middle of the experiment- its outcome far from conclusion.
Coupled with the pain of Sverdrup's death was also the recent death of the much-loved Rev. Ole Paulson, often referred to as "Augsburg's Grandfather." Paulson had been responsible for moving Augsburg Seminary in 1872 from the small, central Wisconsin town of Marshall to Minneapolis. He had served on Augsburg's board during the difficult days of the 1890s and had been an anchor for the "Friends of Augsburg," the group that was instrumental in the founding of the LFC.
Within two weeks, both were gone, and Sverdrup's funeral on May 7, a "gray, dismal, chilly day," reflected the gloom that hung over the hundreds of mourners.
In an attempt to recapture the event, the commemoration will reenact some of the events from Sverdrup's funeral. Rev. Robert Lee will lead us in the hymns that were sung, and the AFLC Seminary Chorus will sing the hymn sung by the Augsburg Glee Club: "Den Store Hvide Flok Vi Ser" ("Behold the Host Arrayed in White"). Rev. Raynard Huglen will read his recent translation of an article that appeared in the May 8, 1907, Folkebladet entitled "Professor Sverdrup's Funeral" which describes in detail the events of that day.
As a tribute to Sverdrup's dedication to missions, the program will end with a presentation of the recently translated address Sverdrup gave at the organizational meeting of the Mission Society at Augsburg Seminary in 1885. The program is open to the public.
A meal will be served at the Heritage Hall cafeteria beginning at 12:00, the program at the chapel at 1:00, and the annual business meeting for members will be held in the basement of the chapel following the program. Further translations of Sverdrup's articles on mission will be shared at that time.
On Saturday, November 10, the Georg Sverdrup Society will hold a forum entitled "Sverdrup and Missions" at historical Bethany Lutheran Church of rural Abercrombie, North Dakota. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. with the presentation of two papers. Dr. Francis Monseth will present Sverdrup's views on "Missions and the Congregation," and Rev. Robert Lee will trace the origins of Sverdrup's zeal for missions with a paper entitled "The Relationship Between Revival and Missions in Norway."
A general discussion will follow the presentations. This year the GSS has translated several articles by Sverdrup on missions. Many of these translations will be available at the time of the forum.
The forum on missions is open to the public. Members - bring your friends and come to historical Bethany Lutheran Church five miles southwest of Abercrombie. Bethany, organized in 1881, was one of the original thirteen congregations that formed the Lutheran Free Church in 1897, and the sanctuary built in 1885 is still in use.
The event will last until noon.
For information regarding the Georg Sverdrup Society, please send an e-mail to info@georgsverdrupsociety.org. More information including membership information and selected writings of Georg Sverdup will be available on this Web site soon!
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