ill be resumed, and as in
former periods will be an unfailing source of supply for the Lutheran
churches of New York.

In the nineteenth century the "Americanized" Lutherans did not
understand the Germans who came over in such overwhelming numbers, and
were unprepared to shepherd them in Lutheran folds. The work had to be
done by immigrant pastors who, on their part, did not understand the
American life well enough to accomplish the best results. For the sake
of the Lutherans who come to us from foreign lands we cannot afford to
lose touch with the historical languages of their churches.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century the use of German had sunk
almost to zero. The minutes of the German Society had to be written in
English because no one was sufficiently versed in German to write them
in this language. There was nothing to interfere with the supremacy of
English. Yet the English Lutheran church was unable to "propagate the
faith of the fathers in the language of the children." Down to the
beginning of the twentieth century, the English churches were dependent
for their growth upon accessions from the German and Scandinavian
churches. They were unable to retain even the families they had
inherited from their Dutch and German ancestors. We search in vain for
descendants of the New York Lutherans of the eighteenth century in any
of our churches.

Not until a new contribution of immigrants from Lutheran lands had been
made to America did our church begin to rise to a position of influence.

When in the second quarter of the nineteenth century the first
self-sustaining English Lutheran church was established, the
Ockershausens and other children of immigrants were the strong pillars
of its support. From that day to the present time not a single English
Lutheran church has been established and maintained in this city where
the Schierens, the Mollers and scores of others, immigrants or the
children of immigrants, were not the chief supporters of the work.
Without their effective aid the English Lutherans of the nineteenth
century would have been swallowed up by "the denominations that are
around us" as were their predecessors of the eighteenth century.

Some of our Anglo-American neighbors are concerned about our political
welfare. They advise us to drop the German in order that we may become
"Americanized."

Many of us are the children of Germans who tilled the soil of America
before there was a United Stat