To Support 150th Anniversary of Synod Black Ministry and Promote Renewed Emphasis

WHEREAS, Black Lutherans have played a significant role in the history and mission of the Synod; and

WHEREAS, Lutheran Black Ministry within the geographic area now served by the Southeastern District of the Synod has had vital and lasting impact on the work of the Church, including, but in no way limited to, such influential figures as:

• Rev. Thomas Frye, who was born on George Washington’s estate, and who,after having been brought to North Carolina, studied the Lutheran Confessions, was licensed to preach by the Tennessee Synod in 1868, and became perhaps the first African American Lutheran minister in the Carolinas;

• Rev. Daniel Wiseman (1858–1942), who was one of the most distinguished theological graduates of Howard University at the time and the first Lutheran African American pastor in Washington, D.C., serving the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, and becoming known as the “mayor of the city’s neglected element” because of his work among the poor and dispossessed;

• Rev. Nils Bakke, a white pastor who founded numerous black Lutheran congregations and Immanuel Lutheran College in North Carolina before partnering with Rosa Young in the growth of black Lutheran churches and schools in Alabama;

• Rev. R.O.L. Lynn, who was a pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Greensboro, N.C., taught at Immanuel Lutheran College, and went on to be the first African American to lead a Lutheran college, serving as the president of Alabama Lutheran Academy; as well as

• Immanuel Lutheran College in Greensboro, N.C. (1903– 1961), which had the core mission to educate African Americans, training men for the ministry and both men and women for teaching positions; and the 54 black congregations, which, through realignment of districts within the Synod, came to be part of what is now the Southeastern District; and

• Other faithful servants like the Rev. William Schiebel; and

WHEREAS, The official 150th anniversary celebration of Black Ministry in the Synod, scheduled to be held in Charlotte, N.C., July 7–10, 2027, provides an opportunity to reflect on this legacy, celebrate its impact, and look toward the future; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention give praise and thanks to God for the history of Black Ministry throughout the Synod over the last 150 years; and be it further

Resolved, That the President of the Synod be directed to provide support for such celebration and a renewed emphasis on Lutheran Black Ministry.