LUTHERANS CONVERGE ON ALTENBURG; MINISTERS FROM AROUND WORLD VISIT

One site of interest during a tour of churches in Altenburg was the old log cabin seminary, the first Lutheran Church west of the Mississippi River. It was constructed in 1839.

Mrs. Willard Roth of Perry County visited with Archbishop Janis Vanags of Latvia, who was one of a number of international visitors in Altenburg Friday.

ALTENBURG -- Kim Hae-Chul, president of the Lutheran Church and Lutheran Seminary in Seoul, Korea, was impressed with the Saxon Lutheran communities in east Perry county.

"These are important areas because of their influence in the Lutheran church story in Missouri," said Kim. "Today we are enjoying a meaningful experience and fellowship here with Lutheran churches from around the world."

Kim addressed a group of about 100 people following a noon luncheon Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, where international church leaders mingled with Lutherans from east Perry County.

Kim's words, delivered via the use of an interpreter, the Rev. Hilbert W. Riemer, who served as a missionary in Seoul for 36 years, were echoed by many during a four-hour visit here.

The food, the fellowship, the band was great, said Kim, who was one of 28 Lutheran church heads from several countries who visited the area, including Frohna and Altenburg.

The food -- a sort of basket lunch served smorgasbord style -- was prepared by a group of women from the entire area. The band, in its second year, is a volunteer band that plays at a number of Perry County functions.

While at Altenburg the group toured historic churches and grounds in observance of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's 150th anniversary.

In the crowd were bishops and presidents of Lutheran churches and affiliations worldwide, and one archbishop, Janis Vanags of Latvia.

The group traveled from the Great Commission Convocation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Senate being held in St. Louis through Sunday.

The Great Commission Convocation, being held in the American Convention Center in downtown St. Louis, started Thursday. It will feature a festive celebration at Kiel Auditorium Saturday night.

The delegation to Altenburg included more than 50 people, including church leaders and translators, led by Dr. Samuel H. Nafzger, executive secretary of the International Lutheran Council, St. Louis, and Arthur Suefflow, retired coordinator of the Concordia Historical Institute in St. Louis.

"Church leaders are here from Canada, Australia, Germany, Russia, Finland, Latvia, Japan, China and the Philippines," said Nafzger. "They're here from South America, India, Africa, South Africa, France and Guana."

For Archbishop Vanags, the visit to St. Louis was his third this year.

"But this is my first trip to Perry County," said Vanags, who became archbishop of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Latvia four years ago.

The Rev. Indreneth Stanley of India; Bishop David Piso of New Guinea and Bishop Sergey A. Isayev of Russia were enjoying their first trip to east Perry County.

But for Wilbert Kreiss, a church president at Paris, France; Dr. John Strelan of Australia; and Edward Kettner of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the trip to Altenburg was the second.

"I was here a dozen years ago," said Kreiss, who was interested in more historic information. He wanted to know how Saxons could afford to purchase land when they arrived in Perry County.

Suefflow had the answer.

"The Saxons brought with them a chest filled with German money worth more than $85,000 in U.S. gold at that time," said Suefflow. "They used the money to pay for their voyage from the Old World, supplies and rent during the winter months in St. Louis. They later used the rest to buy land in Perry County."

The visitors had an opportunity to see the chest during the tour. It is on display in the nearby log seminary, which was constructed in 1839 and was the first Lutheran Church west of the Mississippi River.

The group also toured a 152-year-old church next door to the 130-year-old Trinity Lutheran Church.

The older church, built in 1845, now serves as a museum. The museum includes a Nuremberg Bible, photos and artifacts of earlier days, and a chandelier made of wood, which was presumed to have been used when the church first opened.

The visitors also had an opportunity to see a silver and gold chalice, a crucifix on the altar, and a baptismal tray which were all brought to Altenburg by the Saxons.

The chalice, made in 1707, had been given by a nobleman to his bride. She donated it to the church as a communion chalice.

Engraved on the chalice are Polish words that translate: "Sophia Opchkowas, coupled to Olvier Gafchasky in the Church of the Army, A.D., 1707, 23 March.

The chalice, which is kept in a bank vault, is brought out only for special occasions such as the visit by international church leaders.

Trinity Lutheran Church of Altenburg was one of six Lutheran congregations established in Perry County in 1939, according to a history prepared by Altenburg resident Vernon Meyr, a Trinity Lutheran congregation member and historian.

According to Meyr's history, the first church building of Trinity was dedicated in 1845, and was used until 1867, when the present church was completed. The older church was used as a school until 1969, and now serves as a museum.

The log cabin, or seminary, was constructed in 1939, soon after the arrival of the Saxon in Perry County. It served as a Christian school. The building was moved from its original site and is now a museum.

The present Trinity Lutheran Church, the old church-school-museum, and the log cabin seminary are listed in the "Missouri Catalog of Historic Sites." The cabin is also listed on the "National Register of Historic Places."

Each of the international church leaders were presented with a video Friday. The video, which was recently filmed, is the story of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Perry County.