Full Text for The One Hundredth Anniversary of the Franconian Settlements in Michigan, 1845-1945. (Text)
,: if two nan lot mentio ebbelen
and Fuerblinger, both pastors of the congregation at Frankenmuth.
Candidate Karl August Wilhelm Roebbelen had brought eleven of
Loehe's young men to the seminary at Fort Wayne. For five years
he was pastor at Liverpool, Ohio. When Craemer in 1850 accepted
a call as professor at Loehe's Fort Wayne seminary, Roebbelen
was called as his successor to Frankenmuth. Roebbelen sincerely
loved his Savior and the people for whom the Savior died and
therefore took his ministerial work very serious. The fact that
he examined his catechumens five days (three hours in the morning
and two in the afternoon) in the presence of his congregation to
prove that the children really had lea."l1ed the doctrines of the
Catechism, shows how conscientious and painstaking he was in
performing his official duties. He was an indefatigable worker and
an outstanding preacher. Roebbelen was a sick man when he came
to Frankenmuth. Therefore, much to the regret of his congrega-
tion, he resigned his pastorate in 1858 and left for Germany in
quest or health. He died there September 20, 1866.
Roebbelen's successor was Pastor Ottomar Fuerbringer, who
had been pastor in Freistatt, Wis. Fuerbringer was born in Gera,
Thuringia, June 30, 1810. He studied theology at Leipzig. ~1e carne
to this country with the Saxons under the leadership of Stephan in
1,l39. Toge - - -. Brohm ,, ___ ' "----.ser he for-:J-:J ro-ncordia
College in Perry County, Mo., where he also gave instruction in
the classical languages. Prior to his pastorate at Freistatt he was
pastor at Venedy, lli. From 1854 to 1872 and again from 1874 to
1882 he was President of the Northern District of the Missouri
One Hundredt..h Anniversary of Franconian Settlements 103
Synod. He was pastor at Frankenmuth from 1858 till the time of
hi - '" "'ath i.'l 1892. Fuerbringer was a man _oune. ___ ..!olog ___ _
learning, of good judgment, and of firm resolution. Dr. A. L.
Graebner called him "the profoundest thinker among the fathers
of the MiSSOllri Synod."
9. The Franconian Lay People
As important as good spiritual leadership is, we dare not, after
all, give all credit for successful work to the spiritual leaders of
the Church. The story of the Franconian settlements would be
incomplete if the part which the lay people took were ignored.
Conditions in the world today are so very different from those
a hundred years ago that the average man has no conception of
the hardsllips of pioneer life in those day s. Today very few spots
in the world at large have remained untouched by modern civiliza-
tion. Today we travel in well-equipped, air-conditioned coaches
and sleepers in fast-moving trains, in luxurious steamships that
cut the waters at great speed, and in airplanes that cover hundreds
of miles in a few hours. Compared therewith, how inconveni, at,
CI !rson nd h :lous e1 Wi hen 1 1ran( : ns ~
to this country: fifty days in small sailing vessels on the stormy
ocean, a distance now covered in seven to ten days; the passing
of one whole. .nontu a~ter leaving New York before the colonists
arrived in Saginaw Valley, a distance which today is covered in
less than twenty-four hours. Today farmers in the Saginaw
Valley live in modern homes on modern farms and enjoy modern
conveniences of life; in those days the settlers came to primeval
forests inhabited by Indians and wild beasts; the settlers had to
hew down trees in order to build log cabins; they had to clear the
land in order to cultivate it; make roads; by hard labor and in
spite of much sickness (ague) eke out a living as best they could.
All of this took much faith and courage and endurance. Those
early settlers, too, were human; at times they became discouraged.
However, they had come here not in quest of wealth or an easy
life, but to serve their Lord. They were sincere Christians, loved
the Word of God, and trusted to His guidance and protection. For
years they held their daily mornL..g and evening devotions, and
attended church services not only on Sundays and church holidays,
but also every Wednesday and Friday. They took their Chris-
tianity very serious, [any hem tme well grounded i..'l the
Word of God. They established Christian schools for their children.
For years they lived an isolated life, partly owing to circumstances
and partly to choice, When in the early years a railroad was to
be built through one of the colonies, the peop' ')jectl - , lelie, _'
it would bring too much of the world to them. However, these
early settlers were not only interested in their own welfare; they
104 Outlines on the Standard Gospels
were as much interested in the Kingdom of God at large and did not
intend to keep their spiritual blessings to themselves, but desired
that others should share them. They supported t.1,.e work of Synod
and sent a very large number of their young men to Synod's col-
leges and seminaries to become pastors and teachers. But those
early settlers, too, were by nature sinful and were beset by tempta-
tions on the part of their flesh, the devil, and the world. Their
congregations, too, were not made up of perfect saints. But they
encouraged one another to lead a Christian life, admonished the
erring, and exercised church discipline when necessary. After
all, the Franconian settlements were made up of sturdy, Christian
people whom God richly blessed in many ways. The first early
settlers have gone to their eternal reward, where they are glorip.1ing
God with the saints forevermore. May the descendants not fail
to appreciate the blessings which they have inherited from their
fathers. May God in His grace grant that it may not have to be
said of the present Franconian generation, as it was said of the
people who lived after the death of Moses and Joshua, "And there
arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord
nor yet the works which he had done for Israel," Judges 2: 10.
J.H.C.F.
Outlines on the Standard Gospels
Sexagesima
Luke 8:4-15
The text of this Sunday is a parable. Jesus often spoke in
parables. He took some well-known fact of daily life and by way
of comparison illustrated some heavenly or spiritual truth. There-
fore, in order to understand a parable, we must look for the point of
comparison. - Why did Jesus speak in parables? The answer is
given in vv. 9, 10; see also Matt. 13: 10-17. The parable, being an
illustration, has as its purpose the making clear of a truth. It is
common experience, however, that people who do not want to see,
will not see, though a matter be clearly presented to them. The
unbelievers, who harden their hearts against God's truth, do not
understand Christ's parables. To them the parable conceals God's
truth, though it is intended to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom
of God for man's salvation. In order that we may not be found
among such unbelievers, let us learn what the Lord says in our
text, the parable of the Sower, concerning those who hear the Word
of God. As only some of the land on which seed is sown brings
forth fruit to perfection, so only some of those who hear the Word
of God are finally saved. The reason why some are not saved is