their fathers or the literature in which the ideas of their confession
have found their fullest expression, they lose an indispensable
condition of intellectual and spiritual growth. They can never
understand as they should the spirit of the church to which they belong.
They are doomed sooner or later to share the fate of the Lutherans of
New York of the eighteenth century.

When we have forgotten our German we shall be out of touch with the
Lutherans who come to us from the Fatherland. For the time being the
World War has put an end to German immigration, but this will not last
forever. Some time certainly immigration will 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