WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Being written

WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. Among the largest Lutheran seminaries in the United States, Wartburg is one of the four theological seminaries owned and operated by the American Lutheran Church.

Plaque commemorating the first site of the seminary in Dubuque.

The history of Wartburg Theolgical Seminary began in November 10, 1853 with the arrival of Sigmund Fritschel. Although only twenty years of age, Fritschel would serve the school which was located at ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH until just before his death in 1899. In 1856 his brother was installed as the professor of theology. Financial needs forced Sigmund to temporarily accept a pastorate in Detroit. This left his brother Gottfried, then twenty years of age, with the responsibility for the school located on Garfield Street. (1)

Poor economic conditions forced Gottfried to relocate the school to St. Sebald in Clayton County, Iowa in 1857. It was here that the name "Wartburg" was first used. (2) The college and seminary functions were separated in 1868. The college moved to Galena, Illinois, while the seminary remained in St. Sebald. The two parts were reunited in 1874 in Mendota, Illinois. Continued growth required even larger facilities. (3) It was not until 1889 that the seminary moved back to Dubuque. It was through the efforts of Rev. J. Heinrich LUZ and the BOARD OF TRADE that an attractive offer was made. The college moved to Waverly, Iowa.

The Emerson estate with its ornate mansion became a home to Wartburg Theological Seminary.

The home of Wartburg in Dubuque became the thirty-acre Emerson estate with a large mansion that was renovated and enlarged. Two homes for faculty were constructed at 445 and 465 Wartburg Place. The dedication, held on September 15, 1899, saw hundreds of enthusiastic Dubuque residents ride a special train from the Illinois Central rail yard downtown to the campus to welcome the seminary back to the community. (4)

With room for expansion and the support of the community, Wartburg Seminary hired additional faculty. Among these were the second generation of Fritschels. Sigmund had returned to the school and he was joined by his son Max. Gottfried was joined by his son, George who like Max accepted seminary leadership and faculty positions. Both served the school for more than three generations. (5)

"The Arches." Image courtesy: Larry Friedman

Construction in 1915. Image courtesy: Larry Friedman

"The Arches." Image courtesy: Larry Friedman

The following years were a time of ever-expanding curriculum and increased enrollment. Plans for new seminary buildings were drawn up in 1914, and construction was begun with stone quarried nearby along Fremont Avenue. The buildings, constructed of Galena limestone to resemble Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany, and the furnishings costing $228,768, were dedicated on September 13-14, 1916. (6)

Like the original Emerson estate, the construction site of the new buildings was purchased by the citizens of Dubuque and given to Wartburg in support of its efforts. (7) The renowned scholar J. Michael Reu, author of more than sixty books, joined the faculty at this time. Renowned for his nine volumeChristian Education in Germany from 1530 to 1600, he remained in Dubuque for forty-three years.

Married student housing on campus was originally provided by a thirty-six unit mobile home park near the center of campus and a twenty unit apartment building. This was followed by nine single family units constructed for student families with children and then another mobile home park on the southern side of the campus. The mobile homes were to be replaced by Denver Court, a sixteen unit family housing complex. Increased enrollment of students with families, however, led to new trailers being leased to meet housing demands. (8)

In 1952 Professor William D. Streng of Wartburg served as a member of the committee for the American Lutheran Church preparing a new series of Sunday church school materials. The demand had been made for a "uniform Bible history centered series. The new materials were Bible-centered using a life situation approach in many of the lessons. (9) Carrying on the message of change, in 1969 Dr. Streng wrote In Search of Ultimates. The book's theme was for Christian faith to have relevance in the modern world there had to be a change in the structures of the church and a discarding of its "irrelevancies." (10)

Wartburg's construction made it one of the most beautiful sites in Dubuque. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

Wartburg grew through merger with other seminaries. Trinity Theological Seminary (United Evangelical Lutheran Church) from Blair, Nebraska, was moved to Dubuque in 1956 and officially merged with Wartburg in 1960. The seminary opened the Denver House of Studies in 1973 and an Hispanic Ministries program in Austin, Texas which required fluency in Spanish. During the 1970s, Wartburg established its international student program which brought church leaders and scholars to the campus for post-graduate theological education. At the time the program was adopted, Wartburg established a commitment to 10% of its on-campus students being from the international church. (11)

In 2002 Wartburg offered one of the few seminary programs toward a two-year master's degree program in theology, development and evangelism. In Africa, for example, church workers were looked upon for many kinds of advice from representing the people with nongovernmental agencies, pursuing grants for village improvement, and improving village life spiritually and physically. Scholarships for most students interested in the program were available through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Wartburg. (12)

Dubuque became one of the principal ecumenical centers in the United States during the 1960s. On February 2, 1962 dialogue began between the theologians from AQUINAS INSTITUTE, Dubuque Theological Seminary and Wartburg Theological Seminary. Following this meeting, three other contacts were arranged from which Protestant and Catholic developed a greater relationship. On January 9, 1963, Archbishop James J. BYRNE addressed the combined students and faculty of Wartburg at their request after he had returned from the first session of Vatican II. Articles of incorporation of the Association of Theological Faculties of Iowa were signed on June 1, 1965 by Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque Theological Seminary and the School of Religion at the University of Iowa. The articles consolidated the ecumenical movement from 1962 to 1965 and established the groundwork for the consolidation of the facilities of Aquinas Institute and the Dubuque Theological Seminary. The first ecumenical summer school of combined faculty and students from the three Dubuque theological seminaries was held on June 27, 1966. (13) The spirit continued as exemplified by "In a Global Economy, Who Profits?, an ecumenical conference held at Wartburg in June, 2002.

Women were ordained for the first time by the Seminary in the 1970s. In 1979 Professor Norma J. Cook joined the faculty and became the first woman given tenure on a seminary faculty in the church. The biographies of women at Wartburg have been told in books entitled And The Women Came, 100 And More, and Still The Women Came. In 1989 women accounted for 40 percent of the students and four of the seminary faculty. (14)

Extensive remodeling was carried out in 1982 as a result of a successful church-wide Seminary Appeal. In April, 2000 ground was broken for a new wing to be constructed on the southwest side of the seminary dormitories. The new building would house offices, meeting rooms, and a dining area and maintenance and food service space. In addition, the entire single-student housing wing was renovated and the campus would be provided with modern communications and made handicapped accessible. The seminary's main campus would be retrofitted with geothermal exchange for heating and cooling. The total project would cost $7.5 million. (15)

Perhaps unique in the field of theological seminaries, Wartburg Theological Seminary's entire faculty undertook in 2002 to write a book. Entitled The Difficult But Indispensable Church was released. With twenty-one chapters each written by one of the school's faculty, the book was about the struggles and triumphs of the Christian community. (16) In 2004 L. Shannon Jung, professor of rural ministry and director of the Center for Theology and Land, wrote Food for Lie: The Spirituality and Ethics of Eating." The thesis of the book was that Christianity was more about food than most people realized. (17)

Wartburg has prided itself in community outreach. In 2003 Gwen Sayler, an associate professor of Hebrew Bible, taught an interim class on Issues of Transition and Violence Against Women and Children. Students in the class visited Genesis House, a ministry to prostitutes in Chicago as part of a two-day visit to agencies on Chicago's South Side. A workshop entitled "The Criminal Justice System, a workshop on restorative justice was scheduled in February. (18)

In 2013 Wartburg had more than 2,200 alumni serving communities and congregations throughout the United States and 35 countries. (19)

Workshops focusing on racial identity were sponsored in 2017 by INCLUSIVE DUBUQUE, Downtown Dubuque Christian Outreach, SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (BVM), SISTERS OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS OF THE HOLY FAMILY (OSF), and Loras College's Archbishop Kucera Center, and Wartburg Theological Seminary. (20) In the same year, Samuel Giere, a teacher at Wartburg, led a campaign to re-examine what it meant to be a "Dubuquer." The "I'm a Dubuquer" campaign led to newspaper articles and advertising on the sides of KEYLINE buses. (21)

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Source:

1. "Wartburg Seminary: A Short Story," Telegraph Herald Wartburg Section, September 16, 1989, p. 17

2. Ibid.

3. "Heritage," Wartburg Theological Seminary, Online: https://www.wartburgseminary.edu/heritage/

4. "Wartburg Seminary..."

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. "ALC Revamps Teaching Plans," Telegraph Herald, May 14, 1952, p. 5

10. "Streng Book Backs Church Change," Telegraph Herald, February 16, 1969, p. 17

11. "Wartburg Seminary..."

12. Voight, Sandye. "For God and Country," Telegraph Herald, February 9, 2002, p. 23

12. "Ecumenism," Telegraph Herald, April 12, 1970, p. 50

13. "Wartburg Seminary...

14. Nevans-Pederson, Mary. "Big Day in Wartburg Seminary," Telegraph Herald, April 29, 2000, p. 7

15. Voight, Sandye. "Indispensable Collegiality," Telegraph Herald, September 28, 2002, p. 1

16. Voight, Sandye. "Eating--Spiritually," Telegraph Herald, June 19, 2004, p. 1

17. Voight, Sandye. "Battling the Violence," Telegraph Herald, January 18, 2003, p. 24

18. "Did You Know?" Telegraph Herald, August 25, 2013, p. 32

19. Barton, Thomas J. "Series of Dubuque Presentations to Focus on Racial Identity," Telegraph Herald, April 27, 2017, p. 5

20. Barton, Thomas J. "Professor Aims to Redefine Who Dubuque Residents 'r," Telegraph Herald, April 26, 2017, p. 5

Old and new seminary. Image courtesy: Larry Friedman