Concordia Historical Institute Commends 2025 Publications Advancing Lutheran History in North America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 19, 2026

Concordia Historical Institute has announced a total of 18 Awards of Commendation and 26 honorable mentions for works that moved the study of Lutheran history in North America forward in significant ways. The awards will be officially presented to awardees at CHI’s Annual Membership Meeting and Awards Banquet on Thursday, November 12, 2026, where the Rev. Dr. Daniel N. Harmelink, Executive Director of CHI, with the CHI Awards Committee, will present commendation certificates. “Each year, Concordia Historical Institute reviews hundreds of publications and singles out those individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to the study of Lutheran history in North America. This year’s commendations span major works, institutional history, translation work, congregational history, articles and essays, and personal service to the cause of Lutheran history. Behind every certificate is a commendation and an invitation: find these books and articles, read them, and discover how the Lord has been at work among His people on this continent and beyond.”

This year’s honored works offers something for every student of Lutheran history. Fifty years after the Walkout at Concordia Seminary, a remarkable set of retrospectives lets readers hear the story of Seminex from voices across American Lutheranism — Mark Braun’s personal reflections on Concordia Seminary’s Class of 1974, Glenn Obenberger’s Evangelical Lutheran Synod perspective, Matthew C. Harrison’s account from a Missouri Synod perspective, and Thomas J. Korcok’s investigation of “the secret and mysterious life” of the Continuation Committee (1969–1976). Read side by side, these works form an unusually candid, multi-synod portrait of one of the most consequential conflicts in twentieth-century American Lutheranism.

Lovers of Lutheran worship and song will find a full pew’s worth of reading: Benjamin Kolodziej’s Portraits in American Lutheran Sacred Music, 1847–1947, David Jay Webber’s study of the Divine Service in confessional Lutheranism, the story of the first organ in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and a look at the General Synod’s pioneering English-language hymnal.
Those drawn to the sweep of the larger North American Lutheran story can take up Mark Granquist’s new A History of Christianity in America, the Routledge volume Global Lutheranism in the Contemporary World, and The Essential Nestingen on preaching, catechesis, and the Reformation.

The commended congregational histories stretch from Union Lutheran Church’s 250 years (1774–2024) to the first 50 years of Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Chesterfield, Missouri (1976–2026) — with Milwaukee’s St. Marcus (1875–2025) in between. Honorable mentions add Chicago’s oldest Lutheran congregation at 125 years, a pictorial history marking 175 years of the Wisconsin Synod, and immigrant memoirs of Lars Herman Beck, founding president of Upsala College, and Norwegian pioneer pastor Lars E. Green. Two recognitions celebrate labors that make such histories possible: Warren Schmidt of Altenberg, Perry County, Missouri, honored for personal service to the cause of Lutheran history through his many years of historically rich blogging, and James Langebartels, whose shelf of translations — from decades of Wisconsin and Minnesota Synod proceedings to Werner Elert’s The Morphology of Lutheranism — continues to unlock German-language sources for English-speaking readers.

This year’s special speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Christian Tiews, LCMS career missionary to Germany, whose ministry among Persian refugees continues the church’s long story of carrying the Gospel across borders and languages. His presentation, along with this year’s awardees, will be featured in the Winter 2026 issue of Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly.

Concordia Historical Institute is charged with treasuring and trumpeting Lutheran history in North America and is the largest Lutheran archive and research center outside of Germany. For more information about CHI Collections, past awardees, or for tickets to this November’s Awards Banquet, visit concordiahistoricalinstitute.org

AWARDS OF COMMENDATION
Commendations awarded in 2026 for 2025 works

Major Works

Cimino, Richard, ed. Global Lutheranism in the Contemporary World. London, England: Routledge, 2025.

Granquist, Mark A. A History of Christianity in America. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2025.

Kolodziej, Benjamin. Portraits in American Lutheran Sacred Music, 1847–1947. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 2025.

Pless, John T., ed. The Essential Nestingen: Essays on Preaching, Catechism, and the Reformation. Irvine, California: 1517 Press, 2025.

Webber, David Jay. The Divine Service in Confessional Lutheranism and in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Princeton, Minnesota: Johannes Bugenhagen Liturgical Institute, 2025.

Institutional History

Lee, Robert L. From Freedom to Life: A History of the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations. Plymouth, Minnesota: Ambassador Publications, 2024.

Translation Work

Pieper, Reinhold and Isaac R. W. Johnson, transl. Evangelical Lutheran Homiletics. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2025.

Congregational History

Baker, Paul Lawrence, ed. History and 250th Anniversary: Union Lutheran Church (1774–2024). Self-published, 2024.

Jeske, Mark. The History of St. Marcus. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Self-published, 2025.

Kammeyer, Janet Whalen. Lord of Life Lutheran Church | Celebrating 50 Years of God’s Grace and Love (1976–2026). Chesterfield, Missouri, 2025.

Articles / Brief Papers / Essays

Braun, Mark. “The Class of 1974: Personal Reflections on the Walkout [The Fiftieth Anniversary of Seminex].” in Lutheran Synod Quarterly 65:1 (2025), 29–56; and “Seminex: Looking In from the Outside.” in Concordia Theological Journal 88:4 (2024), 291–322.

Granquist, Mark. “The Complicated Loyalties of Lutherans in the United States During the 1920s.” in Transloyalties, Connected Histories and World Christianity during the Interwar Period (1919–1939). Ludwig, Frieder, et al. New York: Routledge, 2025.

Grundmeier, Timothy D. “Pennsylvania’s ‘Youthful Daughter:’ Reexamining the Early History of the Wisconsin Synod.” in Wisconsin Synod Quarterly 122:2 (Spring 2025), 89–140.

Obenberger, Glenn. “The ELS Perspective [on the Fiftieth Anniversary of Seminex].” in Lutheran Synod Quarterly 65:1 (2025), 57–97.
Phelps, Benjamin T. “Henry A. Koch: Conservator of Lutheran Heritage.” in Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly 122:3 (Summer 2025), 167–202; and Wauwatosa Diary: Henry A. Koch (1910–1912). Lulu.com, 2025.

Weber, Leslie, Jr. “William A. Passavant’s Urban Ministry to Baltimore’s Small Lutheran Communities, 1842–1844.” in Journal of the Lutheran Historical Conference 2024, 127–148.

Personal Service to the Cause of Lutheran History in North America

Warren Schmidt, Altenberg, Perry County, Missouri

Translation Work

James Langebartels, for his extensive body of translation work over the last several years, including the Wisconsin Synod Proceedings (1876–1917), Minnesota Synod Proceedings (1860–1910), Wisconsin Federation Proceedings (1892–1915), and Wisconsin Joint Synod Proceedings (1917–1925); Werner Elert’s The Morphology of Lutheranism (volumes 1 and 2); John Philip Koehler’s The Pre-History of The History of the Wisconsin Synod; and August Pieper’s Occupied with the Word.

HONORABLE MENTION

Family History (Biography, Autobiography, Memoir)

Eickmann, Walter Theodore and Michael A. Miller, ed. Minnen: An Immigrant’s Story – Memoirs of Lars Herman Beck. Outlandish Press, 2025. [Beck was a Lutheran minister and founding president of Upsala College.]

Moore, Kristen S. By the Grace of God: The Story of Reverend Lars E. Green. Otterhouse Books, 2025. [A Norwegian immigrant and pioneering Lutheran pastor in Minnesota.]

Institutional History

Braun, John A. and Joel D. Otto. Christ through Us: A Pictorial History of the Wisconsin Synod (1850–2025). Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2024.

Grindal, Gracia. What a Fellowship: Remembering Augsburg Seminary and the Lutheran Free Church. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2025.

Congregational History

Krueger-Spurlock, Bonnie L., editor. First Saint Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church: A History of Chicago’s Oldest Lutheran Church – Celebrating 125 Years, 2024.

Seaver, Karen. History of the Women at Trinity English Lutheran Church in Lindstrom, Minnesota (1901–2025). Lulu.com, 2025.

Trinity Lutheran Church, Alma, Missouri – Founded 1875. Self-published, 2025.

Other (Online Resources)

Brauer, Roger L. The Ministry of Reverend Harold H. Brauer. https://www.mylifeforchrist.org

Articles and Other Brief Papers or Essays

Baue, Frederic W. “Tennessee and Missouri – Why Form Another Synod?” in Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly 98:1 (Spring 2025), pages 61–70.

Brenner, John M. “The Life and Legacy of Dr. Siegbert Becker.” in Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly 122:3 (Summer 2025), pages 203–224.

Clifton, Jeremy. “Rev. Theodor Kilian (1890–1925).” in Texasco-Serbski Nowinker 45:2 (Spring 2025), pages 7–12.

Ferro, Trenton R. “Another Loehe Colony? Trinity Lutheran Church, Goodfarm Township, Grundy County, Illinois.” in Journal of the Lutheran Historical Conference 2024 (2025), pages 89–108.

Granquist, Mark A. “The Church Year in Nineteenth-Century American Lutheranism.” in Journal of the Lutheran Historical Conference 2024 (2025), pages 67–75.

Hall, Mirko M. “Recent Doctrinal Disputes in the Laestadian Lutheran Church.” in Journal of the Lutheran Historical Conference 2024 (2025), pages 76–88.

Harrison, Matthew C. “The LCMS Perspective [The Fiftieth Anniversary of Seminex].” in Lutheran Synod Quarterly 65:1 (2025), pages 9–28.

Hooper, Phillip G. “Congregations Working Together: The Friends of Augsburg and the Formation of the LFC [Lutheran Free Church].” in The Sverdrup Journal 21 (2024), pages 22–36.

Hughey, B. Steve. “Polycarp Cyprian Henkel, Pioneer Lutheran Pastor, Defender of the Faith, and Missionary.” in Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly 98:1 (Spring 2025), pages 9–29; and “P. C. Henkel Missionary Journal [transcription].” in Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly 98:1 (Spring 2025), pages 30–59.

Kolodziej, Benjamin A. “The First Organ in The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.” in Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly 98:4 (Winter 2025), pages 31–53.

Korcok, Thomas J. “The Secret and Mysterious Life of the Continuation Committee (1969–1976).” in Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly 98:3 (Fall 2025), pages 23–33.

Pannebaker, Jeffrey R. “Hymns, Selected and Original: The English-Language Hymnal of the General Synod.” in CrossAccent 33:1 (Spring 2025), pages 48–56.

Petig, William E. “The Rev. Albert F. W. Grimm: His Life and Literary Work.” in Journal of the Lutheran Historical Conference 2024 (2025), pages 109–126.

Plichta, Timothy R. “The History of the Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Forum and Its Role in Founding the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC).” in WELS Historical Institute Journal 43:2 (Fall 2025), pages 37–61.

Schaefer, Benjamin P. “Strengthening the Stakes for Ministry: President Carl Mischke.” in Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly 122:4 (Fall 2025), pages 269–292.

Schurb, Ken. “Learning about Evangelism from the Past: TODAY.” in Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly 98:3 (Fall 2025), pages 35–52.

Wengert, Timothy J. “Text, for the Record: Fragments from an Early American Lutheran Parish Register.” in Lutheran Quarterly 39:4 (Winter 2025), pages 426–433.

Wilson, Jon Mark. “Federkrieg: A Hessian in the Pennsylvania Ministerium Defends the Faith.” in Journal of the Lutheran Historical Conference 2024 (2025), pages 149–168.

Concordia Historical Institute encourages submissions of 2026 publications to be considered for next year’s awards. A nomination form is available on the CHI website at concordiahistoricalinstitute.org

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