Wednesday, November 2, 2022

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 2nd of November 2022. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

On the 2nd of November in 1696, Conrad Weiser was born- he would become one of the more remarkable Germans in the American colonies as a diplomat, Lutheran minister, and one-time monk. But his story starts back in the Palatinate on the Rhine in modern Germany near the French border.

The 30 Years War was especially devastating to this area, and the Rhine valley offered boom and bust years for farmers depending on the weather; it was fertile but subject to drought and flooding. By the early 1700s, many locals were looking to the new world- this interest would be stoked when William Penn would tour the land looking for possible immigrants to his Pennsylvania experiment.

But it was Queen Anne of England who was concerned with growing Catholic expansion in her American colonies who personally invited German Lutherans of the Palatinate to immigrate to the New York frontier and Mohawk valley. The Weisers and thousands of other Palatines would take the Rhine up to the Netherlands and then over to London before making the trip to the New World.

It was here that Conrad Weiser would grow up amongst the Six Nations of indigenous Americans. Here he would learn the language and customs of the Iroquois Confederacy. At 27, he and his wife and their children (they would have 14, 7 of whom would survive) moved eastward, following the Susquehanna, and settled near Reading, Pennsylvania (a town he helped to found).

His knowledge of the Iroquois and his congenial relations with the indigenous peoples made him an easy choice to serve in local government. He is credited with keeping stability in the region between the natives and the immigrant community. Upon his death, an Iroquois reportedly said: "We are at a great loss and sit in darkness...as since his death we cannot so well understand one another.” Relations between the Germans and Iroquois were solid. Much of the peace that allowed for industrial advancement can be traced to Conrad’s knowledge of the indigenous people and their trust in him. The good relations would last until the outbreak of the French and Indian war that divided native loyalties among European immigrant communities.

Conrad had a personal religious upheaval when he was in his 40s. Despite being a Lutheran, he took a temporary leave of his wife and family to join the monastic Ephrata Community.

We’ve discussed the Ephrata Community before on this show- they were also known as the “Seventh Day Baptists” and came from the Rhineland in Germany to Pennsylvania with another Conrad- Conrad Beissel. They were known for their printing press and composition of hymns; it has been suggested they invented an early form of musical notation for 4 part harmonies.

Conrad Weissel would become disillusioned with Beissel and the Community and went back to live full-time with his family, where he would take up lay ministry with his local Lutheran Church. His daughter, Anna Maria Weiser, would marry another German immigrant through this church: Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. You might remember from a recent show that Henry is the patriarch of American Lutheranism (although listen up for tomorrow’s show for another Lutheran branch coming to the midwest by way of Saxony).

Weiser would die in 1760 at the age of 63. Today the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania owns his homestead and established a memorial park in his honor. It is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public to learn more about the remarkable man Conrad Weiser who was born on the 2nd of November in 1696.

The Last Word for today comes from the lectionary for today from Habakkuk 3:

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails
 and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen
 and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
 I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
 he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

he enables me to tread on the heights.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 2nd of November 2022, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who also has feet like a deer- just two long hooves, like toes. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who is going to steal a piece or two from the kid's candy every day when they go to school- they’ll never know so long as I leave the Peanut Butter cups. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.