TheEarlyLutheranChurchinAlaska

Ratings:(0)|Views:105|Likes:0
PublishedbyAdamLondon
AshortbookreviewandhistoryoftheearlyLutheranChurchinAlaska.
Moreinfo:
Categories:Types,Research
Publishedby:AdamLondononFeb20,2013
Copyright:AttributionNoncommercial
Availability:
ReadonScribdmobile:iPhone,iPadandAndroid.
downloadasDOCX,PDF,TXTorreadonlinefromScribd
of 6
1 of 1
Results for: Magdalene p.5
Cornelius H. Malmin and his wife, Christine and
The Early Lutheran Church in Alaska
Ratings: (0)|Views: 105 |Likes: 0
Published by Adam London
A short book review and history of the early Lutheran Church
in Alaska.
More info:
Categories:Types, Research
Published by: Adam London on Feb 20, 2013
Copyright:Attribution Non-commercial
Availability:
Read on Scribd mobile: iPhone, iPad and Android.
download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Flag for inappropriate content|Add to collection
See less
Adam LondonHSTY 7390May 14, 2012

Ferdinand Drebert and the Early Moravian Church

The Lutheran church was a relatively late arrival on the
Alaska mission scene. The Lutheran church arrived in 1894
with the Reverend Tollef Brevig. Brevig was the first pastor
of Teller Mission, which would eventually (many years later,
in 1963, 30 years after his death) be renamed Brevig Mission
in his honor. Lutheran historian, Henriette Lund chronicles
the early Moravian Church in the book,
Of Eskimos and Missionaries.
While virtually all other Alaska church history books begin
withstories of white missionaries, instead, Lund begins with
stories of a few the Eskimos that have had great impact on
the Mission carried out by the church.The first story that
Lund tells is that of an Eskimo orphan. The Eskimo orphan,
Emma, in addition to her Native Inupiaq, learned to speak
Norwegian, the mother tongue of the Brevigs,as well as
English.
Lund reports that all orphans under the Lutherans received
good care.
i
Emma would later be confirmed in 1900 by Brevigs
successor, Pastor Tjernagel.
ii
Emma grewup and married a Native reindeer herder, who
had been a herder since age 12 (one of the first
Native apprentices until the Lapps). It is reported that
Pastor Brevig officiated at the wedding.This wedding must
have happened during Brevigs second term of service after
Tjernagel left.As further proof of the Brevigs influence on
Emma, their first child was named Julia, after Mrs.Brevig.
iii
The next Eskimo story begins with the note:
As we go through the annals of the
Missions, no name pops up more frequently t
han that of an Eskimo, Sam AilakSam Ailak was
born at North Spit, at the northwestern edge of the North
American continent, the one nearest toAsia. Made an orphan
in the 1918 influenza

scourge, he came to live at the Teller Mission.

iv
Among the many good deeds of Ailak, he will most be
remembered by the record history he keptof the many
incidents of his life at Teller Mission.
v
The third Eskimo story which opens the book is Mary of
Igloo. As Lund says,
Mary
was an Eskimo who never wanted to be anyth
ing else.
vi
Mary came to faith When the
missionary Tollef Brevig came to Igloo on one of his
exploratory journeys in the area, he became
acquainted with Mary While at Igloo, Pastor Brevig held
religious services to which these[Mary] listened and in
time became a devout Christian. To Marys credit, her
stepson,William also became a devout Christian and a
friend of mission workers.
vii
Throughout the rest of this Lutheran history, Lund continues
to make sure the Eskimoworkers get recognition, even as
she turns her attention to the Norwegian missionaries. One
such
example is the Eskimo orphan, Katherine, who grew up and
moved to Ikpek, a small untouchedvillage, starting a Sunday
school there.
viii
Lund even makes notes about some converted shamans.
Like other denominations whoencountered shamans, the
Lutherans saw many of these medicine men turn to Christ,
the greatest
Spirit. Lund writes of one medicine man that told his
testimony: I heard about the gospel and

so my curiosity took me wherever it was preached, but I still

could not understand. I did notknow what the
commandments and the creed meant. I wanted to
understand more about this
new life. Now I believe. I am glad we do not live in the past.
ix
Another story of shaman coming to Christ simply involved
curiosity;
Some venturous
hunters went down to Teller Reindeer Station where there
was a white man who could tell them
more aboutGod who rules over everyone by loveAmong
the travelers was Tucktoo, the
medicine man reputed to be in close t
ouch with good and evil spiritsall were baptized beforethey
left for home.
x
After firmly establishing that the Eskimos were an integral
part of the Lutheran church,Lund then goes on to explain
how the Norwegian Lutheran Synod came to have a
presence inWestern Alaska. The story begins with the
famous missionary statesman, Sheldon Jackson. Inthe midst
of the great reindeer project, Jackson had hired several
Siberian reindeer herders thatachieved mediocre results. In
addition to the results, Jackson always was looking for a way
for the church to take responsibility for more work in Western
Alaska (much to the angst of manysecular government
oficials). As Jackson surveyed the reindeer project,

he decided it would be advantageous to replace the Sib

erians with herders of the Christian faith.
xi
Jackson made a trip to Norway to recruit Lapps (or
Laplanders
), Scandinavian
reindeer herders that were are part of the Norwegian
Lutheran church. Jackson successfullyrecruited a large
handful of men, women, and children to move to Alaska, but

they made itknown that they would only go if a Lutheran

Pastor would accompany them. As Lund reports,
Fortunately, the right man was found in the Revered Tollef
Larson Brevig, a robust, outgoing
man, 37 years of a
ge.
xii
Ministry for Brevig was always about both the Lapps and the
Eskimos, and in later yearshis focus became much more on
the Eskimos as the Lapps moved on. Interestingly, according
to
Lund, Eventually, most of the Laplanders returned to their
native
land, but a few settled at
Unalakleet, where their descendants live today.
xiii
Unalakleet is the home of the CovenantChurch, which at the
time was predominantly served by Swedish speaking
missionaries at thetime.Ministry began slowly for Brevig
among the Eskimos, with Lund reporting;
In the firstyear three Eskimos were converted and three
more the following year.
xiv
Early on in their ministry, they also added to their family as
a daughter was born to Tollef and Julia Brevig.
She was christened Dagny Alaska, Dagny meaning
New Day
in Norwegian. Eskimos translatedthis into Oblomit, meaning
Dawn
.
xv
Not long into their ministry, the Brevigs found themselves
face to face with an epidemicwhich killed thousands of
Eskimos throughout the state. The measles epidemic was
said to havecome to Alaska as
two sailors with measles had been dropped of
at Nome by a whaling
vessel

xvi
The measles epidemic was the reason why the Lutheran
orphanage was started atTeller Mission. Countless numbers
of Eskimo parents succumbed to the disease, leaving
their children to die or find other means. Fortunately, in most
villages, the church stepped up andopened their own homes
and mission buildings to care for the least of these.Brevig
was deeply touched by the sufering and made extreme
sacrifices for them. AsLund reports,
Although [Brevig] was a poor man, he was so concerned
about the welfare of the
Eskimos that during the three following years [after the
measles epidemic] he gave his salaryreceived from the
government, which was $2900 and even $600 besides, for
their help and
support.
xvii
The work at Teller Mission was a taxing ministry as the
Norwegian Synod soonrecognized.
To assist Pastor Brevig, the Synod at this time sent to the
mission two workers:
Karen
Weeks and Helen Naas from the state of Washington. It is
interesting to note that the two
ladies came in the summer time and were able to reach
Teller by horseback from Nome.
xviii
In 1903, Brevig took a furlough in which he took with him
two Native girls (namesunmentioned) to the Lower 48 to
drum up support for the Mission. Upon
Arriving home, the
pastor again lectured extensively to Lutheran
congregations, and the two girls often sang at
meetingsthe Norwegian Synod in March, 1904, accepted
Teller Mission as an official project.
xix

Abraham Haavig, a Lutheran carpenter was also around in

the early 1900s. He hadcome to Alaska seeking gold, but
soon became ill and found his way to the Mission. Mr.
Haavig was a good helper during the measles epidemic and
had his reward, one might say, by
falling in love with and marrying Miss Naas.
xx
Haavig would go on to write an extensive, butunpublished,
history of the early Lutheran church in Alaska, which would
aid later historians intheir eforts.With all the new workers
and positive momentum after years of service, Brevig was
atthe peak of his ministry. Lund, observing Brevigs own
reports, writes that
The Christmas
celebration in 1905 was described by the pastor as one of
the most enjoyable events in his life.
Ninety persons were baptized, and many asked for the
sacrament of Holy Communion.
xxi
Inevery day ministry, Lund also notes that
The pastor was spontaneous in his play with
the
children, and they loved him.
xxii
Activity (1)
Filters
Add to collectionReview Add NoteLike
1 hundred reads
More From This User
Axel Karlsson Diary
Adam London
Ferdinand Drebert and the Early Moravian Church.docx
Adam London

L.E. Ost and the Early Alaska Covenant Church

Adam London
Grandpa a Mission in Alaska ECCAK
Adam London
Sheldon Jackson and the Comity Plan
Adam London
Axel E. Karlson - London
Adam London
Covenant Bible Camp History
Adam London
Covenant Bible Camp History
Adam London
Alaska Church Bibliography
Adam London
ECCAK History by Adam London
Adam London
Polar NewsFlash Christmas Edition 2012
Adam London
Polar NewsFlash Fall Edition 2012
Adam London

Download and print this document

Read and print without ads
Download to keep your version
Edit, email or read offline
Choose a format:
.DOCX
.PDF
Download
Recommended
After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story
Simon & Schuster
Family?Secrets?SometimesIthinktheyarethesamething.Sowrites
Micha...

The Wallcreeper
Dorothy, a publishing project
"WhoisNellZink?Sheclaimstobeanexpatriatelivinginnortheast
Germany...

Spirit Animals: Unlocking the Secrets...

Chronicle Books Digital
Longago,manyculturesregardedcertainanimalsasreflectingaperson's
tru...

Some Trees: Poems

Open Road Integrated Media
JohnAshberysfirstpublishedbookofpoems,handpickedfromtheslush
pile...

Page 1 of 8
Read Unlimited Books for $8.99 per month
Start Your Free Month
No commitment.Cancel anytime.
Movie lovers have Netflix, music lovers have Spotify and
book lovers (whether they read literary fiction or best-selling
potboilers) now have Scribd. NPR
[Scribd] is a place where you can browse and skim and read
whatever strikes your fancy Wired
For less than the price of buying one new book a month (eor otherwise), you can wander through more than 50,000
books. Entrepreneur
This has got to be the next best thing to sliced bread. I can
finish reading one book and go grab another instantly
Wendy Brooks, a Scribd reader
Close
About
Browse books
Browse documents
About Scribd
Team
Blog
Join our team!
Contact Us
Subscriptions
Subscribe today
Your subscription
Gifts

Advertise with us
AdChoices
Support
Help
FAQ
Press
Purchase help
Partners
Publishers
Developers / API
Legal
Terms
Privacy
Copyright

Copyright 2014 Scribd Inc.

Mobile Site
Language:
English