# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1930_S55
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

50

and at the same convention (1868) a certain
Michael M. Coble, who had been a slave in the
Lutheran Coble family near Elon College, N. C.,
was licensed to preach and to administer the Sacra-

Rev. D. J. Koontz.

ments. From 1870 to 1890 the minutes mention
colored men who were licensed, relicensed, or or-
dained. In addition to Michael Coble the follow-
ing are mentioned: Thomas Southerland, Samuel
Holt, Nathan Clapp, David J. Koontz, W. Philo
Phifer. At the convention in 1880 Michael Coble
was dropped by resolution. He had joined the
Methodists during a revival. D. J. Koontz was
ordained at the convention in 1880. In 1884 Clapp
and Holt were ordained. The names of these or-
dained colored ministers were placed on the minis-
terial roll. The colored ministers, after their ordi-
nation, had voice and vote and were on the same
footing with all the other members of the North
Carolina Synod. One of them was even permitted
to preach at a synodical convention, in 1885.
“Besides divine services already noted, Rev. D. J.
Koontz (colored) preached a very acceptable sermon
on Friday night during synod. Text, Matt. 25, 46,”
say the minutes. 9

“In that year [1888] four colored men were
ordained to the office of the holy ministry by pastors
of that synod.” (Our Colored Missions, illustrated,
p. 49.) :

In 1888 not a single colored man was ordained
to the office of the holy ministry by the officers of
the North Carolina Synod. We have seen that

D. J. Koontz was ordained in 1880, Nathan Clapp
and Samuel Holt in 1884. Philo Phifer was or-
dained in 1890 and then transferred to the’Alpha

Synod.
3.

“They [these four colored men]: were advised
to organize their own synod, which they did.”
(Page 49.)

This advice did not originate in the North
Carolina Synod. It originally came from a promi-
nent Lutheran pastor in Pennsylvania.

Because of the poverty of its members since the
Civil War the North Carolina Synod resolved at
its 1885 convention to offer its colored missions to
the General Synod, volunteering to supervise the
work for it. Its offer was not accepted. Three years
later an effort was made to enlist the cooperation
of the Maryland Synod. The Committee on Work
among the Freedmen had said in its report : —

“After careful deliberation and the considera-
tion of all the facts known to us, it seems to us the
duty of the Lutheran Church to preach the Gospel
to the Freedmen. We believe the scanty success of
all our efforts in this direction in the past to be
due to the manner in which we have labored and
not to any inadaptability of our form of faith to
the needs of that people. How we have labored in
this field heretofore you well know. We have had
more than we could do, with the small resources at
our command, to provide for the support of what
gave promise of becoming self-
sustaining churches among
our own people. Yet, in spite
of all discouragement, there
is to-day a colored work within
the bounds of our synod; and
three ordained ministers, an
applicant for ordination, and
another colored brother asking
for work among us seems to
indicate a vitality not totbe
lightly esteemed. We cannot
do otherwise than recommend
further work in this field.”

The committee suggested.
that an attempt be made to
solicit the cooperation of the
Maryland Synod. The suggestion was adopted. The
committee had some correspondence with a prom-
inent Pittsburgh pastor and reported at the 1889
convention : —

“From correspondence with Rev. Dr. Passavant
of the Pittsburgh Synod, of the General Council,

Rev. Sam. Holt.