The Lutheran Witness

A Local Perspective

On May 21, 1882, Dr. C.A. Frank, pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, began editing the newspaper, The Lutheran Witness, which has become the official periodical of our Synod. Several members of our congregation helped with this project, including Mrs. J.J. (Jeanette [Nettie] Bauer) Frick, Lena Schreiber Jacob, Mary Mautz Wall, and Dora Smith. In a letter, Dr. Frank wrote, "...we had to write the addresses, paste the wrapper, fold them, take Mr. Emanuel Kirchner them in a wash basket (sic) and wheelbarrow to the post office."

Dr. Frank was editor of the biweekly The Lutheran Witness for its first nine years. He is credited with saving the periodical from an early demise after the Cleveland Pastoral Conference decided the journal had served its purpose and withdrew its support in 1884. Dr. Frank, however, almost single-handedly continued publication until 1889, when the English Conference of Missouri adopted The Lutheran Witness as its official organ. The English Synod of Missouri took over the publication in 1891.

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