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Updated: June 21, 2025
We believe that this provision of Elders and Vorsteher or Deacons, was accepted by them from the Swedish Lutheran Churches on the Delaware, the early Dutch Reformed and German Reformed Churches in Pennsylvania, and the Dutch Lutheran Churches in New York and New Jersey, and ultimately from the German Lutheran Church in London, and the Dutch Lutheran Church in Amsterdam.
In the above described manner the Church Council is constituted of Trustees, Elders and Vorsteher.
Twelve Vorsteher are to be elected by the contributing members, who in important matters shall confer with the Preacher, take counsel from him and from the congregation in case of need, otherwise they shall refrain from molesting each other, except for good cause. The Vorsteher shall meet once a month, and absent members are fined; they each preside in turn for one month.
The distinction between the two classes may not have been very clear, and sometimes both are spoken of as Vorsteher, but after a general examination of their records, we are persuaded that it was a prevalent, if not universal usage of the congregations, before Muehlenberg's arrival, to elect these two classes of officers, to whom the direction of their affairs was intrusted.
Francke to be signed by the congregations in 1734, is addressed to the Elders and Vorsteher, and the letter sent to Dr. Ziegenhagen in 1739, is signed by the Elders and Vorsteher. The proceedings of the first meeting of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania show the presence of Deputy Elders and Vorsteher from the ten congregations represented.
When Muehlenberg came to Philadelphia in December, 1742, he presented his credentials and was accepted as pastor, in behalf of the congregation assembled in the Swedish Church, by the three elders and four vorsteher. The first change made by Muehlenberg and Brunnholtz was in 1746, partly for the purpose of legally securing the property.
There are also entries in 1760 and 1761, of the election, per plurima vota, of Vorsteher and of elders, probably to fill vacancies made by death. These Vorsteher were elected annually and this constitution makes the elders serve for life. The above document is followed by a carefully prepared constitution and rules for the parochial school.
The Vorsteher also shall be presented publicly to the congregation by the Pastors, be reminded of their duties, and thanks be returned to those who go out of office.
Under its influence the Lutheran Church had largely adopted the same system. The Lutheran KO in force in Muehlenberg's time says: "Each Congregation shall have its own Elders and Vorsteher, who with the Pastors of the place constitute a Presbytery or Consistory. There were to be four or six Elders, one half elected each year by the Presbytery.
These trustees, including the pastors, with the vorsteher, elected by themselves, constituted the church council. As at the time of the reformation, recourse was had to the princes as rulers, so here in the beginning it was thought wisest and safest to vest the government of the congregation in a few set over them by authority.
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