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Augsburg's Lutheran Free Church legacy

By Lenore Franzen

Given his family's nearly century-long connection with Augsburg College, Philip Quanbeck Sr. '50, professor emeritus of religion, understands well the College's ties to the Lutheran Free Church.

"Augsburg began in 1869 as a theological seminary for the Scandinavian community, especially the Norwegian community," Quanbeck explained. "A dispute in the 1890s about the role of the preparatory department and the nature of seminary education led the leaders of Augsburg to separate from the United Church, the church body with which it had been associated."

These leaders formed a group called the "Friends of Augsburg," which in 1897 became the Lutheran Free Church. While church bodies typically found educational institutions, in the case of Augsburg, the reverse was true.

In its beginning, Augsburg Theological Seminary focused on educating pastors. The College, which began as a preparatory school for the seminary, shared that concern. However, responding to the needs of both students and society, the College has broadened its curriculum and areas of competence.

"In 1963, the Lutheran Free Church merged with the American Lutheran Church, and the seminary merged with Luther Seminary in St. Paul," said Quanbeck.

Despite these many changes, Augsburg has always emphasized personal faith as an important component to a student's education. And Quanbeck believes that heritage, grounded in the Lutheran Free Church, lives on at the College.

"Augsburg still views religion courses as an integral part of a student's education," he said. "However, the life of faith is not simply an academic exercise. The College holds daily chapel, and campus ministry programs provide numerous opportunities to involve students in an active faith life. Also," he continued, "the current emphasis fostered by President Frame on the dialogue between faith and reason is a contemporary expression of this tradition."

Quanbeck's father, a pastor in the Lutheran Free Church, graduated from Augsburg in 1914. "The underlying assumption for me and my five siblings was that we would go to Augsburg as well," he said. All of them did. Continuing the tradition, Quanbeck's son, Philip, teaches in the religion department.

After graduating from college and seminary, Quanbeck became a Lutheran Free Church pastor in Bagley, Minn. On a 1952 Lutheran Brotherhood scholarship he went to Princeton, where he earned an M.Th. and Ph.D. before returning to teach at Augsburg College and Seminary. Starting in 1993, Quanbeck began phased retirement. He continues to teach one course in the spring and fall terms in Weekend College.

When he could have returned to the parish or gone elsewhere, Quanbeck chose to teach at Augsburg. "Here I have done something I was able to do," he said. "For that opportunity, I am grateful."

Lenore Franzen is a freelance writer who lives in St. Paul.

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