An Official Organization

The 1920-21 school year saw this informal club become an officially recognized campus organization known as “The Lutheran Student Club of the University of Michigan”. The club’s first president, Oswald C. Michelman, outlined three purposes of the club: (1) to foster development of a common Lutheran consciousness among Lutheran students; (2) to furnish a means of unified expressions to the entire group when necessary or desirable; and (3) to function as part of the larger U-M Student Christian Association.

Once the Lutheran Student Club became an official campus organization, Zion and Trinity Lutheran churches were especially anxious to guarantee its future. In 1921 the two congregations reached a formal agreement designed to help insure the continuity and stability of the club: Zion (the larger of the two) agreed to provide the necessary facilities for the continuation of these Lutheran student gatherings as well as some financial support, while Trinity agreed to provide part-time pastoral leadership for the students. That same year Rev. Louis Gunderman replaced Pastor Wallick at Trinity and took over the part-time duties of student pastor. To implement the agreement between Zion and Trinity and to assist in the ministry to the students in the Lutheran Student Club, Pastors Stellhorn and Gunderman formed a joint committee consisting of themselves as pastors of the two churches along with two laypersons from each congregation (one man and one woman).

Throughout the 1920’s the Lutheran Student Club began to grow. In those years a foundation was being laid for the Lutheran campus ministry work that was to follow in future years. For example, Pastor Gunderman’s outline of the club’s objectives and activities for the year 1923-24 seems quite consistent with current goals of Lutheran campus ministry at the University of Michigan.

Also during these years, the Lutheran students at the Ann Arbor campus were to distinguish themselves nationwide by helping to provide the impetus that led to the organizing of the Lutheran Student Association of American (LSA) in 1922, the predecessor of today’s Lutheran Student Movement U.S.A. In fact, Oswald Michelman, the first president of the U-M Lutheran Student Club, became the first president of this national organization. Furthermore, most of the national meetings in these early years were convened in the state of Michigan since this was where the most active enthusiasm was to be found! In subsequent years the local campus ministry referred to itself increasingly as the LSA/U-M chapter and less as the Lutheran Student Club of the U-M.

In 1927 the Rev. Russell McMichael became pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church and took over direction of the student program. In 1929 the USA/U-M chapter began publishing its newsletter The Lutheran Student, although publication was quite sporadic.