CHURCH AND LIFE: A BRIEF HISTORY

by Thorvald Hansen (updated in 2025)

Church and Life (originally named Kirke og Folk) was begun by the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1952 as an exclusively Danish publication in line with its original purpose which was to serve the Danish readership of the church. Until the 1930s, the official church paper had been Kirkelig Samler. When this was replaced by the English-language publication Lutheran Tidings, the Danish readers were served by a page called "Kirkelig Samler" in the Danish-language Dannevirke, a privately owned weekly that was unofficially related to the church. When this publication ceased in 1951, Danish news of the church was no longer available, and this was missed, particularly by older readers. It was to fill this vacuum that the new Danish publication was begun.

The first issues of Kirke og Folk were distributed gratis to some 750 individuals who might be interested, but within a short time it became a subscription paper with some 1,000 subscribers. It was a 16-page paper issued twice monthly. When the Lutheran Church in America was born in 1963 and Lutheran Tidings ceased publication, some of the readers of that paper became subscribers. It became an exclusively English-language publication of 12 to l6 pages (depending on the material available) and is issued ten times a year. The U.S. subscription price was $20 per year. Gifts and memorials served to make up any financial shortfall. For its content, the publication depended upon the voluntary contributions of a significant number of writers. The December issue is at least twice the normal size for Christmas .

In 1983 the name was changed to Church and Life. This was not intended to be a translation of the Danish, but rather an indication that the church body out of which it grew was concerned also with this earthly life.

Throughout its long history the paper has had seven full time editors: Holger Strandskov, Paul Wikman, Michael Mikkelsen, Johannes Knudsen, Thorvald Hansen, Joy Ibsen, and Bridget Lois Jensen, the great-niece of the former editor Mikkelsen. The new editor, as of 2025 is Mark Bradshaw Busbee.

The paper serves subscribers as a tie that binds them, not only to one another, but to the religious and social environment with which they have been familiar. This is not an exclusive group, nor are they guided by nostalgia, but one to which any and all who share similar values are more than welcome.

As of February 2025, the publication has gone online, making it accessible to anyone. The new version will rely on donations from regular readers with the only requirement being "subscribing" with contact information in order to engage in discussion boards and to submit articles for publication. (Reference: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)

From its beginnings to today, Church and Life seeks to be consistent with the philosophy and theology of N.F.S. Grundtvig. While the publication’s roots are Danish and Lutheran, its readers and contributors include many who are neither (including its new editor, an Episcopalian living in Alabama).

The culture of the “Happy Danes” was experienced in the United States by immigrants committed to the Danish folk tradition of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, later named the American Evangelical Lutheran Church. Church and Life publishes poems, stories, book reviews and editorials which articulate these values.

While the folk church of Church and Life has now existed as an entity for 75 years, much of its spirit continues. Walter Capps, theologian and congressman (1934–1997), characterized the Grundtvigian tradition as:

1. Affirmation of life
2. Staying as close to nature as possible
3. The goodness and beauty of ordinary life
4. Lifelong learning and education

Grundtvig is known for his famous phrase: “Human first; then Christian.” Our common humanity is the basis for freedom, equality and dignity. Christ is found in the living community rather than in any book. Personal freedom and community are of the highest value. Sermons and articles published in Church and Life reflect this tradition .

Grundtvig wrote many beautiful hymns and songs. The phrase “a simple life, a merry heart” in our tagline comes from Grundtvig’s “Simplicity of Life” as translated by S.D., Rodholm:

Give me a simple life, a merry heart,
And kings may keep their pomp and garments splendid;
Let me in hut or mansion live the part
Of one from worthy ancestors descended.
With eye for things above as God ordained,
Awake to greatness, goodness, truth and beauty,
Yet knowing well the yearnings unattained,
Thro’ knowledge, great achievement, deeds and duty.

But we may not expect the ripened fruit
Except through growth, the law of all creation;
In spring we see the green and tender shoot
In early summer like a revelation;
A burst of glory, flowers bright unfold;
Then through the sunny summer days appearing
The fruit matures for harvest: so the soul
Is only step by step its harvest nearing.

Danish Interest Conference Board

President

Andrés Albertsen

Willmar, MN

Secretary

Janet Jensen

St. Peter, MN

Treasurer

Lee Molgaard

Ames, IA

Ginny Blood

Burnsville, MN

Marilyn Gift

Des Moines, IA

Rev. Hans Jorgensen

St Paul, MN

Sonja Knudsen

Rock Island, IL

Alice Mikel

W. St Paul, MN

Dan Mikel

W. St Paul, MN

Dagmar Muthamia

Long Beach, CA

John Rasmussen

Hicksville, NY