O.P. Kretzmann Speeches (1921-1971)

Collection

Identifier: sc.2017.01.12

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of 226 files within 53 folders containing addresses, sermons, and speeches created between the years 1921 to 1971. These documents are part of a larger collection of O.P. Kretzmann's personal papers and are housed within this larger collection. Not all folders within a box are listed in the Contents List below because the items contained within those folders are not considered to be part of this smaller collection. The inventory for this larger collection of personal papers can be found within the Valparaiso University Archives and Special Collections.

Dates

Creation: 1921 - 1971

Creator

Kretzmann, O. P. (Otto Paul), 1901-1975 (Person)

Language of Materials

There are three files handwritten in German. The rest of the documents are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection. Access to the collection is in accordance with the policies of the Valparaiso University Archives and Special Collections, Valparaiso University.

Conditions Governing Use

Requests to reproduce or publish material from the collection should be directed to the Valparaiso University Archives and Special Collections, Valparaiso University.

Biographical / Historical

The Rev. Otto Paul Kretzmann (1901-1975) grew up in New York City, the son and grandson of Lutheran pastors. A 1920 graduate of Concordia Collegiate Institute, Bronxville, New York, he received the Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1924 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and pursued further graduate study at Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Chicago Universities. Before coming to Valparaiso University, O.P., as he was affectionately known, was executive secretary of the international Lutheran youth organization, the Walther League, for six years. Prior to that, he served for ten years on the faculty of Concordia Seminary, Springfield Illinois. Known for his powerful and poetic style of oratory, Kretzmann began his productive 28-year presidency of Valparaiso University in 1940 with an inspiring inaugural address before a crowd of 2,000 people that set the tone for years to come. Kretzmann argued that the mission of the Christian university was not to disengage from the modern world. During Kretzmann's administration (1940-1968), a new campus was developed, enrollment grew from 400 to 4,000, the quality of many of the academic programs was enhanced, and the University became nationally recognized. He was the recipient of ten honorary doctorates. He died on Holy Cross day, September 14, 1975, in his 75th year. Taken from the Valparaiso University 150th Anniversary website.

Extent

226 Files (This collection consists of 226 files within 53 folders housed within 4 archival document boxes. Some folders contain multiple documents.) : Documents are either typed or handwritten on paper. ; 8.5 x 11 in.; 4.25 x 7 in.

Additional Description

Contents List

Not all folders within a box are listed here because the items contained within those folders are not considered to be part of this smaller collection.

Box 6 - Notes: Addresses and Sermons

Box 6 - Notes: Addresses and Sermons: Folder 1: Alumni: Facing Tomorrow, Remember John 16:4; Folder 3: Baccalaureate Addresses; Folder 6: Chapel Addresses; Folder 7: Thursday Matins 1941 - Peace in Christ; Folder 8: Chapel Chapter - Organization: The Beauty of Holiness, The Glorious Company of Angels; Folder 10: Christmas Vespers; Folder 12: Baccalaureate Address, University of Chicago Chapel Address; Folder 13: Commencement Addresses; Folder 15: Seminary Addresses; Folder 17: Convocation Addresses; Folder 19: Chapel Dedications; Folder 22: Final Chapel of the Year Addresses

Box 7 - Notes: Addresses and Sermons

Box 7 - Notes: Addresses and Sermons: Folder 1: Lent; Folder 3: Lutheran Unity; Folder 6: Memorial Addresses (John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr.);Folder 15: Reformation; Folder 17: Sermon Series (4 Matins Addresses); Folder 19: Sermon fragments; Folder 22: Thanksgiving Chapel Addresses; Folder 23: Themes (sermons fragments); Folder 25: Themes (short sermons)

Box 8 - Addresses 1935-1965

Box 8 - Addresses 1935-1965: Folder 1: "Truth"; Folder 2: "Will America Be First"; Folder 3: Inaugural; Folder 4: "From Heaven Above"; Folder 5: "The Quest for Certainty"; Folder 6: "Our Greater War"; Folder 7: "The Importance of the Individual"

Box 9 - Sermons, Meditations

Box 9 - Sermons: Folder 1: Luke 18:17, I Samuel 12:17, Psalm 27:1-6, Matthew 3:1-2; Folder 2: Deuteronomy 33:27, Jeremiah 8:6, Mark 7:33-34 (all in German); Folder 3: Dedication of St. Paul's - Decatur, IL; Folder 4: Exodus 14:15, Proverbs 23:26, Isaiah 26:1-2, Nahum 1:1, Haggai 2:6-7; Folder 5: Matthew 12:46-50, Matthew 27:22, Luke 19:1-10, Acts 4:13, Ephesians 3:8, Hebrews 12:1-20; Folder 6: Luke 23:33 "Shall We Organize"; Folder 7: John 9:10,11; Folder 8: "The Divine Necessity" - John 3:30; Folder 9: Baccalaureate 1934, 1943, 1965; Folder 10: "1900 Years Later - Is Pentecost a Dream or Reality?"; Folder 11: Paul Lindemann's Funeral; Folder 12: Walther League Convention - Opening Address and Matins Sermons; Folder 13: Fort Wayne, IN, Lenten Service "The Power of the Cross"; Folder 14: Christmas 1946, 1964; Folder 15: Lenten Book 1958; Folder 16: "Beggars Before God" (folder is missing); Folder 17: Church Music Seminar, Job 38:7; Folder 18: Memorial service for four students "The Benediction of Sorrow"; Folder 19: Dedication of Fuerbringer Hall, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis "A Relevant Theology"; Folder 20: Organization of Chapel Charter; Folder 21: Christmas Vespers - tape; Folder 22: Tenth Anniversary of Chapel "The Glorious Company of Angels"; Folder 23: Christian Higher Education; Folder 24: "Abiding Presence," "In Remembrance of Me," "The Living Presence"; Folder 25: Fragments (end of "Remembrance," "The New Age")
Box 9 - Meditations: Folder 26A: Lent - The Majesty of the Cross, The Head of the Church, The Mission of the Church, The Future of the Church, The Christian - His Tomorrow, The Power and the Glory, The Abundant Life, Peace of the Cross, I Remember, What Shall It Profit, It is Finished, The Crucified Presence, The Finality of the Cross, The Farewell of the Cross, The Memory of the Cross, The Way of the Cross, The Christian - His Life; Folder 26B: Lent and Easter - "Voices of the Passion": Foreword, Pontius Pilot, Dismas, The 7 Words from the Cross