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Thursday, December 4, 1986 / University Daily Kansan
Minister always talks to God in German
Bv KAREN SAMFISON
Staff writer
When the Rev. Karl Schoenrade delivers a Christmas sermon in Emptoria later this month, many members of the congregation won't understand him.
But some will go anyway, to experience what their grandparents once heard regularly.
Each Christmas, Schoenrade leads a service in which his sermon and all the songs are in German.
"We've had over 200 people," Schoenrade said. "It's been really nice to get together."
For those who don't know German, he will provide a two-page English book.
The Rev. Karl Schoenrade is not an average minister. A lifelong affiliation with the Republican Party, an enthusiasm for scholarship and a deadpan sense of humor mark Schoenrade, who gives some of his sermons in German at Christmastime.
Schoenrein's yearly pilgrimage to Emporia during Advent has become a tradition during the past four years. This year, on Dec. 28, he also will deliver a special Sunday afternoon German service in his own church, Redeemer Lutheran Church, 2700 Lawrence Ave.
"German has always seemed to be the beauty as a language," he said.
"When I communicate with God, it's always in German. Except in public."
Schoenrae conducted services in German for 14 months in a German-speaking community in Ontario, at a church there about 10 years ago.
He grew up in Detroit, where he first heard German from his grandparents, who emigrated from northern Germany. When he went to church with them, the services were in German, he said.
The language was a required subject in his Lutheran junior high school.
Yet he has never been to Germany.
"It probably bothered me that we had this German name that hardly anyone could pronounce," he said, "and we were fast coming to a point where no one could handle the language.
"I picked up what German I knew and ran with it."
"Schoenrade" could be pronounced four or five different ways in English, he said, but many people
The name means "beautiful wheel," but he can only guess at its origin.
just call him "Pastor Karl."
("His ancestors) could have won the lottery," he suggested in a characteristic deadpan manner.
An enthusiastic student
Schoenrade, 34, resembles Santa Claus, except that his beard is brown. Last year, he even dressed as Santa for the KU German Club's Weihnachtsfeier, or Christmas party.
Besides participating in German Club activities, he also has taken a German class during the last two semesters.
He is enrolled as a non-degree-seeking graduate student. Eventually he must decide whether he wants a job or see in German, Schrobrade said.
This semester he is taking a 500-level German literature class. He started studying two weeks before the most recent test and proudly pointed out that he got an A-plus on it.
pontified on it. "I just love it," he said excitedly.
"I just love it," he said excitedly. Helmut Huebelsberg, his German professor, said Schoenrade's command of the language was excellent.
Although Schoenrade is not a typical college student, he interacts well with his classmates and treats everyone equally. Huelsberg said.
Huelsbergen and the students can't help but notice Schoenrade's frequent puns and humorous comments.
"In my whole career, I've never experienced a student doing an assignment in such a humorous vein. Yet by no means is it ridiculing any aspect of the assignment," he said of an oral report Schoenrade gave.
Sometimes, when Schoenrade has German books he wants to get rid of, he spreads them on a table in class and lets classmates take what they want.
"The desk looked like a book sale," Huelsberg recalled.
Schoenrae's thirst for knowledge extends beyond the German language. He also started studying Greek and School and Greek and Hebrew in college.
"I try to read them every day," he
said.
Schoenrade explained that he read the Lutheran Confessions in Latin and German, devotions in German, the New Testament in Greek and the Old Testament in Hebrew.
"If you don't, before long you start forgetting it and it's gone," he said, drawing an analogy to how he knew when he hadn't played his clarinet for a while.
"There's so much to learn," he said.
The walls of his office are lined with books, some from the 18th century. And when he moves to a new town, he said, he gets a library card and looks for two things: the German club and the Republican headquarters.
"I already know where the church is." he said.
A lifelong Republican
Schoenrabe said he had been a Republican since he was 4 years old, when a televised speech by Richard Nixon, then the vice president, caught his attention.
He edits the Douglas County Republican newsletter, and he helped out at Republican headquarters on Monday mornings before the Nov. 4 general election.
Marsha Goff, office manager at Republican headquarters, said, "He made Monday mornings fun. When I knew Karl was to be there, things perked up quite a bit."
He also became the Douglas County chairman for Phil Kline's congressional campaign.
him, Goff said, but eventually they dropped their cautiousness around him.
though most members of his congregation are Republicans, he said, he encourages the Democrats as well to work hard for their party.
"That's what freedom's all about," he said.
Schoenrade almost would have to be tolerant of Democrats; his wife, Patricia, is one.
"We talk about it a lot and don't convince each other," she said. "It's always nice when the election's over."
The two also speak different languages. At home, Karl speaks German almost exclusively, and Patricia, an assistant professor of psychology at KU, answers in English.
She, too, enjoys his puns. She said the congregation often groaned but she thought the people really enjoyed his humor.
Bill Buggy, the church treasurer,
said Schoenrade didn't fit the stereotype of what some people considered an average minister.
When Schoenrade came to Lawrence from Topeka in May 1984, Muggy said, the congregation had to get used to his quirks and his frequent use of German phrases.
Campaign workers were careful at first about what they said around
"His sense of humor caught a few people off guard," Muggy said. "I have never found it to be obnoxious."
Schoenrade is quite competent in his ability to counsel and to handle services, Muggy said, and he exhibits a sincere interest in people. Schoenrade also is active in community services.
While explaining that Redeemer had a conservative congregation, Schoenrade recalled how he once had told a man who wanted to join the church that he would be welcome but that a more liberal Lutheran church probably would suit his needs better.
Goff agreed, saying that the campaign workers never had to guess where he stood.
The man eventually joined the other church.
"He'll let you know where he stands," Muggy said.
"I think people relate to him just because he is so honest," she said.
Commission completes overhaul of liquor laws
United Press International
TOPEKA — After more than 60 meetings over a year's time, a commission created to overhaul state liquor laws completed its work yesterday, with somewhat disappointing results, according to its chairman.
The Kansas Liquor Law Review Commission was created by Gov. John Carlin to examine the effectiveness of all state liquor laws. In its final meeting, the panel recommended several changes in wholesale and retail liquor regulation.
However, the commission chairman, Barton County District Judge Herbert Rohleider, said he was disappointed that members failed to act in some important areas. Most significant, he said, was the commission's failure to recommend elimination of the dual system of beer regulation.
State law provides one set of rules for beer with 3.2 percent alcohol content, and another set for beer with a slightly higher alcohol content.
In general, 3.2 beer is identified in state law as cereal malt beverage and is not labeled an alcoholic beverage. It may be sold in grocery stores and taverns. Stronger beer may be purchased only in liquor stores or private clubs.
Last month the commission voted to end the dual beer system, but in a review of actions taken, the commission decided to rescind the vote. An end to the dual system would have allowed tavernies to sell strong beer.
Most changes the commission did recommend likely will go unnoticed by consumers. However, if the legislature should adopt them, liquor prices could decline somewhat, and some liquor stores could go out of business because of legalized price-cutting competition, Bohler said.
A 1985 study by Darwin Daicoff, KU professor of economics, found that Kansas had nearly twice the national average of liquor stores per person.
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