Ryden, Ernest E. (E. E.), 1886-1981.

Ernest Edwin (E.E.) Ryden was the son of Swedish immigrants who came to the United States in the wave of Swedish immigration that occurred in the late 19th century. August G. Ryden came to the United States in 1868 first working in a Minnesota timber camp and then settling near Savonburg, Kansas to try his hand at farming land formerly in the Osage Indian territory, but ceded to the United States government through a series of treaties. Ernest's mother, Emma S. Petterson Ryden, was the childhood sweetheart of August when they lived in Sweden's Småland province. After he immigrated to the United States, August wrote to Emma imploring her to come to America and marry him. She was fifteen when he first wrote asking her to marry him, but her parents would not consent to the marriage. In 1871, Emma, then eighteen, left her home for America with the final destination being Kansas, where she was met by August. She and August married January 15, 1872, in Humboldt, Kansas. The Rev. J.C. Armstrong, a traveling Methodist minister, officiated. The Rydens began building their life and starting their family on their farm near Savonburg. The family lived on the farm in Savonburg until 1881 when after battling malaria, drought, and infestations of grasshoppers, they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Mr. Ryden worked as a stone mason.

Ryden was the third of six surviving children born to August and Emma: a daughter Alma, born in 1874; the oldest son, George, born in 1884; Ernest (E.E.) in 1886; another son, Arthur in 1888; and a daughter Hilvy, in 1892. The Rydens were charter members of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Kansas City, Missouri. After graduating from high school, Ryden went to work as a police reporter for the Kansas City Star. He continued there until he enrolled in undergraduate studies in 1907 at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. While at Augustana he worked his way through school as a telegraph editor at the Moline Dispatch. Among the many activities in which he was involved, was participation in the Gladstone Debating Club, the Wennerberg Chorus, the Elsinore Dramatic Club, and the Aztec Tennis Club. He even played the bass drum in the Augustana band. He graduated with a bachelor of arts in 1910 and with a bachelor of divinity from the Augustana Theological Seminary in 1914. He was ordained into the ministry on June 14, 1914, in Sycamore, Illinois.

While at a reception at Augustana College in 1908, Ryden met Agnes Elizabeth Johnson, a music major. Their common affinity for hymns and music made a lasting impression on each other. They married June 23, 1914, in Salem Lutheran Church, Wakefield, Nebraska, where Agnes was the church organist. They would eventually have five children, Cecile, Richard, Jean, Hope, and Ernest E., Jr.

Ryden's first call was to Grace Lutheran Church, Jamestown, New York, and then to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Jamestown when Grace merged into Holy Trinity in 1915 and he became the pastor of Holy Trinity. While serving at Holy Trinity, he took a leave of absence to serve in 1917-1918 as a camp pastor, a predecessor of the military chaplain, for the National Lutheran Commission on Solders' and Sailors' Welfare at Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, South Carolina. He served Holy Trinity until 1920 when he was called to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota where he served until 1934. While serving in St. Paul, he raised funds for the construction of Bethesda Hospital, as well as for a home for the aged and children's home.

Ryden's career in journalism began early on with his work after high school at the Kansas City Star and continued while he was in college, not only at the Moline Dispatch, but also through his work as the editor-in-chief of Augustana College's newspaper, The Augustana Observer. But it culminated in 1934 when Ryden became the editor of the Augustana Synod's church paper, The Lutheran Companion (LC).

Ryden would become the longest serving editor at the LC when he retired in 1961. During his tenure, the paper saw editorial as well as layout changes. He was known as a pacifist, who believed that the road to peace was through international cooperation, not isolation. His editorials reflected this thinking. His objectives with the paper were made known in 1934 when he said that his hope was to make the LC a force within the Synod. He believed that in a time when church members were faced with conflicting ideas and ideological uncertainty there was even more of a need for the church paper to be a source of clear guidance and inspiration in knowing the principles for which their church stood.

In addition to his congregational calls and editorship of the LC, Ryden was a noted author and hymnologist. He published two books on hymns, The Story of Our Hymns in 1930 and the wider scope The Story of Christian Hymnody in 1959. Shortly before the publication of The Story of Our Hymns, a sudden illness took the life of his son Richard, at age ten, on June 11, 1929. Ryden dedicated the book to Richard and included a poem he wrote as the dedication.

He served as secretary of the Joint Commission on a Common Hymnal, which in conjunction with the Joint Commission on a Common Liturgy created the Service Book and Hymnal which represented the collaborative work of the eight Lutheran church bodies that comprised the National Lutheran Council. Previously, Ryden served on the Augustana committee that created its 1925 hymnal. In addition to this hymnal, he also co-wrote Augustana's Junior Hymnal in 1930 and its revision in 1960. Several of his original hymns and hymn texts were used in past hymnals and in the current Evangelical Lutheran Church in America hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, three of his hymn texts are included.

During his tenure at Gloria Dei in St. Paul, Ryden hosted, as well as wrote, a radio program, "The Story of Our Hymns," on KSTP in Minneapolis/St. Paul from 1928-1934. When Ryden moved to Rock Island, Illinois to work as editor of the LC, he auditioned for NBC radio at its studios in Chicago with the possibility that some version of "The Story of Our Hymns," could be a national radio show -- but it was not to be. Radio executives said that while the concept had possibilities, they didn't think Ryden's voice was suitable. Ryden responded to that evaluation by pointing out that the audition itself was not administered well by NBC and that if he had had more time to prepare, radio executives would have felt differently. There is no denying the KSTP program was enormously popular. Several listeners noted that in addition to the interesting subject matter they learned about each week, the program was a welcome respite from the playing of jazz music.

E.E. Ryden maintained a level of involvement in the church that was evidence of his dedication to its ministries. In addition to his work as editor, author, and hymnologist, he served in a variety of capacities within the wider church. While serving as pastor at Gloria Dei, St. Paul, he was president of Augustana's Minnesota Conference's Board of Christian Service. On the Augustana Synod's hymnal committee, he was the chairman from 1936-1958. Ryden also served as president of the American Lutheran Conference, a cooperative Lutheran body, from 1938-1942 and he served as chairman of the board of directors of Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois from 1945-1960. He was a great proponent of Lutheran Unity and served on the Joint Commission on Lutheran Unity which was the body tasked with creating a new Lutheran church that would form from the merger of four Lutheran Church bodies in 1963: American Evangelical Lutheran Church, Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Suomi Synod), and the United Lutheran Church in America.

Many honors were presented to Ryden during his career. In 1930 Augustana College, Rock Island honored him with a Doctor of Divinity. And in 1949 he was given the Royal Order of the North Star by the government of Sweden for his body of work, especially his work with Scandinavian hymnody.

Even after his retirement from the LC in 1961, he did not stop working. He served as interim director of Augustana's Bureau of Press, Radio, and Television from 1961-1962 and then he served in interim pastorates at Salem Lutheran in Peoria, Illinois, and Augustana Lutheran Church, Minneapolis. In 1964 he was called as a pastor to Emmanuel Lutheran Church, North Grosvenordale, Connecticut. He served that congregation until 1974.

After retirement from active ministry, Ryden continued to participate in the activities which gave him great joy. Into his 90th decade, he began to learn Portuguese so he could edit a hymnal for the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. At the age of 89, he translated into English, the first American edition of the children's book, A Farm by noted Swedish author and painter Carl Larsson and published by Putnam in 1976. In 1977, Agnes Ryden passed away. At that time Ryden went to live with his son, Ernest E., Jr. in Barrington, Rhode Island. E.E. Ryden passed away on January 1, 1981 at the age of 94.

Throughout his life, E.E. Ryden lived out his vocation and used his talents and gifts for the glory of God. His example of Christian service, his leading voice for peace in a troubled world, his support for Lutheran unity, and his love of the Lutheran church's heritage of hymns serve as a model for future generations who are called to serve their church.

From the description of The Rev. Ernest E. Ryden Papers [1907-1962]. (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Library). WorldCat record id: 309274052