Thrivent Financial was officially formed on January 1, 2002, with the merger of Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) and Lutheran Brotherhood (LB), which had been established in 1902 and 1917 respectively. The merger formed the largest fraternal benefit society in the United States.
Aid Association for Lutherans History In the late 19th and early 20th century, the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod forbade its members to join fraternal societies because they required initiation rites and secret oaths. Life insurance was also frowned upon in some quarters since
Martin Luther had written against similar enterprises in his day, as the practice could be considered a form of
usury and reflected distrust in God. In 1899, Albert Voecks, a member of
St. Paul Lutheran Church in
Appleton, Wisconsin, broached the idea of creating an insurance society for Lutherans to fellow church members Gottlieb Ziegler and William Zuehlke. They each gave $13 to the fund, and found several hundred others willing to contribute $5 each. By 1979, it was the largest member of the
National Fraternal Congress of America and ranked 13th among the 1,800 insurance firms in the country.
Nonprofit organization The association was organized on two levels: the local branches attached to Lutheran congregations and the national level, which consisted only of a board of directors that met four times a year. The AAL was particular about its locals
not being called "lodges" because that was too similar to the nomenclature of oath-bound, ritualistic groups such as the
Freemasons or the
Oddfellows. The AAL was headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Philanthropy The AAL was also involved philanthropically, giving money to scholarships, support for educational institutions and training for church workers. Grants were made to agencies, boards, minorities, and homes for the aged and disabled. The association also had its own family health program and sponsored blood drives and family health workshops. It joined the
National Center for Voluntary Action. The organization authorized by the convention was called the Luther Union, and was incorporated in the state of Minnesota on September 18, 1918. That month, the Luther Union entered into negotiations with Lutheran Brotherhood of America of
Des Moines, Iowa. These two organizations merged in the Lutheran Brotherhood in 1920.To aid the Lutheran Church in extending the Lutheran Faith, to foster patriotism, loyalty, justice, charity and benevolence, to provide education, instruction, proper entertainment and amusements, to encourage industry, saving, thrift and development on the part of its members, to give aid in the case of poverty, sickness, accident or old age, and otherwise promote the spiritual, intellectual and physical welfare of its members.Membership was open only to Lutherans. There were 550,000 members in 1965 and 900,000 in 1979.
Philanthropy The LB helped establish new Lutheran congregations through the Church Extension Fund, sponsored scholarships for Lutheran clergy, and arranged seminars on Christian topics.
Mergers Lutheran Life Insurance Society of Canada In 1972, the Canadian branches of the Lutheran Brotherhood and the Aid Association for Lutherans merged as a result of the desire for an indigenous Canadian fraternal benefit society. They formed a new fraternal order called the Faith Life. Like the AAL and LB, the LLISC was organized into branches and run by a board of directors. There were 120 branches in 1979. The society was based in
Kitchener, Ontario. The LLISC provided scholarships to Lutheran educational institutions, gave grants to churches and church-related organizations and projects, and gave reduced-rate mortgages for Lutheran churches.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans The AAL and LB functioned independently throughout the 20th century. In June 2001, after close consideration of how combining the two organizations would benefit members, the AAL and LB merged, with the merger completed by the end of that year. After the merger, in 2002, a new name was voted upon and approved by the members of the merged organization: Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. ==Financial services==