Guide to the United Stewardship Council Records
Open for research.
The United Stewardship Council was formed in the fall of 1920 as an outgrowth of committees of the Laymen Missionary Movement, the United Missionary Campaign, and the Inter-Church World Movement. The object of the Council was "to help the members in the stewardship work for which each is responsible, and to build up a stewardship consciousness in the members of the churches that will give a Christian interpretation to all matters of life and property." The Council consisted primarily of secretaries of denominations or other Christian organizations who were concerned with education and promotion of stewardship.
Harry S. Myers served as secretary-treasurer of the organization from 1922 to 1950, when the United Stewardship Council became a part of the National Council of Churches.
The United Stewardship Council, 1917-1950, files are the papers of Harry S. Myers. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject, name of individual, or name of organization. Items within the files are arranged chronologically by year, month, and day. Partially dated documents are placed at the end of the month or year; undated items are placed after all dated material. Enclosures are placed after their letter of transmittal. Newspaper clippings, unless enclosed with correspondence, are placed at the end of subject files.
The small amount of material from this organization consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence, form letters, memoranda, minutes, agenda, reports, speeches, financial statements, press releases, membership lists, programs, pamphlets, leaflets, and newspaper clippings. The files detail the history, organizational structure, and various activities of the United Stewardship Council.
The archives of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America were processed in 1980-1984 through two grants awarded to the Presbyterian Historical Society by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Work under the first grant was performed by Dr. Alan Thomson and under the second grant by Donald L. Haggerty.
The archives of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America have been dated from 1950 to 1972; however, there is material dating from before and after this time period. Documents from the predecessor organizations date from as early as 1839. There is also a small amount of material found in the files from as late as 1975. The year 1972 was selected as a cutoff date for the archives because of the major reorganization which the NCC underwent at this time. The archives are arranged in the following record groups:
NCC RG 1: Planning Committee for the NCC, 1941-1951
NCC RG 2: General Assemblies, 1952-1972
NCC RG 3: General Board, 1950-1972
NCC RG 4: General Secretary, 1950-1973
NCC RG 5: Deputy General Secretary, 1947-1975
NCC RG 6: Division of Christian Life and Mission, 1945-1973
NCC RG 7: Division of Home Missions, 1950-1964
NCC RG 8: Division of Overseas Ministries, 1914-1972
NCC RG 9: Division of Christian Education, 1897-1974
NCC RG 10: Division of Christian Unity, 1935-1973
NCC RG 11: Office of Administration, 1938-1973
NCC RG 12: Assistant General Secretary for Executive Operations, 1950-1966
NCC RG 13: Washington Office, 1951-1966
NCC RG 14: Office of Planning and Program, 1943-1973
NCC RG 15: Department of Information, 1951-1974
NCC RG 16: Broadcasting and Film Commission, 1923-1974
NCC RG 17: Special Topics, 1951-1970
NCC RG 18: Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, 1894-1952
NCC RG 19: International Council of Religious Education, 1839-1953
NCC RG 20: Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada, 1901-1952
NCC RG 21: National Protestant Council of Higher Education, 1911-1951
NCC RG 22: United Stewardship Council, 1917-1950
NCC RG 23: Inter-Council Field Department, 1935-1950
NCC RG 24: Association of Council Secretaries, 1915-1971
NCC RG 25: Church Executive Development Board, 1960-1974
NCC RG 26: Home Missions Council of North America, 1903-1951
NCC RG 27: Foreign Missions Conference of North America, 1887-1951
NCC RG 28: Scrapbooks, 1915-1963
Catalog Note
In the society's electronic catalog, all 28 NCC record groups are cataloged together as the records of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
| Box | Folder | Description | |
| 1 | 1 | Guide to NCC RG 22 | |
| 1 | 2 | Budget and Finance, Nov 1942-Sept 1950 | |
| 1 | 3 | Bylaws, May 1941 | |
| 1 | 4 | Correspondence, Oct 1922-Dec 1936 | |
| 1 | 5 | Correspondence; Feb 1937-[1942?] | |
| 1 | 6 | Correspondence; Feb 1943-Sept 1949 | |
| 1 | 7 | Correspondence, Oct 1949-Dec 1950; n.d. | |
| 1 | 8 | Executive Committee, April 1927-Sept 1950 | |
| 1 | 9 | Laymen's Missionary Movement, Nov 1917 | |
| 1 | 10 | Membership, April 1919-Jan 1950; n.d. | |
| 1 | 11 | Minutes; April 1919-Dec 1929 | |
| 1 | 12 | Minutes; April 1930-Nov 1937 | |
| 1 | 13 | Minutes; March 1938-Nov 1944 | |
| 1 | 14 | Minutes; Feb 1945-Nov 1948 | |
| 1 | 15 | Minutes, Nov 1949-Nov 1950 | |
| 1 | 16 | Miscellaneous, Nov 1928-Nov 1949; n.d. | |
| 1 | 17 | Northern Baptist Convention, National Stewardship Conference, July 1948 | |
| 1 | 18 | Overseas Stewardship Mission, Jan-Sept 1950 | |
| 1 | 19 | Printed Matter; 1928-1940 | |
| 1 | 20 | Printed Matter, 1940-1949; n.d. | |
| 1 | 21 | Shepard, Ora L., Aug 1939-Nov 1940 | |
| 1 | 22 | Statistics of Giving, 1939-March 1950 | |
| 1 | 23 | Stewardship Bulletin, Oct 1948-July 1950 | |
| 1 | 24 | Stewardship Conferences, Programs, Nov 1924-April 1950 | |
| 1 | 25 | Stewardship Notes for Improved Uniform Lessons, 1941 | |
| 1 | 26 | Visual Aids Conference, Dec 1947 | |
| 1 | 27 | Wills and Annuities Conference, April 1948 | |
| 1 | 28 | World Conference on Church Finance, Feb-July 1928 | |
| 1 | 29 | World Stewardship, Oct 1933-1937 |