Urban and Industrial Mission Resources

The focus of this guide is the organized urban and industrial mission work, both domestic and international, overseen by the boards and offices of:

• the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (PCUSA), later the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA);
• the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America (FCC);
• and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America (NCC).

The United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA) and the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS) also engaged in ministry to urban and industrial communities, but those denominations did not maintain discrete administrative units to oversee the work. As a consequence, the documentation of UPCNA and PCUS urban and industrial work is interfiled with national agency records and in the personal papers of individual ministers and missionaries.

The holdings at PHS document many city churches and presbyteries, city missions, neighborhood houses, and industrial schools. These topics are not covered extensively in this guide, but researchers interested in particular institutions and programs are encouraged to search our catalogs and databases, and are welcome to confer with reference staff for further assistance.

Documentation of urban and industrial mission work conducted overseas by Presbyterian missionaries may be found in missionaries' personal papers as well as in the records of missions and mission boards held at PHS. Researchers should consult our Guides to Archival Collections.

Other repositories that hold urban and industrial mission records include the Yale Divinity School Special Collections, the Union Theological Seminary Archives at Columbia University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago Special Collections. Collections closely related to materials held at PHS are noted in this guide.

PHS is actively collecting personal papers and organizational records that document urban and industrial mission work in the Presbyterian Church and among ecumenical groups. This guide will be updated with new collections as they are acquired or processed.

This timeline presents key dates in the history of Presbyterian work in urban and industrial mission.
 

• 1816: Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (PCUSA) Board of Missions is organized.
   
• 1837: PCUSA establishes the Board of Foreign Missions.
   
• 1870: PCUSA establishes the Board of Home Missions.
   
• 1891-1902: The Board of Home Missions begins its work with immigrants in cities.

• 1903: PCUSA creates the Workingman's Department (renamed the Department of Church and Labor in 1906), with Rev. Charles Stelzle as its head.

• 1908: PCUSA creates the Department of Immigration.
   
• 1908: The Federal Council of Churches is founded.

• 1910: The Labor Temple is founded in New York City.

• 1910: The General Assembly of the PCUSA passes the Social Creed.
   
• 1911: Department of Immigration establishes the Immigrant Fellowship program for ministers.
   
• 1912: The Federal Council of Churches adopts the Social Creed.

• 1913-1922: Continuing growth of programs for immigrants and workers, including the Board of Home Missions' Industrial Parish Plan, launched in 1916, and the further development of Presbyterian Neighborhood Houses.

• 1923: PCUSA reorganizes boards and establishes the Board of National Missions, and opens the Department of City and Industrial Work.
   
• 1923-1930: Consolidation of the Board of Home Missions' urban work across the country. Board works in cooperation with synods, presbyteries, and church extension boards to develop programs.
   
• 1931-1944: PCUSA focuses on the nation's economic situation and its impact on workers; Board of National Missions appoints the Committee on Social and Industrial Relations in 1931.
   
• 1945: PCUSA establishes the Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations (PIIR), based at the Labor Temple in New York City, with Marshal Logan Scott as dean.
   
• 1950: PIIR launches the Ministers-in-Industry program for seminarians.

• 1950s: Growth of Presbyterian foreign missions and missionary work with industrial and urban communities. An urban and industrial mission model is developed through this work.

• 1952: PIIR relocates from New York to the campus of the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.

• 1958: The First Asian Conference on Industrial Evangelism is held in Manila.
   
• 1962: The Urban Training Center for Christian Mission is established in Chicago.

• 1966: The UPCUSA establishes the Joint Office of Urban and Industrial Ministries, which reports to both the Board of National Missions and the Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations (COEMAR).

• 1966: The World Council of Churches establishes the Committee for Urban-Industrial Ministries, in the Division of World Mission, headed by Rev. George Todd.

• 1968: The Institute of the Church in an Urban Industrial Society (ICUIS) is established at the McCormick Theological Seminary.

• 1972: UPCUSA's Board of National Missions is merged into the Program Agency.
   
• 1975: PIIR is integrated into ICUIS.
   
• 1996: Interfaith Worker Justice is established.

• 2000: McCormick Seminary, the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, and the AFLCIO establish the Seminary Summer program.
   
• 2008: The General Assembly of the PC(USA) passes the Social Creed for the 21st Century.

For a detailed survey of the urban and industrial mission work of the PCUSA and the UPCUSA, see Richard P. Poethig's article "The United Presbyterian Church in Mission: An Historical Overview" (Journal of Presbyterian History, vol. 57, no. 3, Fall 1979, pp. 313-352). Poethig traces the establishment and evolution of the committees, offices, and agencies that oversaw the work; introduces the major figures leading the urban and industrial mission movement; notes the social and economic trends driving the Church's response; and highlights significant studies, reports, and statements of the PCUSA's General Assembly, boards, and committees. In the same issue of the Journal, Dale T. Irvin places Presbyterian work on labor and economic justice issues in the context of the evolving social witness policies and activities of the PCUSA (Ibid., pp. 353-403).

Gary Scott Smith, in his article "Conservative Presbyterians: The Gospel, Social Reform, and the Church in the Progressive Era" (American Presbyterians, vol. 70, no. 2, Summer 1992, pp. 93-110), examines the objections of conservative Presbyterians to the denomination's emphasis on the Social Gospel.

See also: Presbyterian Resources for Worker Justice, posted by the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

PHS holds extensive records of the Board of Home Missions (BHM), the Board of National Missions (BNM), the Board of Christian Education (BCE), and ecumenical organizations such as the National Council of Churches that engaged in urban and industrial mission work. A selection of these records is presented here. Researchers who wish to inquire about topics or individuals not mentioned in this guide are welcome to contact the PHS reference staff

*Access note: It is the policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to restrict access to all official records at the national level on deposit at the Presbyterian Historical Society that are less than 20 years old. The restriction period for denominational records at the congregation, presbytery, and synod level is 50 years. If you wish to access official records that fall under these restrictions, you must secure written permission from the records' owners. Please consult with the reference staff for further details.

Woman's Executive Committee of Home Missions.
Woman's Board of Home Missions Records, 1866-1958
25.00 cubic feet
Call number: RG 305
Microfilm call number: MFPOS 1347 r.1-82
Processed, open for research

Abstract
Established in 1877 and incorporated in 1915, the Woman's Board of Home Missions provided schools and teachers for mission fields in the West and Southwest United States, Alaska, the Appalachians, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. The Woman's Board published pamphlets, leaflets, and the magazine Home Mission Monthly. In 1923, the Woman's Board merged with seven other boards and agencies of the church to form the Board of National Missions.

The collection includes correspondence related to the city, immigrant, and industrial work supported by the Women's Executive Committee/Woman's Board of Home Missions, 1901-1924.

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of National Missions.
Department of Mission Development Records, 1871-1974
46.67 cubic feet
Series II: Department of City, Immigrant and Industrial Work, 1888-1960, bulk 1920-1950 (Boxes 10-15)
Call number: RG 301.7; 12 0307
Microfilm call number (Series II, Subseries 5): MFPOS 1232, r. 1-3
Processed, open for research (RG 301.7)*
Unprocessed, open for research (12 0307)

Abstract
The Board of National Missions was formed in 1923 with six divisions, one of which (Church Extension and Missions) was given responsibility for several departments of the old Board of Home Missions.  In 1935, Church Extension and Missions was renamed the Department of Missionary Operation; in 1951, it became the Division of Missionary Operation; in 1961, it became the Division of Church Strategy and Development; and in 1971, it became the Department of Mission Development.  In 1972, the Board of National Missions merged into the Program Agency.

Series II of RG 301.7 contains assorted records from the Department of City, Immigrant and Industrial Work, 1888-1960.  The bulk of the records date from 1920 to 1950. The series is divided into four subseries: 1) William P. Shriver, Superintendent; Files, 1888-1943; 2) Jacob A. Long, Superintendent; Files, 1910-1957; 3) Field Surveys and Reports, 1936-1960; 4) [vacant]; and 5) Department of Jewish Evangelization, 1920-1948. Subseries 5) is available on microfilm. Accession 12 0307 consists of subject files, clippings, scrapbooks, and pamphlets, dating from 1910 to 1957. Subjects include: Labor Temple (New York, N.Y.); Neighborhood houses; the Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations; William P. Shriver; Demographics and mission in cities, 1910-1911; and foreign language groups.

See also

• Board of National Missions records
  Additional reports, subject files, and publications created by the Unit of City, Immigrant, and Industrial Work and the Department of City, Immigrant, and Industrial Work can be found in several unprocessed Board of National Missions Records.
  Call number: 93 1109b; 96 1231; 97 0606e; 97 0829a; 98 0122c; consult with reference staff for access

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.
Board of Home Missions Records, 1872-1972
5.80 cubic feet
Call number: 02 0626
Unprocessed, open for research*

Abstract
The Board of Home Missions was established in 1870 to minister to various segments of the population including immigrants and the urban poor, the Jews, the Spanish-speaking populations of the American Southwest and of the Caribbean islands, African-Americans in the deep South, Native Americans, and rural populations. In 1923, the boards of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. were reorganized, with several of the departments of the Board of Home Missions continuing their work under the new Board of National Missions, Division of Church Extension and Missions.

The collection consists of 35 volumes of minutes (1889-1972), dockets, reports, correspondence, pamphlets, charters, and bylaws.

Labor Temple (New York, N.Y.) Records, 1908-1966
4.75 cubic feet
Call number: RG 14; 94 0328c; 02 0719k
Processed, open for research (RG 14)
Unprocessed, open for research (94 0328; 02 0719k)

Abstract
The Labor Temple was established in 1910 as a mission to workingmen of New York City by the Home Missions Committee of the Presbytery of New York, after a plan of Rev. Charles Stelzle. In 1915, it was formally organized as the American International Church (Presbyterian) but continued to be known as the Labor Temple. Will Durant directed the Labor Temple School until the 1930s. Its management was taken over by the Board of National Missions' Unit of City and Industrial Work in 1943 and continued as a community center and meeting place for striking workers' unions.

The bulk of the collection dates from 1938-1940, and comprises minutes, correspondence, reports and financial records. There is a selection of material from the late 1950s and a few items from the Temple's beginnings. The collection is arranged chronologically.

See also

• Labor Temple Annual Reports
  Library has: Apr. 1921-Apr. 1934; 1935; Apr. 1936; 1937-1938; 1942-1943
  Call number: BX 9211 .N7001 L21
   
• United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of National Missions Dept. of Mission Development Records 
  Series II: Department of City, Immigrant and Industrial Work, 1888-1960 (bulk 1920-1950)
  Subseries 2: Jacob Long, Superintendent, Files, 1910-1957
  Call number: RG 301.7; open for research*

Related materials

• Syracuse University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
  Edmund B. Chaffee papers, 1902-1947
  47 linear feet

Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations Records, 1910-1999
0.46 cubic feet
Call number: 99 1117; 00 0322a
Unprocessed, open for research*

Abstract
In 1944, the Board of National Missions established the Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations (PIIR), a program to reach out to blue-collar workers through new techniques of evangelism. Marshal Logan Scott served as the dean of PIIR from 1945 to the late 1960s. In 1950, PIIR established the Ministers in Industry Program, which placed seminarians in industrial jobs and provided them with experience in congregations in industrial communities. In 1952, PIIR was moved from New York to the campus of the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. Scott was succeeded as dean by Jim Armstrong. In 1972, Richard P. Poethig became dean of PIIR, serving concurrently as head of the Institute on the Church in an Urban-Industrial Society (ICUIS). PIIR was integrated into ICUIS in 1975.

The collection includes a scrapbook history of PIIR, compiled by Richard P. Poethig; photocopies of documents dating from approximately 1910; published writings of Marshal Logan Scott; a transcript of a 1982 interview of Marshal Logan Scott; correspondence and reminiscences from PIIR alumni; a photocopy of a 1959 report, “The PIIR and Industrial Mission,” by Edgar A. Towne; materials related to the Burlington Ecumenical Action ministry, 1968-1988; and materials related to the 1999 PIIR reunion.

See also

• Richard and Eunice Poethig Family Papers, 1812-2021
  See Personal Papers section of this guide
   
• PIIR Publications
  Includes announcements, 1945-1947, and bulletins, 1946-1950
  Call number: PAM BV 2695 .W6 P73; PAM FOL BV 2695 .W6 P73d
   
• Ministers in Industry Program Photographs, c. 1959
  Call number: Printfile 171
  Digitized content

Office of the General Secretary Records, 1920s-1972
42.00 cubic feet
Call number: RG 300.1
Processed, open for research*

Abstract
Papers of Board of National Missions Secretaries Herman Morse and Kenneth Neigh. Subjects include: Labor Temple, Sub-Committee on Social and Industrial Relations, Church and Society, Department of the Urban Church, Industrial Areas Foundation, Joint Strategy and Action Committee, Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations, Special Committee on the Inner City, Urban and Industrial Ministries (Joint), Urban Church,

See also

• General Department for Program and General Services, Associate General Secretary Records, 1949-1962
  Includes files on the Labor Temple, PIIR, and the Inner-city Committee.
  Call number: RG 301.1; open for research

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Christian Education.
Office of Church and Society Records, 1945-1966
15.00 cubic feet
Call number: RG 52
Processed, open for research

Abstract
The Board of Christian Education created an Office of Church and Society as part of its general reorganization in 1959-1960. The function of the Office was to help the Church to understand the society in which its members lived, so that it might effectively minister to individuals and so that it would have a place in that society rather than existing apart from it. It was involved with such issues as the social implications of the gospel, the church and economic life, international affairs, race relations, and alcoholism. The Office fulfilled its responsibilities through a variety of projects, studies, surveys, and investigations, working on its own as well as with various secular agencies.

The collection contains correspondence, minutes, reports, studies and articles documenting the work of the Office of Church and Society.

Council on Church and Society Records, 1948-1968
12.00 cubic feet
Call number: RG 78
Processed, open for research*

Abstract
The functions of the Council on Church and Society were: to be advisory to the boards, agencies and judicatories of the Church in implementing the actions of the General Assembly in the area of Church and Society; to prepare background materials for the General Assembly's Standing Committee on Church and Society; to assist the Standing Committee on Church and Society in the preparation of policy declarations to be submitted to the General Assembly; to report to the General Assembly annually on the emerging issues in Church and Society, and to review the state of the social involvement of the United Presbyterian Church; and to commission and release studies on related aspects of issues addressed by previous General Assembly policy declarations.

This collection includes papers, studies, articles and correspondence from the Council on Church and Society. It also includes PIIR newsletters, 1954-1965 (incomplete).

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A
Support Agency Photographs, c. 1870-c. 1982
13.50 cubic feet
Call number: RG 303
Processed, open for research*

Abstract
This record group consists of photographs from the Board of National Missions and its predecessor agencies. The bulk of the collection was created from the late 1940s to the mid 1960s; many photographs are undated. Photographic subjects include: missions and missionaries; missionary homes and neighborhood houses; church buildings; schools and hospitals; city missions; and missions to migrants.

Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America Records, 1894-1952
86.00 cubic feet
Call number: NCC RG 18
Processed, open for research

Abstract
In 1908, 32 Christian communions met in Philadelphia and formed the Federal Council of Churches. The FCC aimed, among other things, to encourage devotional fellowship and to "bring the Christian bodies of America into united service for Christ and the world." At its inaugural meeting, the FCC issued “The Social Creed of the Churches,” a statement of commonly agreed goals for social reform. Continuing to work together toward the goal of church unity, churches that formed the FCC joined with other ecumenical bodies to form the National Council of Churches in 1950.

This collection includes records of the Department of Christian Social Relations, 1908-1950 (Series III, B), and the Department of Church and Economic Life, 1932-1952 (Series III, E).

See also

• Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. Department of Research and Education Records, 1922-1928
  Bound volume of numbers 1-7 of the Research Bulletin, published by the FCC's Dept. of Research and Education; topics include wage and labor issues.
  Call number: 00 0706b; open for research

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Division of Christian Life and Mission Records, 1945-1973
67 cubic feet
Call number: NCC RG 6
Processed, open for research

Abstract
The NCC was founded in 1950 as a cooperative agency of Christian churches in the United States, when the Federal Council of Churches merged with several other existing ecumenical organizations. Its member communions include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African-American, Evangelical, and historic Peace churches. One of the four main divisions of the NCC established at its organization, the Division of Christian Life and Mission took on the work of seven departments of the former Federal Council of Churches, including the Department of Church and Economic Life.

This collection includes subject files, reports, correspondence, study papers, publications and some financial records of the Department of Church and Economic Life, 1948-1970 (Series IV).
 

Division of Home Missions Records, 1950-1964
18.00 cubic feet; 5.25 cubic feet
Department of Urban Church (Boxes 16-17)
Call number: NCC RG 7; 00 0707a; 14 0639
Processed, open for research (NCC RG 7)
Unprocessed, open for research (00 0707a)
Unprocessed, consult reference staff for access (14 0639)

Abstract
The NCC's Division of Home Missions, established in 1950, was the successor to the activities of the Home Missions Council of North America. The primary concerns of the Division were "problems of city churches, town and country churches; ministry to special population groups and areas; church extension and new church development; and consideration of strategy and method for an adequate ministry to the entire population."

NCC RG 7 includes minutes of the Department of the Urban Church, 1951-1965; reports, speeches, and publications, including "The City Church," 1950-1964, published by the Joint Commission on the Urban Church and, later, by the NCC. Additional copies of "The City Church" can be found in Accession 00 0707a. Accession 14 0639 includes correspondence, minutes, essays, and newsletters of the Department of the Urban Church, 1951-1959.

In addition to the personal papers presented here, PHS holds Biographical Vertical Files (RG 414) and Missionary Vertical Files (RG 360; RG 424) for many individuals engaged in urban and industrial mission in the United States and overseas. The contents of the vertical files vary, but they may include application forms, school records, incoming and outgoing correspondence, medical and financial records, press releases, obituaries, printed material, and photographs. To search for an individual by name, see the Biographical Vertical Files Index or the Missionary Vertical Files Index.

William Adams Brown Papers, 1910-1922
1.00 cubic foot
Call number: 68 0283
Unprocessed, open for research

Abstract
Presbyterian minister and theologian. During his tenure at Union Theological Seminary, Brown became involved in social causes and the ecumenical movement. He helped found the American Theological Society and published 15 books, including Beliefs That Matter (1928).

This collection includes records related to Brown's involvement with several Presbyterian organizations. Materials related to the Board of Home Missions/Home Missions Committee of Presbytery include treasurer's reports, correspondence, notes from talks by Brown, statements, reports, meeting agendas and minutes, supporting materials for meetings, and lists of members. Also included are meeting minutes and associated materials of the Labor Temple and the Presbytery of New York, and correspondence to and from Brown concerning his Home Missions work and organizational matters. Correspondents include Norman M. Thomas of the American Parish and Charles L. Thompson of the Board of Home Missions.

Related materials

• Columbia University Libraries, Union Theological Seminary Archives:
  William Adams Brown Papers, 1865-1938
  7.50 linear feet

Cameron P. Hall Papers, 1945-1986
2.02 cubic feet
Call number: 87 0727; 91 0306
Unprocessed, open for research (91 0306)
Unprocessed, consult with reference staff for access (87 0727)

Abstract
Minister and head of Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Christian Education, Division of Social Education and Action (1939-1946); Federal Council of Churches Division of Industrial Relations (1946-1950); National Council of Churches Department of Church and Economic Life (1950-1966).

The collection includes Hall's speeches and articles written in both his official capacity and in personal interest. Also includes Hall's autobiography, written approximately 1986.

See also

• Federal Council of the Churches Records, 1894-1952
  Department of Christian Social Relations, 1908-1950 (Series III, B), and Department of Church and Economic Life, 1932-1952 (Series III, E)
  Call number: NCC RG 18; open for research
   
• National Council of the Churches Division of Christian Life and Mission Records, 1945-1973
  Department of Church and Economic Life (Series IV)
  Call number: NCC RG 6; open for research
   
• PHS holds unprocessed records of the BCE Division of Social Education and Action.
  Consult with reference staff for further information.

Henry D. Jones Papers, 1950-1965
0.50 cubic feet
Call number: SPP 6 92 0519
Processed, open for research

Abstract
Minister and missionary who served as Director of Gary Neighborhood House in Chicago; Director of the Dodge Community House in New York City; Research Director of the Board of National Missions' Office of City, Immigrant, and Industrial Work; and one of the organizers of the National Christian Council's Industrial Evangelism Committee. Jones worked throughout East Asia and in Latin America to establish the field of industrial mission as a major task in foreign mission.

The collection includes correspondence, speeches, reports, and clippings documenting Jones' work on the issue of the church and industrialization in Japan, China, and Latin America.

See also

• Interview of Henry D. Jones [sound recording], 1978
  Ronald F. Byars, interviewer
  1 sound cassette (90 min.)
  Call number: CASSETTE 417

Lee and Connie Lybarger Papers, 1962-1971
0.50 cubic feet
Call number: SPP 113 13 0504; SPP 123 15 0627
Processed, open for research

Abstract
Lee Hartshone Lybarger and Connie Diller Lybarger were United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. missionaries to Pakistan from 1962 to 1971. In 1969, Lee Lybarger helped found the Pakistan Christian Industrial Service.

The collection consists of correspondence and circular letters (1962-1971), newsletters, reports, and clippings from the Sialkot, Pakistan mission, personnel records, and biographical clippings.

John McDowell
Papers, 1932-1937
1.00 cubic feet
Call number: 68 0291a, 05 0919a
Unprocessed, consult with reference staff for access

Abstract
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A; Secretary of the Board of National Missions (BNM); and Secretary of the BNM's Committee on Social and Industrial Relations. McDowell was noted for his Labor Day sermons.

The collection includes two scrapbooks about McDowell's career, 1894-c. 1938; several photographs of McDowell, 1890s-1930s; a day book for 1902-1907; two commonplace books containing illustrations and quotations, 1914, 1916-1917; correspondence and calls to churches and other positions, 1894-1937; incoming correspondence to Mrs. McDowell concerning her late husband, 1938-1940; manuscript and published writings. The collection also includes typescript and printed copies of sermons and addresses; news releases; printed messages of the Board of National Missions and the General Assembly, including a "Labor Day Message"; a small amount of correspondence with the Publicity Department of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.; and a broadside of a report of the Standing Committee on Social Welfare, 1937. Topics of the addresses in the collection include labor and the church, the economic crisis, the church and social and industrial relations, and unemployment.

See also

• [Labor Day Messages] Dr. John McDowell.
  Presbyterian Publicity Deptartment, General Assembly, 1923, 1927-1929
  The church's challenge to industry -- Shall industry be Christianized or commercialized? -- Industry and social justice -- What labor needs most.
  Call number: PAM BV 4276.5 .M13 1923

Kenneth Dexter Miller Papers, 1940
0.20 cubic feet
Call number: SPP 13 97 0731i
Processed, open for research

Abstract
Presbyterian minister who worked among Czech immigrants in the United States. He was director of social and education programs at the Jan Hus Neighborhood House in New York (1913-1917); he worked with Slavic immigrants through the PCUSA's Board of Home Missions (1919-1928), he served as pastor of the Madison Presbyterian Church, Madison, New Jersey (1928-1936), he was Executive Secretary of the Presbytery of Detroit (1936-1939), and he was head of the New York City Mission Society, 1939-1955); he was European Director of the American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees from 1955 until his retirement in the late 1950s.

The collection consists of Miller's book manuscript entitled, "The Presbyterian Church at Work with the Immigrant."

Related materials

• University of Minnesota, Immigration History Research Center:
  Kenneth Dexter Miller Papers, ca. 1910-1969
  18 linear inches

Richard and Eunice Poethig Family Papers, 1812-2021
46 cubic feet
Call number: RG 545
Processed, open for research (RG 545)

Abstract
Missionary in urban and industrial mission with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, 1957-1972; Director of the Institute on Church in Urban-Industrial Society (ICUIS), 1972-1982; and Dean of the Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations (PIIR) from 1972 to 1975, when PIIR and ICUIS merged.

The collection includes correspondence, subject files, publications, clippings, and manuscripts documenting Richard and Eunice Poethig's work in new church development in Buffalo, and urban and industrial mission in the United States and the Philippines; Richard Poethig's service on the Joint Strategy and Action Committee Metro Mission Task Force, the ACSWP Social Creed Resolution Team, and other ecumenical and UPCUSA/PC(USA) committees, and his tenure at PIIR and ICUIS. Of particular note are numerous conference papers, course outlines, newsletters, and articles on domestic and overseas urban and industrial mission work; PIIR bibliographies; and ICUIS abstracts, bibliographies, and occasional papers; manuscript copies of Poethig's autobiography and other writings; materials on the 1999 reunion of PIIR alumni; transcripts of oral history interviews Poethig conducted with Gus Nelson, Bill Lovell, Donald Matthews, Paul Frelick, Earle John Hamlin, Franklin Woo, David Zuvernick, Lee Lybarger, John Hazelton, Bryce Little, Bill Gibson, John Ramsay, and board members and constituents of Erie Neighborhood House; documentation of Poethig's service on the ACSWP Social Creed Resolution Team, 2004-2008

See also

• Eunice Poethig Papers, 1959-2007
  16.50 cubic feet (17 boxes) and 3.84 GB (426 digital files)
  The collection documents Eunice Poethig's work in Christian education and curriculum development in the Philippines; her theological education at UTS (Ph.D. in Old Testament in 1986); her work for the Presbytery of Chicago (Associate Executive for Congregational Life, 1979-1985) and the Presbytery of Western New York (Executive Presbyter, 1986-1993); her work with the General Assembly Council (Director of the Congregational Ministries Division, 1994-1998); and her work on the board of Stony Point Center.  Included are minutes, correspondence, curriculum materials, and publications related to women in ministry, the ordination of lesbians and gays, human sexuality, and feminist theology.
  Processed, open for research (Call number: RG 516)

Related materials

• University of Illinois at Chicago Special Collections and University Archives
  Institute on the Church in an Urban-Industrial Society (ICUIS) records, 1950-1988
  56.5 linear feet
   
• For further information about the Poethigs' work, see Richard P. Poethig's website.

Some of the collections listed in this guide include published studies, reports, articles, and newsletters. In addition to these, PHS holds a wide range of published works on topics related to urban and industrial mission and the individuals who carried it out, and more broadly, religious responses to changing economic and social structures. This bibliography presents a small sampling of these holdings. Researchers are encouraged to consult CALVIN and the card catalog in our reading room for additional resources.

Board of Home Missions

Getting at the Heart of the Downtown Problem : A Concrete Illustration of what the Church is Doing in one of the Most Difficult Fields in the World. New York: Department of Church and Labor, Board of Home Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., [1910].
Call number: PAM BV 637 .G47 1910

Board of National Missions

[Board of National Missions]. City and Industry (Areas of Service series). New York: Board of National Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1946.
Call number: PAM BV 628 .P7 5 1946

[Board of National Missions. City, Immigrant, and Industrial Department]. Proceedings of the Conference of Neighborhood House Work: Held at Harkness Camp, Willoughby, Ohio, June 10-12, 1925. New York: City, Immigrant, and Industrial Department, Board of National Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S. A., 1925.
Call number: PAM BV 2570 .A5 N4 1925

Long, Jacob A. A Challenge to City Missions: An Address Delivered before Presbytery of Detroit, November 2, 1942. New York: Unit of City and Industrial Work, Board of National Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1942)
(Not held by PHS)

Long, Jacob A. The Church in City and Industry: A Syllabus. New York: Unit of City and Industrial Work, Board of National Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1945.
Call number: BV 637 .L65 1945

Scott, Marshal Logan. The Church Goes to Town. New York: Board of National Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1951.
Call number: PAM BV 2653 .S36 1951

Shriver, William P. Immigrant Forces: Factors in the New Democracy. New York: Presbyterian Department of Missionary Education, 1913.
Call number: JV 6455 .S6 1913

Shriver, William P. Some Background on National Missions City Work, dictated by William P. Shriver to Ida Pfeufer. 5 manuscript pages, 1955.
Call number: MS Sh868ws

Shriver, William P. The Presbyterian Church in the City. New York: Board of National Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A, 1938.
Call number: BV 637 .S47 1938

Wilson, Christine T. Thirty Neighborhood Houses: A Survey of Thirty Presbyterian Neighborhood Houses. New York:  Department of City, Immigrant and Industrial Work, Board of National Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., [1925].
Call number: BV 2653 .P73 W54 1925

Board of Christian Education

[Board of Christian Education. Department of Social Education and Action]. Conversations about Industrial Relations (Round Table Discussions for Use in Church or Community series). Philadelphia: Department of Social Education and Action, Board of Christian Education, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1945.
Call number: PAM HD 6338 .P7 C66 1945

[Board of Christian Education. Department of Social Education and Action]. Report of the Department of Social Education and Action of the Board of Christian Education on the Church and Industrial Relations: As Approved by the 156th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., May 30, 1944. Philadelphia: Department of Social Education and Action, Board of Christian Education, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1944, 1947, 1950, 1954.
Call number: PAM BX 8951.47 A1; PAM HD 6338 .P7 C5 1950

Periodicals

Assembly Herald, 1897-1918. Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly.
Continued by: New Era
Call number: MI AS7; Microfilm: MFPOS 1015 r. 1-6

New Era, 1919-1921. Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly.
Continued by: Presbyterian Magazine
Call number: BX 8901 .N49

Presbyterian Magazine, 1921-1933. Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly.
Call number: F MI P919; Microfilm: MFPOS 1017 r. 1-5

Social Progress, 1934-1969. Crawfordsville, Ind: Department of Social Education of the Presbyterian Board of Christian Education.
Continued by: Church and Society
Call number: BV 625 .S62; Microfilm: MFPOS 866, r. 2-12

Church and Society, 1969-2006. Lancaster, Pa.: Boards of Christian Education of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.
Call number: AP 2 .C58; Microfilm: MFPOS 866 r. 12-19

Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations Newsletter (Marshal L. Scott Newsletters), 1952-1965. Chicago: Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations (PIIR)
Call number: Archives RG 545, Box 26, Folder 18 (Richard and Eunice Poethig Family Papers)

Federal Council Bulletin, 1918-1950 (incomplete). New York: Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America.
Continued by: National Council Outlook
Call number: WH30 F31

National Council Outlook, 1951-1959. New York: National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Call number: WH30 F31

Hall, Cameron P. Economic Life: A Christian Responsibility: A Study Guide on the Report of the National Study Conference on the Church and Economic Life. New York: Department of Church and Economic Life, the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, 1947.
(Not held by PHS)

Sanderson, Ross W., Department of the Urban Church [National Council of Churches]. The Church Serves the Changing City. New York: Harper, 1955.
Call number: BV 4400 .S35 1955

Ecumenical Perspectives in Urban and Industrial Mission, 1965-1972. London: Division of World Mission and Evangelism, World Council of Churches.
Call number: Archives RG 545, Box 29, Folder 8 (Richard and Eunice Poethig Family Papers)

Labor Letter, 1947-1953. Chicago, Ill.: Industrial Relations Committee, Council for Social Action, Congregational Christian Churches
Call number: Archives RG 545, Box 21, Folders 3-4 (Richard and Eunice Poethig Family Papers)

Religion and Labor, 1957-1964. Columbus, OH: Religion and Labor Foundation.
Call number: Archives RG 545, Box 27, Folder 1 (Richard and Eunice Poethig Family Papers)

East Asia Christian Conference, World Council of Churches, International Missionary Council. First Asian Conference on Industrial Evangelism, Manila, Philippines, June 2-13, 1958. Manila: United Church of Christ in the Philippines, 1958.
Call number: BV 3755 .A842 1958

Church Labor Letter, 1954-1979. Kyoto: Doshisha University School of Theology and Osaka: Christian Center.
Call number: MS50 c474l; Folio MS70 c474c; Archives RG 545, Box 30, Folders 8-12 (Richard and Eunice Poethig Family Papers)

Committee on Industrial Life and Vocations. Commentary on Industrial Evangelism [Newsletter], 1958, 1961. Manila : United Church of Christ in the Philippines.
Call number: Folio NT6.83 C736i

Byars, Ronald P. [Interview of Henry D. Jones, recorded at Porter Hills Presbyterian Village, Grand Rapids, Mich., 10-4-78].
Call number:  CASSETTE 417

Fones-Wolf, Elizabeth, and Ken Fones-Wolf. “Lending a Hand to Labor: James Myers and the Federal Council of Churches, 1926-1947.” Church History, vol. 68, no. 1, 1999, pp. 62–86.
www.jstor.org/stable/3170110

Handy, Robert T. "Charles L. Thompson—Presbyterian Architect of Cooperative Protestantism." Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society (1943-1961), vol. 33, no. 4, 1955, pp. 207–228.
www.jstor.org/stable/23325161

Nelson, Daniel W., and Marshal L. Scott. "A Hoosier in Megalopolis: A Conversation with Marshal L. Scott." American Presbyterians, vol. 71, no. 1, 1993, pp. 1–15.
www.jstor.org/stable/23332817

Poethig, Richard P. "Marshal Logan Scott and the Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations." The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-), vol. 83, no. 1, 2005, pp. 5–22.
www.jstor.org/stable/23337684

Poethig, Richard P. "William P. Shriver and the Immigrant Fellows: A Presbyterian Response to Early Twentieth-Century Immigration." The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-), vol. 80, no. 3, 2002, pp. 135–152.
www.jstor.org/stable/23336690

Poethig, Richard P., and Cameron Hall. "Cameron Hall, Economic Life, and the Ministry of the Laity." American Presbyterians, vol. 72, no. 1, 1994, pp. 33–47.
www.jstor.org/stable/23332749

Poethig, Richard P. "Charles Stelzle and the Roots of Presbyterian Industrial Mission." The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-), vol. 77, no. 1, 1999, pp. 29–43.
www.jstor.org/stable/23335254

Poethig, Richard P., and Henry D. Jones. "Henry D. Jones, Industrial Missioner: An Oral History Interview." The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-), vol. 78, no. 3, 2000, pp. 221–241.
www.jstor.org/stable/23335481

Stelzle, Charles. A Son of the Bowery: The Life Story of an East Side American. New York: George H. Doran Co., 1926.
Call number:  HM 22 .U6 S7 1926

Chaffee, Edmund B. The Protestant Churches and the Industrial Crisis. New York: Macmillan Co., 1933.
Call number: HN 39 .U6 C5 1933

Coyle, Robert F. Workingmen and the Church: Sunday Evening Sermons for the People. Boston: Arena Pub. Co., 1896.
Call number:  BX 9178 .C69 W67 1896

Hessel, Dieter T. Reconciliation and Conflict: Church Controversy over Social Involvement. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, [1969].
Call number WESTPR 4059

Hessel, Dieter T. “The Social Gospel in the Presbyterian Church.” 25 [5] page photocopied typescript.
Call number: F SH56P H464s

Hopkins, Charles H. The Rise of the Social Gospel in American Protestantism, 1865-1915. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1940.
Call number:  HN 39 .U6 H6 1940a

Irvin, Dale T. "Social Witness Policies—an Historical Overview." Journal of Presbyterian History (1962-1985), vol. 57, no. 3, 1979, pp. 353–403.
www.jstor.org/stable/23328199

Jones, Henry D. Christian Responsibility in Latin America's Emerging Industrial Society. New York: The Committee [on Cooperation in Latin America], 1959.
Call number: MN57 J717c

Jones, Henry D. Our Christian Witness in Industrial Society. 183 p. typed manuscript, 1960.
Call number: Folio NT6.8 J717o

May, Henry F. Protestant Churches and Industrial America. New York: Harper, 1949.
Call number: HN 39 .U6 M38 1949

The Metropolitan Church: Its Program and Ministry. Chicago: McCormick Theological Seminary, 1966.
This is a special issue of McCormick Quarterly 19, no. 3 (1966), with articles by Marshal Logan Scott, William R. Grace, Richard E. Moore, Arthur R. Hall, F.K. Mullendore, Clarence L. Cave, George H. Hehm, and George E. Todd.
Call number: POETHIG BV 2653 .M13 1966

McDowell, John. The Fellowship of Toil: Messages on Industrial Relationships. New York: Revell, 1930.
Call number: HN 31 .M18 1930

Poethig, Richard P. "Toward Worldwide Industrial Mission: The Presbyterian Story, 1945–1975." American Presbyterians, vol. 73, no. 1, 1995, pp. 35–47.
www.jstor.org/stable/23333278

Poethig, Richard P. "Urban/Metropolitan Mission Policies—an Historical Overview." Journal of Presbyterian History (1962-1985), vol. 57, no. 3, 1979, pp. 313–352.
www.jstor.org/stable/23328198

Rauschenbusch, Walter. A Theology for the Social Gospel. Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997. Originally published: New York: Abingdon Press, 1917.
Call number: WESTPR 1997-4

Rauschenbusch, Walter. Christianity and the Social Crisis. Louisville, Ky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991. Originally published: New York: Macmillan, 1907.
Call number: WESTPR 5255

Scott, Marshal L. The Christian and Social Action. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1948.
Call number: WESTPR 2563

Smith, Gary Scott. "Conservative Presbyterians: The Gospel, Social Reform, and the Church in the Progressive Era." American Presbyterians, vol. 70, no. 2, 1992, pp. 93–110.
www.jstor.org/stable/23332625

Stelzle, Charles. Christianity's Storm Centre: A Study of the Modern City. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1907.
Call number: BV 637 .S8 1907

Stelzle, Charles. The Gospel of Labor. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1912.
Call number: HD 6338 .S84 1912

Stelzle, Charles. The Church and Labor. Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1910.
Call number: HD 6338 .S82 1910

Stelzle, Charles. Messages to Workingmen. New York: Revell, 1906.
(Not held by PHS)

White, Ronald C., and Charles Howard Hopkins. The Social Gospel: Religion and Reform in Changing America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1976.
(Not held by PHS)

Researchers are encouraged to consult the society’s online and card catalogs and confer with reference staff to locate additional resources pertinent to their topics of interest. Please note that we hold a number of unprocessed archival collections that are not described in the publicly accessible catalogs and indexes listed here.

Guides to Archival Collections

CALVIN, our electronic catalog

• Holdings are cataloged using Library of Congress Subject, Name, and Geographic headings. The following top-level Library of Congress subject headings are frequently used for our urban and industrial mission holdings.

• PHS holds the personal library of Richard P. Poethig, which includes many works on the intersection of religion and economic life. To view catalog records for the entire Poethig Library, follow this link; use the facets on the left side of the screen to narrow the results. You may also perform an advanced search using the call number field to limit results to Poethig Library items (for example Keyword = Cities and Call number = POETHIG).

Biographical Vertical File Index

Foreign Missionary Vertical File Index

Pearl, our online digital repository

Card Catalog: most published and manuscript materials cataloged by PHS prior to 1980 can be located using the card catalog in our reading room.