Guide to the Missionary Correspondence Department Letters

Descriptive Summary

Title

Missionary Correspondence Department Letters

Inclusive Dates

1919-2000

Call Number

RG 510

Quantity

19 cubic feet (19 boxes)

Language

Materials in English

Restrictions on Access

Open for research. Medical, educational, and psychological records of living people are closed.

Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Administrative History

The office of Educational Secretary was created by the Executive Committee of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) in 1912. It was reorganized as the Educational Department and later the Division of Interpretation. The office continued to perform its primary function of keeping the church informed about its foreign mission work as the ECFM was reorganized as the Board of World Missions (1949) and the Division of International Mission (1973). The work of the Educational Department/Division of Interpretation was done through several offices which coordinated special programs and conferences; produced missionary literature; distributed films, slides, and other audio-visual materials; published and distributed printed "missionary letters" from various fields; and coordinated speaking engagements and visits by missionaries at churches, missionary societies, and denominational conferences.

The Missionary Correspondence Department (MCD) was the office responsible for reproducing and distributing letters from missionaries to the home church. Each missionary wrote letters home, and the MCD reproduced and distributed them to congregations and individual supporters on the missionary's mailing list.

After the 1983 reunion of the PCUS and the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA), the Missionary Correspondence Program continued under the Stewardship and Communication Development Unit of the General Assembly Mission Board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and later under the Congregational Ministries Division (1993) and the Worldwide Ministries Division (1997).

Collection Overview

This collection consists of letters sent by foreign missionaries to the office of the Missionary Correspondence Department and mimeographed or printed versions of letters prepared by the department for circulation. The collection is arranged in two series: Series I: Missionary Correspondence Department Letters by Name, 1924-1973; and Series II: Missionary Correspondence Department Letters by Country, 1919-2000.

The Missionary Correspondence Department Letters by Name series includes original letters from missionaries, as well as mimeographs made by the department. There is some duplication between the letters in this series and in Series II. This series includes some letters written by missionaries following their retirement from the field or during furloughs in the United States. At the end of this alphabetical run is a set of circular letters written by Brazil missionaries to supporters of the Undergirders' Prayer Fellowship.

The Missionary Correspondence Department Letters by Country series is arranged alphabetically by country and then by year. The vast majority of this series consists of mimeographs or printed letters produced by the Missionary Correspondence Department. Note that letters written from a third country where missionaries were undergoing preparatory study are often filed under the country to which the missionaries would eventually be sent (for example, many letters written from Belgium are filed under the Congo).

Organization and Arrangement

SERIES I: MISSIONARY CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT LETTERS BY NAME, 1924-1973

SERIES II: MISSIONARY CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT LETTERS BY COUNTRY, 1919-2000

Related Material

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Materials transferred to the Historical Foundation of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches and the Presbyterian Historical Society from the Missionary Correspondence Department, Office of the Executive Secretary of the Board of World Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S., and the Stewardship and Communication Development Unit, Worldwide Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Additional materials received from the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2008.

Processing Information

Collection processed and guide prepared in August 2018 by Jennifer Barr.

Preferred Citation

Missionary Correspondence Department Letters, RG 510, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Catalog Headings

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in the society’s electronic catalog.

Corporate Subject

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Executive Committee of Foreign Missions. Educational Department. Missionary Correspondence Department.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Board of World Missions. Educational Department. Missionary Correspondence Department.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Board of World Missions. Division of Interpretation. Missionary Correspondence Department.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Division of International Mission. Division of Interpretation. Missionary Correspondence Department.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. General Executive Board. International Mission Division. Division of Interpretation.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. General Assembly. Mission Board. Division of International Mission. Interpretation and Promotion.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). General Assembly. Mission Board. Stewardship and Communication Development Unit.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Congregational Ministries Division. Stewardship and Communication Development Unit.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Worldwide Ministries Division. Stewardship and Communication Development Unit.

Topical Subject

Missionaries--Brazil--20th century--Correspondence.

Missionaries--China--20th century--Correspondence.

Missionaries--Congo (Democratic Republic)--20th century--Correspondence.

Missionaries--Japan--20th century--Correspondence.

Missionaries--Korea--20th century--Correspondence.

Missionaries--Mexico--20th century--Correspondence.

Missionaries--Taiwan--20th century--Correspondence.

Missions--Brazil--20th century.

Missions--China--20th century.

Missions--Congo (Democratic Republic)--20th century.

Missions--Japan--20th century.

Missions--Korea--20th century.

Missions--Mexico--20th century.

Missions--Taiwan--20th century.

Genre-form

Correspondence. aat

Corporate Added Name