Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church of Chester County Records

The Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church of Chester County Records include an historical statement (1839) on its origin and development by one of its pastors Rev. John B. Davies, and copies of entries for various sessions containing information on how the church handled misconduct of its members.

Second Baptist Church, Kershaw, S.C. Records - Accession 51

The Second Baptist Church, Kershaw, SC Records consist of photocopies of the church’s records including minutes, membership lists, and financial records relating to the day-to-day operation and business of the church.

Church Women United in Columbia Records - Accession 191

The Church Women United In Columbia was founded in 1915 as the Women’s Interdenominational Missionary Union whose purpose was to work for the betterment of social and economic conditions in the city of Columbia, South Carolina. The collection consists of constitutions, bylaws, minutes, correspondence, reports, financial records, newsletters, newspaper clippings, lists, and other records relating to the history and civic activities of the organization.

Celestial Church of Christ in Italia. Percorsi, Spazi e Pratiche Rituali

Il lavoro che presento propone un’analisi di una chiesa africana indipendente in Italia, la Celestial Church Of Christ Worldwide (CCCW), cercando di mettere in luce il nesso tra religione, migrazione e il processo di ‘plunting churches’ (Kooning 2009) nel contesto italiano. Attraverso una ricerca sul campo, sono stati indagati i percorsi personali, familiari e comunitari dei membri di una ‘Celestial Parish’ presente nel comune di Brescia, ‘Ileri Oluwa Parish’, al fine di comprendere la natura dei processi identitari coinvolti nell’organizzazione della CCC in Italia. ‘Ileri Oluwa Parish’, in quanto luogo che denota una ‘chiesa individuale collegata ad una Diocesi’ (CCC Constitution (CCC Constitution, 107 (d) si rivela, nella materialità delle sue forme e dei ‘Devotional Services’ che in essa si svolgono, a ‘field of action’ (Lefebvre, 1991). La storia della chiesa, i fondamenti della sua dottrina e i significati comunicati attraverso le forme rituali e religiose che la stessa promuove, sono stati contestualizzati alla luce delle tensioni e delle strategie di potere che strutturano il campo. Le storie dei membri della parrocchia, percorsi di migrazione e mobilità in itinere, rappresentano la lente attraverso cui si è guardato alle relazioni vissute nel nome dello ‘Spirito’, e alla percezione stessa di ciò che gli stessi Celestians definiscono sacro, santo, puro e impuro. Lo sguardo fisso alla vita ordinaria di una Celestial parish in Italia, esteso nell’ultima parte dell’elaborato alla Celestial parish londinese, è stato fondamentale per capire l’intreccio di relazioni spirituali, reti familiari e mobilità degli individui sul territorio italiano ed europeo, processo che ribalta la condizione diasporica della CCC, trasformando una condizione di dispersione in un valore aggiunto, nella possibilità di nuove traiettorie territoriali e spazi di presenza religiosa e socioeconomica.

Father Dietz, the Catholic Church and the 1913 Michigan Copper Strike

Labor Historian Marc Karson has singled out “labor priest” Peter E. Dietz as one of the strongest proponents for the active implementation of the Catholic Church’s 1890’s labor encyclical Rerum Novarum in the daily practice of American Catholics. Biographer Sister Mary Harrita Fox pointed out that in his work, Dietz “was particularly concerned over the role of the church in the copper strike in Upper Michigan.” This “particular concern” should be noted since the 1913 strike was one of the only disputes where Dietz went out of his way to visit and become actively involved. Why the keen interest? This presentation will review the impetus for the huge effort which brought Peter E. Dietz to the Copper Country and solely to that dispute alone, the resulting visit and report that he made concerning the strike, the important role he believed this visit and stance in the Copper Strike had in the future of the Church’s relationship to the US labor movement. The presentation will look at both what Dietz thought would occur as a result of his 1913 trip to the Keweenaw and what actually happened in this pivotal pre-World War One era event. The paper will put Father Peter E. Dietz and the Catholic Church into the larger frame of how religion has been viewed within the history of the Strike.