Church history

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History of Presbyterian and Reformed church governance, congregations, ministers, and theology. See the following related collections: Presbyterian General Assemblies; Church buildings; Protestant Reformation; and Sermons. Featured image: Synod of Catawba clergy and lay commissioners.

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Title:
Cliff Kirkpatrick oral history, 2023.
Description:
Oral history of Stated Clerk Emeritus Cliff Kirkpatrick interviewed by Rev. Dr. Neal Presa and recorded via Zoom by Randy Hobson of OGA Communications on September 7, 2023. The Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick is an ordained minister who served for fifteen years as the Director of the Worldwide Ministries Division before becoming Stated Clerk. He served in this capacity from 1996-2008 and, at the conclusion of his service, was elected by the General Assembly as Stated Clerk Emeritus. His other leadership roles included Co-moderator of the General Assembly Special Committee on the Belhar Confession and member of the Board of Directors of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. Kirkpatrick attended Davidson College (BA), Yale University (MDiv), and McCormick Theological Seminary (DMin).
Creator:
Kirkpatrick, Clifton, 1945- (interviewee), Presa, Neal D. (interviewer), Hobson, Randy. (recording engineer)
Subject names:
Kirkpatrick, Clifton, 1945-, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). General Assembly. Office of the Stated Clerk., Covenant Network of Presbyterians.
Topics:
Presbyterian Church--Church officers., Presbyterian Church--Clergy., Church leadership--Presbyterian Church.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:346654
Title:
Cliff Kirkpatrick oral history, 2023.
Description:
Oral history of Stated Clerk Emeritus Cliff Kirkpatrick interviewed by Rev. Dr. Neal Presa and recorded via Zoom by Randy Hobson of OGA Communications on July 25, 2023. The Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick is an ordained minister who served for fifteen years as the Director of the Worldwide Ministries Division before becoming Stated Clerk. He served in this capacity from 1996-2008 and, at the conclusion of his service, was elected by the General Assembly as Stated Clerk Emeritus. His other leadership roles included Co-moderator of the General Assembly Special Committee on the Belhar Confession and member of the Board of Directors of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. Kirkpatrick attended Davidson College (BA), Yale University (MDiv), and McCormick Theological Seminary (DMin).
Creator:
Kirkpatrick, Clifton, 1945- (interviewee), Presa, Neal D. (interviewer), Hobson, Randy. (recording engineer)
Subject names:
Kirkpatrick, Clifton, 1945-, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). General Assembly. Office of the Stated Clerk., Covenant Network of Presbyterians.
Topics:
Presbyterian Church--Church officers., Presbyterian Church--Clergy., Church leadership--Presbyterian Church.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:346653
Title:
Cliff Kirkpatrick oral history, 2023.
Description:
Oral history of Stated Clerk Emeritus Cliff Kirkpatrick interviewed by Rev. Dr. Neal Presa and recorded via Zoom by Randy Hobson of OGA Communications on July 24, 2023. The Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick is an ordained minister who served for fifteen years as the Director of the Worldwide Ministries Division before becoming Stated Clerk. He served in this capacity from 1996-2008 and, at the conclusion of his service, was elected by the General Assembly as Stated Clerk Emeritus. His other leadership roles included Co-moderator of the General Assembly Special Committee on the Belhar Confession and member of the Board of Directors of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. Kirkpatrick attended Davidson College (BA), Yale University (MDiv), and McCormick Theological Seminary (DMin).
Creator:
Kirkpatrick, Clifton, 1945- (interviewee), Presa, Neal D. (interviewer), Hobson, Randy. (recording engineer)
Subject names:
Kirkpatrick, Clifton, 1945-, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). General Assembly. Office of the Stated Clerk., Covenant Network of Presbyterians.
Topics:
Presbyterian Church--Church officers., Presbyterian Church--Clergy., Church leadership--Presbyterian Church.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:346652
Title:
Holly and KC Clark-Porter oral history, 2023.
Description:
Reverend Holly Clark-Porter and Reverend KC Clark-Porter discuss growing up in Texas; attendance of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary; their joint ordination service at First & Central Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware (Newcastle Presbytery); the pastoral capacities in which they've served the Church; and the barriers they faced during their ordinations and ministerial work. They reflect on the fight for marriage and ordination rights of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians within the Church. Additionally, KC reflects on coming out as trans and life as a transgender man.
Creator:
Clark-Porter, Holly. (interviewee), Clark-Porter, KC. (interviewee), Shilstut, Natalie. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Clark-Porter, Holly., Clark-Porter, KC., Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary., Presbyterian Welcome (Organization), First & Central Presbyterian Church (Wilmington, Del.)
Topics:
Ordination of gays--Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Ordination of lesbians--Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Homophobia., Same-sex marriage--Religious aspects--Presbyterians., Transgender men.
Geographic subjects:
El Paso (Tex.), Wilmington (Del.), Fredonia (N.Y.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:345294
Title:
Interview of Dean H. Lewis by R. Douglas Brackenridge, Tape 3, Side 1.
Description:
Cassette tape 3, side 1 of an interview recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 11 to 12, 1988. Dean Lewis discusses social pronouncements of the General Assembly and Presbyterians' history of supporting education. Part of a 5 cassette tape set.
Creator:
Lewis, Dean, 1926-2021. (interviewee), Brackenridge, R. Douglas. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). General Assembly., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly.
Topics:
Church and the world., Social policy., Church polity.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:345268
Title:
Interview of Dean H. Lewis by R. Douglas Brackenridge, Tape 2, Side 2.
Description:
Cassette tape 2, side 2 of an interview recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 11 to 12, 1988. Dean Lewis discusses the work of the Advisory Council on Church and Society, including the creation of task forces. Lewis also discusses commissioners' resolutions at general assemblies, the General Assembly Mission Council, and other aspects of church polity. Part of a 5 cassette tape set.
Creator:
Lewis, Dean, 1926-2021. (interviewee), Brackenridge, R. Douglas. (interviewer)
Subject names:
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Advisory Council on Church and Society., Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Advisory Council on Church and Society., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Christian Education. Department of Church and Society., Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). General Assembly Mission Council.
Topics:
Church and the world., Social policy., Church polity.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:345267
Title:
Gary Demarest interview, 2023.
Description:
Interview questions generated by Nick Skaggs and answered through typewritten responses by Gary Demarest (July 2022-August 2023). Rev. Dr. Gary Demarest was born on January 16, 1926 to Garrett and Viola Rusthoi Demarest. He was raised in California and as a Baptist. He attended Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, California) and graduated in 1950. He was ordained in the Presbytery of Seattle in 1952. Demarest served the Church in several pastoral capacities, and he was also the Director of Evangelism for the General Assembly from 1988 to 1993. He co-chaired the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church. Interview covers Demarest's early life as a Baptist; attendance of Fuller Theological Seminary; ordination in Seattle Presbytery; work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes; appointment as Director of Evangelism for the General Assembly; and co-chairing the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church.
Creator:
Demarest, Gary W. (interviewee), Skaggs, Nicholas A. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Fellowship of Christian Athletes., Fuller Theological Seminary., Presbyterian Church (La Canada, Calif.), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Evangelism and Church Development., Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Presbytery of Western New York., Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Task Force on Central America., University Presbyterian Church (Seattle, Wash.), Demarest, Gary W.
Topics:
Presbyterian Church--Clergy.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:344686
Title:
Interview of Dean H. Lewis by R. Douglas Brackenridge, Tape 2, Side 1.
Description:
Cassette tape 2, side 1 of an interview recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 11 to 12, 1988. Dean Lewis discusses the functions of the Advisory Council on Church and Society and the processes of establishing task forces. Part of a 5 cassette tape set.
Creator:
Lewis, Dean, 1926-2021. (interviewee), Brackenridge, R. Douglas. (interviewer)
Subject names:
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Advisory Council on Church and Society., Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Advisory Council on Church and Society., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Task Force to Study Homosexuality.
Topics:
Church and the world., Social policy., Church polity.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:344680
Title:
Interview of Dean H. Lewis by R. Douglas Brackenridge, Tape 1, Side 1.
Description:
Cassette tape 1, side 1 of an interview recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 11 to 12, 1988. Dean Lewis discusses his upbringing as a Southern Baptist in Missouri, his attendance of Yale Divinity School, his time as a pastor in Springdale, Arkansas, and his career leading up to his time in the Office of Church and Society. Part of a 5 cassette tape set.
Creator:
Lewis, Dean, 1926-2021. (interviewee), Brackenridge, R. Douglas. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Lewis, Dean, 1926-2021., Yale University. Divinity School., William Jewell College., Niebuhr, H. Richard (Helmut Richard), 1894-1962., First Presbyterian Church (Springdale, Ark.)
Topics:
Church and the world., Social policy., Church polity.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:344362
Title:
Interview of Dean H. Lewis by R. Douglas Brackenridge, Tape 1, Side 2.
Description:
Cassette tape 1, side 2 of an interview recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 11 to 12, 1988. Dean Lewis discusses the history of the Department of Social Education and Action (SEA), the Department of Social Education and Evangelism, and the Office of Church and Society and the work of the Office of Church and Society throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Part of a 5 cassette tape set.
Creator:
Lewis, Dean, 1926-2021. (interviewee), Brackenridge, R. Douglas. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Lewis, Dean, 1926-2021., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Christian Education. Department of Social Education and Action., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Christian Education. Department of Social Education and Action., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Christian Education. Office of Church and Society., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Christian Education. Department of Church and Society., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Advisory Council on Church and Society., Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Advisory Council on Church and Society.
Topics:
Church and the world., Social policy., Church polity.
Geographic subjects:
South Africa.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:344318
Title:
Babs Miller oral history, 2023.
Description:
Oral history with Babs Miller, parish associate at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Austin, Tex.), on her career in ministry, including with Metropolitan Community Church (Austin, Tex.) during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, and as an evangelist with That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS) in the 2000s. Babs Miller is a Presbyterian minister, ordained by Mission Presbytery in 2014. Born in Victoria, Texas in 1942, she attended the Presbyterian School for Christian Education (Richmond, Va.) in the 1960s, and worked as a Christian educator, a social worker, and a high school teacher in Texas. She went to Austin Theological Seminary from 1987 to 1990, came out as a lesbian, and began work with Metropolitan Community Church (Austin, Tex.). From about 2004 to 2012 she was an evangelist with That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS). She has served as parish associate at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Austin, Tex.) since 2014, and continues advocacy for GLBTQ+ rights, in particular protection of trans youth and their families threatened by Texas state law codifying trans health therapies as child abuse. Starting in 2015, Miller was part of the group at St. Andrew's, as part of the Austin Sanctuary Network, declaring public sanctuary for migrants, and helped a mother and child, Hilda and Ivan, seek asylum.
Creator:
Miller, Babs Ann, 1942- (interviewee), Staniunas, David. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Metropolitan Community Church (Austin, Tex.), That All May Freely Serve (Association), St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Austin, Tex.)
Topics:
Ordination of lesbians--Presbyterians., Sanctuary movement., Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterians., Church work with immigrants.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:344175
Title:
Women in Theology and Ministry Oral History Program oral history interview with Melva Costen.
Description:
Text transcribed from front of DVD: WTM Oral History Project - Melva Costen - October 1, 2008. Interview conducted at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Creator:
Moore, Mary Elizabeth, 1945- (interviewer), Costen, Melva Wilson, 1933-2023. (interviewee)
Subject names:
Costen, Melva Wilson, 1933-2023., Costen, James Hutten, 1931-2003., Costen, Melva Wilson, 1933-2023--Archives., Costen, James Hutten, 1931-2003--Archives., Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, Ga.)
Topics:
African American Presbyterians., African American leadership., African American Christian educators., Music--Religious aspects., Civil rights movements--United States.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:300798
Title:
The 58 LGBTQIA+ youth who attended the initial kin-dom camp in Texas went home blessed, as did their leaders.
Description:
Video of 1001 New Worshipping Communities ministry kin-dom community's inaugural edition of kin-dom camp, a week-long summer camp for youth ages 13 to 17 in the Synod of the Sun who identify as LGBTQIA+. Camp leaders and participants talk about how the camp came to be and the impact it has had on all participants. Video originally featured in a Presbyterian News Service article, "'I'm happier and it's crazy how that happens'" (published August 25, 2022).
Creator:
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Presbyterian Mission Agency (creator)
Subject names:
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Synod of the Sun., Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Presbyterian Mission Agency.
Topics:
LGBTQ+ youth., Church work with youth.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:288241
Title:
Chris Glaser oral history transcript, 2022.
Description:
Transcript of oral history interview with Chris Glaser. He was raised as an American Baptist in North Hollywood, California. He joined the Presbyterian Church in 1970 while in college at California State University, Northridge. He was an ordained elder at First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys. From 1976 to 1978, he served as the only openly gay member of the UPCUSA Task Force to Study Homosexuality. From 1977 to 1987, he served as the founding director of the Lazarus Project, a ministry of reconciliation between the church and the LGBTQ community in Los Angeles, located at West Hollywood Presbyterian Church. He also served as the second national coordinator and treasurer of Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (PLGC) and as editor of its newsletters (More Light). Interview covers the 1978 General Assembly, the UPCUSA Task Force to Study Homosexuality, the Lazarus Project, and Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (PLGC). Transcript was extensively revised for clarity purposes by interviewee, Chris Glaser.
Creator:
Skaggs, Nicholas A. (interviewer), Glaser, Chris. (interviewee)
Subject names:
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Task Force to Study Homosexuality., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly (190th : 1978 : San Diego, Calif.), Lazarus Project., Presbyterians for Lesbian/Gay Concerns., West Hollywood Presbyterian Church (Los Angeles, Calif.), Glaser, Chris.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:287989
Title:
Chris Glaser oral history, 2022.
Description:
Chris Glaser was raised as an American Baptist in North Hollywood, California. He joined the Presbyterian Church in 1970 while in college at California State University, Northridge. He was an ordained elder at First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys. From 1976 to 1978, he served as the only openly gay member of the UPCUSA Task Force to Study Homosexuality. From 1977 to 1987, he served as the founding director of the Lazarus Project, a ministry of reconciliation between the church and the LGBTQ community in Los Angeles, located at West Hollywood Presbyterian Church. He also served as the second national coordinator and treasurer of Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (PLGC) and as editor of its newsletters (More Light). Interview covers the 1978 General Assembly, the UPCUSA Task Force to Study Homosexuality, the Lazarus Project, and Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (PLGC).
Creator:
Glaser, Chris. (interviewee), Skaggs, Nicholas A. (interviewer)
Subject names:
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Task Force to Study Homosexuality., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly (190th : 1978 : San Diego, Calif.), Lazarus Project., Presbyterians for Lesbian/Gay Concerns., West Hollywood Presbyterian Church (Los Angeles, Calif.), Glaser, Chris.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:287983
Title:
Joanna Adams oral history, 2017.
Description:
Joanna Moseley Adams, Presbyterian minister, was born October 17, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia. She attended Columbia Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1979. She served Central Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, Ga.), North Decatur Presbyterian Church (Decatur, Ga.), and Trinity Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, Ga.), before spending two years as co-pastor alongside John Buchanan at Fourth Presbyterian Church (Chicago, Ill.). From 1996 on she was an organizer for and moderator of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. She retired in 2010.
Creator:
Hessel, Beth Shalom. (interviewer), Adams, Joanna. (interviewee)
Subject names:
Adams, Joanna., Covenant Network of Presbyterians., Trinity Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, Ga.), North Decatur Presbyterian Church (Decatur, Ga.), Central Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, Ga.)
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., Presbyterian women., Ecumenical movement., Social justice--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Interfaith worship.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:286239
Title:
Annanda Barclay oral history, 2021.
Description:
Annanda Barclay is an advocate for intersectional justice in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She has worked for LGBTQIA+ rights and served as Co-Moderator of More Light Presbyterians, a board member of the Spahr Reconciliation Initiative, and has helped plan pastoral candidate retreats with Parity (formerly Presbyterian Welcome). Barclay graduated with her M.Div. from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2014. She is currently working as a pastor at Mission Bay Community Church (San Francisco, CA) and as interim chaplain at the University of the Redlands, while pursuing a full-time career in chaplaincy.
Creator:
Barclay, Annanda. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
More Light Presbyterians., Presbyterian Welcome (Organization), Barclay, Annanda.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., African American Presbyterians., Presbyterian women.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:286179
Title:
Ray Bagnuolo oral history, 2021.
Description:
Raymond Bagnuolo was born in November of 1951 and grew up in a Roman Catholic family in the Bronx, New York. Ray spent seventeen years teaching K-12 in the Ossining Public Schools in Ossining, New York. In 1995, he was introduced to That All May Freely Serve and began attending South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, New York. In 2005, he was ordained as Minister of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA), as an openly gay man. Ray accepted a leadership role at That All May Freely Serve in 2013 and spent several years traveling the country and advocating for a fully inclusive church.
Creator:
Bagnuolo, Raymond. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
That All May Freely Serve (Association), Bagnuolo, Raymond., Spahr, Jane Adams.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Catholic Church., Ordination of lesbians., Ordination of gays.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:286178
Title:
Michael Adee oral history, 2021.
Description:
Michael Adee was a member and ordained Elder of Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church (Cincinnati, Ohio). He also served as the first Field Organizer (later called Executive Director) for More Light Presbyterians from 1999 to 2013.
Creator:
Adee, Michael. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
More Light Presbyterians., That All May Freely Serve (Association), Spahr, Jane Adams., Adee, Michael.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:286177
Title:
Bertram Johnson oral history, 2019.
Description:
Bertram Johnson became the first openly gay African American to be ordained as a pastor in the PC(USA) in 2014. He grew up Baptist, attended Mt. Baker Park Presbyterian Church (Seattle, Washington), and was ordained at Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church (Seattle, Washington) as a Teaching Elder in 2014.
Creator:
Johnson, Bertram. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer), Prescott, Sonia. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church (Seattle, Wash.), Presbyterian Welcome (Organization), Johnson, Bertram.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., African American Presbyterians.
Geographic subjects:
Seattle (Wash.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:281973

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