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News, events, updates, and tidbits from the Presbyterian Historical Society. Use tags to read related articles or sort by author for similar posts written by PHS staff members and volunteers.

Presbyterian General Assemblies Through a Family Lens

June 15, 2022

--by William Lake Leonard

William Lake Leonard is a retired attorney and member of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. He was a member of PHS's Board of Directors from 2009 to 2017; he has served on PHS's Advisory Council from 2017 to the present.

One of the highlights of my life as a Presbyterian was serving as a Commissioner to a meeting of the church’s General Assembly. In June of 2002, the 214th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) met in Columbus, Ohio, and I served as an Elder Commissioner representing the...

Author: 
Guest Blogger
Tags: 
General Assembly
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The Iran Mission on Film

May 23, 2022

--by Matthew K. Shannon

Matthew Shannon is Associate Professor of History at Emory & Henry College and 2021-2022 Research Fellow at the Baskerville Institute. The Presbyterian Historical Society is pleased to partner with him for the Community School Oral History Project. Click here to learn more. 

In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I asked PHS to digitize two 16-millimeter silent motion picture films. The films,...

Author: 
Guest Blogger
Tags: 
Iran, Mission History
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Claude Williams and the Proletarian Church

February 24, 2022

-- By James S. Currie, Executive Secretary, Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest

The Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest exists to “stimulate and encourage interest in the collection, preservation, and presentation of the Presbyterian and Reformed heritage in the four state area” of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Presbyterian Historical Society (Philadelphia) is thrilled to partner with PHS of the Southwest to share stories of Presbyterian figures occluded from memory. This column will try to highlight the life of one Cumberland...

Author: 
Guest Blogger
Tags: 
Christian Socialism, Civil Rights, Labor Rights Movement
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Why I Give: Barry Smith

February 22, 2022

--by Barry Smith

I'm the historian at Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church in Chicago, and our archives have held the David Sindt Papers since 1987. At the 1974 General Assembly, David held up a sign asking: "Is Anyone Else Out There Gay?" This led to the formation of the Presbyterian Gay Caucus which continues today as More Light Presbyterians.

The...

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Guest Blogger
Tags: 
LGBTQIA+ History
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Visualizing Missions: The power of the image in promoting foreign missions

January 14, 2022

 

University of Southern California doctoral candidate April Makgoeng researching the National Council of Churches records in the reading room.

--by April Chabries Makgoeng

The abundance of mission-related events and materials disseminated throughout the United States and Canada meant that many North American Protestants had some exposure to foreign missions during the first half of the twentieth century. “Protestant missionaries,” according to historian William Hutchison, “were the chief interpreters of remote cultures for the people at...

Author: 
Guest Blogger
Tags: 
Mission History, Missionaries
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