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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.

That All May Freely Serve: Abolishing the "Other"

October 29, 2021

--by Lumen Lugo-Roman

As October, LGBTQ+ history month whizzes by, discussing the relationship between members of the LGBTQIA+ community and the Presbyterian church is imperative. Though the road has been rocky, there are significant organizations within the church who have fought for LGBTQIA+ rights. An amazing example of one of these organizations was That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS). This organization founded in 1992, advocated for an inclusive and welcoming Church and for...

Author: 
Lumen
Tags: 
LGBTQIA+ History, Chicago
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Pride Month Special Collecting

June 25, 2021
Presbyterian organizations preparing to walk in Chicago's Pride Parade, 1998. [Pearl ID: 153426]

As part of our Pam Byers Memorial Collection, the Presbyterian Historical Society is working to create a Pride Collection. We hope to collect stories about Presbyterian congregations and other worshiping communities that celebrated Pride in...

Author: 
Elizabeth Wittrig
Tags: 
LGBTQIA+ History, Collections
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Stories of More Light Churches

June 17, 2021

In 1978, several churches took issue to a ruling by the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly. The assembly had ruled that although LGBTQIA+ people could join churches, they could not serve in official leadership roles. The churches that heard this ruling and were determined to stand against it began to declare themselves “More Light” churches. The name More Light came from a quote in John Robinson’s Farewell Address that said that God had...

Author: 
Elizabeth Wittrig
Tags: 
LGBTQIA+ History, Collections
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Past PHS LIVE: The David Sindt Papers and LGBTQIA+ History

May 11, 2021

On April 15, 2021 PHS welcomed Barry Smith, the historian of Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church in Chicago, who described his personal experience working with the David Sindt Papers and knowing David.

David Sindt (1940-1986) was the founder of Presbyterians for Lesbian/Gay Concerns, which is still working today as More Light Presbyterians. In the early 1970s, Sindt...

Author: 
Kristen
Tags: 
PHS Live, LGBTQIA+ History, Archival Processing
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Progress Report: The Pam Byers Memorial Collecting Initiative

January 22, 2020

In September 2018, I was hired as the Pam Byers Memorial Fund Project Archivist to work full-time on collecting and making accessible the history of the movement for LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. Thanks to the generosity of donors and the willingness of Presbyterians to participate in this project, PHS has been able to add a substantial amount of material to our collections that document LGBTQIA+ history from the late 1960s until today. 

New...

Author: 
Elizabeth Wittrig
Tags: 
LGBTQIA+ History, Collections, Archival Processing
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