ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

NORTH DAKOTA CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH COLLECTION

COLLECTION: OGL #442

DATES: 1902-1947

SIZE: .25 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The North Dakota Congregational Church Collection was deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection (Acc. #77-463).

ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

The first annual meeting of the Congregational Conference of North Dakota was held in Fargo on October 16, 1882. The expressed purpose of the Congregational Conference was to promote the practical union of all connected churches; to gather and disseminate information and to provide for a strong administration for common work; to establish qualifications for the ministry; to administer trust funds; and to be an instrument of Congregational Churches in North Dakota for religious, benevolent, educational, and philanthropic activities.

Statewide, membership in the Congregational Church remained static from the beginning of the twentieth century through the 1960s. In June 1957, the (national) Congregational Church merged with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to form the United Church of Christ. A new constitution and by-laws were approved in 1960. The process of uniting the two churches on the state and local level then began. On October 11, 1963, the North Dakota Congregational Conference officially became a part of the North Dakota Conference United Church of Christ.

Sources:

Minutes of the Congregational Conference of North Dakota: 1911
History of North Dakota by Elwyn Robinson: 1966
“The Creation of the United Church of Christ in North Dakota” by Dr. Charles Maxfield: 2001
[http://www.geocities.com/drcamaxfield/UCCinND.html]

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The North Dakota Congregational Church Collection dates from 1902-1947. The collection includes copies of Congregational North Dakota, an official church publication, from 1926- 1935. Also included are the published minutes and proceedings of North Dakota Congregational Conference Annual Meetings, 1902-1947.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

1. Congregational Conference of North Dakota - Minutes: 1937-1940, 1946-1947
2. Congregational Conference of North Dakota - Minutes: 1913-1922
3. Congregational Conference of North Dakota - Minutes: 1902-1912
4. Congregational North Dakota, 1930-1935
5. Congregational North Dakota, 1927-1929
6. Congregational North Dakota, 1926-1927

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