Studies and Conferences by Country 1965-1985.

ArchivalResource

Lutheran Church in America. Division for World Mission and Ecumenism. Studies and Conferences by Country 1965-1985.

Studies and Conferences by Country 1965-1985.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48086332

The files were collected by John M. Mangum. Mangum served under several titles as staff involved with planning for the Board of World Missions (BWM) of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) from 1963-1972, and as director for planning of the Division for World Mission and Ecumenism (DWME) of the LCA from 1972-1987. Mangum collected background material on many countries for purposes of planning new mission projects (see LCA 28/10/1). Mangum also provided oversight for the study of current work, evaluation of work already done, and the projection and direction of continued work. These files are a record of the studies and conferences that were initiated to guide the LCA mission work. They are arranged alphabetically by country, with a few broader area names (e.g. Caribbean) interfiled. The files of each country may contain a variety of documents. There are records of conferences, called study conferences, consultations, or planning conferences, held on the field. Present at these conferences was some combination of the LCA executive secretary of the BWM or DWME, the director for planning, the area secretary responsible for the country, the missionaries on the field, and the local church. Sometimes the conferences were ecumenical, with participants from other Lutheran bodies involved in the area or, occasionally, from non-Lutheran mission bodies that worked side by side with the LCA. The files include agendas of such conferences, copies of presentations, minutes or less formal reports of the conferences, and correspondence related to the physical planning. The correspondence contains many memos between Mangum and the area secretaries. (For a list of area secretaries see LCA 16 and LCA 28, the administrative histories for the Board of World Missions and the Division for World Mission and Ecumenism). In addition to conference files, there are also studies and reports undertaken by individuals or teams. These include studies for the purpose of surveying a field to determine if a project should be started or continued, self-reports on work being done, mission papers written by Lutheran students both at home and abroad, and visits by individuals or teams for purposes of evaluation and direction. Usually the latter individuals and teams were sent by the DWME for a specified study task. Sometimes the DWME received reports from individuals or groups sponsored by other Lutheran agencies such as the Lutheran World Federation. Mangum was responsible for receiving these reports and in turn summarizing and reporting them to the Management Committee of the DWME (see LCA 28/1/1), with recommendations when appropriate. He was also responsible for determining whether a report should be summarized or printed in its entirety, and whether it should be distributed beyond the Management Committee. Authors of studies and presentations are listed when known. Names are not given when the report is that of a team. If a file name is in quotation marks, it contains a substantial document with that title. If not, the file contains varied items on the named subject.

9 boxes.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Library, ELCA Library