This series comprises the faculty papers of the Rev. Dr. Robert W. Bertram. These papers represent the body of Dr. Bertram's work as a professor at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana; Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; Christ Seminary in Exile-Seminex, St. Louis, Chicago; and Lutheran School of Theology Chicago, Chicago. These records date from 1943-2008 and include several record types: handwritten and typewritten business and personal correspondence, course lecture notes, written course examinations, course evaluations, topical papers, topical articles, handwritten and printed sermons, topical addresses and speeches, memoranda, minutes, applications, budgets, contracts, newsletters, proceedings, reports, promotional brochures and pamphlets, and photographs. These files were originally kept by Dr. Bertram in five vertical filing cabinets. Subject matter of these records types include matters related to the courses Dr. Bertram taught including philosophy, church history, systematic theology; Lutheran-Roman Catholic relations, Lutheran-Episcopal relations, ecumenism, theology in daily life, formation of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC), formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the controversy related to the teachings of professor at Concordia Seminary during the late 1960s and early 1970s and the subsequent firing of those professors, and the creation of Christ Seminary in Exile-Seminex. This series is arranged by the following subseries: Course Materials, Assignments, Correspondence, Biographical Information, Membership/Appointments, Seminary-Synod Controversy, Writings, Assorted Subjects, and Audiovisual Material. All subseries except Biographical Information, Writings, Assorted Subjects, and Audiovisual Material are terms that Dr. Bertram used on folder labels to describe folder contents. While the subseries are based upon a labeling system created by Dr. Bertram, an order was imposed upon the collection due to the fact that the collection came to the archives in vertical filing cabinets which had multiple drawers out of sequence but with the same type of material in them. Course Materials. This subseries comprises records that date from 1948-2001 and include records for courses Dr. Bertram taught from the beginning of his academic career well into his retirement. Most of these folders are further divided into sub-subseries that correspond to the academic institution at which those courses were taught. Record types include course lecture notes, master quiz and examination keys, students' course evaluations, and reading material used in the course. There are also course notebooks that Dr. Bertram created for certain courses that include copies of the readings for the course and notes Dr. Bertram created pertaining to those readings. Records that were weeded and discarded include any material authored by students, student rosters that included grades, and evaluations of students. Of note, some course folders are empty. These originally only included papers authored by students which are not archival and are not retained. But the folder was retained for continuity purposes so persons examining this collection will know what courses Dr. Bertram taught. Throughout his tenure at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) Dr. Bertram also taught courses in St. Louis that were offered through LSTC, so there are files for those courses that while taught in St. Louis, were LSTC courses. This subseries is arranged chronologically. Assignments. Assignments is a term used by Dr. Bertram that describes all other activities in which he participated that were not teaching seminary courses. These activities included writing assignments, speaking engagements, presiding at weddings and baptisms, sabbaticals he took, seminars he led or spoke at, attendance at assemblies and conventions, meetings, and preaching at congregations on Sundays or at particular events. These records date from 1952-2001 and Dr. Bertram arranged them in two ways. Generally he kept two folders for each year and divided paperwork for particular assignments by date: January-June and July-December. If there was a large amount of paperwork for an assignment, Dr. Bertram would create a folder for that particular assignment. Those folders are titled with the name of the event or subject of the assignment. This subseries is arranged chronologically. Correspondence. This subseries includes handwritten and typewritten business and personal correspondence of Dr. Bertram from 1967-2003. Examples of correspondence subject matter include: removal from the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) roster because the LCMS determined he and others could not have a dual roster status on rosters for the LCMS and Association of Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC); the Commission for a New Lutheran Church and what role bishops should play in the new church; support for the denominational ministry strategy (DMS) and the Lutheran Church in America "Pittsburgh issue;" a request from the first Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) director of studies asking for Dr. Bertrams' input on various aspects of the ELCA's Commission on Church and Society's studies department and how it should understand its work in relation to the wider church, substantive issues that should be addressed first, and processes used to develop social positions and policies; and general correspondence subjects: requests for information, and requests to Dr. Bertram to preach or speak at an event. While Dr. Bertram labeled some of the correspondence folders as "personal," one would not describe this correspondence to be of a personal nature regarding his life outside of the classroom. There are no letters from family or friends that pertain to anything other than courses or assignments. All letters regardless if they are from students, colleagues, friends, family, or the general public pertain to the work of Dr. Bertram. There are some letters from students or former students in which matters are discussed with Dr. Bertram in his role as a student's professor concerned with the academic well being of the student or career choices the student would make. These concerns many times were impacted by forces outside of the classroom and as such, the student would mention their family and work situations to Dr. Bertram. Because of the sensitive nature of some of this correspondence, this subseries is restricted at the discretion of the archivist. Correspondence is arranged chronologically by year. For some correspondence, Dr. Bertram created separate folders. For example, he created separate folders for his applications for a Fulbright fellowship, correspondence relating to a festschrift for a colleague, and correspondence pertaining to sabbaticals. Biographical information. This subseries includes records that include biographical information on Dr. Bertram. These records date from 1943-2003 and include curriculum vita, obituaries, articles, contracts, and personnel information forms for denominational clergy rosters. These records are not arranged. Membership/Appointments. The terms used for this subseries was one used by Dr. Bertram on folders in which he kept materials related to committees on which he served either by volunteering or by appointment. These records date from 1971-1989 and include seminary faculty committees and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. Within each committee, the folders are arranged chronologically. Seminary-Synod Controversy. Throughout this collection there are records that pertain to the controversy involving Concordia Seminary St. Louis and faculty it believed were teaching concepts and ideas that contrary to doctrine on which the LCMS was established and upon which it based its statements of belief. This particular subseries comprises notebooks Dr. Bertram created documenting events of what was a crisis not only for Concordia Seminary St. Louis, but for the entire Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The notebooks date from 1970-1975 and include copies of news reports, copies of documents related to the seminary faculty investigation, news clippings, memoranda, and meeting minutes. These records originally were in three-ring binders, but for preservation purposes were removed from the binders. Writings. Records in this subseries date from approximately 1952-1994 and are primarily copies of Dr. Bertram kept of articles, essays and sermons he authored. There are some materials authored by others, for example, the sermon his father preached on Dr. Bertram's wedding day is included in this series. But the bulk of the writings were authored by Dr. Bertram. Included in this subseries is a folder with bibliographies of Dr. Bertram's writings from 1960-1983. These files are arranged chronologically. Assorted subjects. This last subseries was not originally created by Dr. Bertram. This subseries contains records that did not fit into any other the other subseries. Records in this subseries date from approximately 1970-2008. The bulk of this material is topical resource material that Dr. Bertram kept on various subjects, including the relations between the ELCA and the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches. Records in this subseries that post-date Dr. Bertram's death were included in this collection as a result of Dr. Bertram's widow, Mrs. Thelda Bertram, adding additional research material that pertained to topics with which Dr. Bertram was involved. Records that are dated after 2003 primarily pertain to the Concordia Seminary controversy of the 1970s. These files are arranged alphabetically. Audiovisual. Included in this subseries are 289 black and white and color photographs, 28 35mm negative strips, and four color slides and five audiocassettes tapes. Subject matter of these photographs includes students Dr. Bertram taught at the Lutheran School of Theology in St. Louis, trips he took to South Africa and Estonia, and the at service and reception that followed in 1988 honoring Dr. Bertram for 50 years of teaching. Other photographs are from World Council of Churches assemblies, Dr. Bertram's time as a parish pastor, professor at Valparaiso University, and the years after he retired when he continued teaching and lecturing around the country. The audio cassettes tapes include two panel discussions from "Theological Issues in BEM and Its Reception," 1983; a presentation to the Central States Synod of the ELCA in 1995 by the Rev. Franklin D. Fry about the church's statements on human sexuality; session three from a 1992 meeting pertaining to the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue; and a undated tape with what appears to be a either one or two separate concerts featuring the gospel singers Albertina Walker and the Rev. Leo Daniels.
