Charter and Bylaws n.d., 1887, 1895, 1904, 1940-1971.

ArchivalResource

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Charter and Bylaws n.d., 1887, 1895, 1904, 1940-1971.

Charter and Bylaws n.d., 1887, 1895, 1904, 1940-1971.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312493

This series comprises copies of the charter, bylaws, and succeeding amendments to both, for the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). Records are printed and typewritten copies of the charter and bylaws in booklet and loose leaf form. The charter and amendments to it are dated while many copies of the bylaws and amended bylaws are undated. Dated records range from 1887-1971. Copies of bylaws dated from 1966 and 1971 are in this record group because the corporation for the MJDH/PMD remained in existence after the merger of the Philadelphia and Baltimore motherhouses in 1963. These later versions were kept with the organization's records in this record group for continuity purposes. The MJDH/PMD generated or retained records in this series as part of its record keeping duties. Charters in this series are in booklets with one set printed in English and German and the other printed only in English. These booklets include text of the original charter enacted in 1887 and subsequent amendments to it in 1893 and 1901. The charter includes the name of the corporation, its purpose, location, and an explanation of its governance. An 1894 amendment addresses additional purposes, the number of ministers required to be on the board of trustees, and location of work. A 1901 amendment added the offices of directing pastor and directing sister to the board of trustees. Even though charters from 1940 and 1953 state they include amendments from 1937 and 1953, there is no indication as to what these amendments changed. In regards to bylaws, one set, written in German, is titled, "Statuten des Mary J. Drexel Home und Philadelphia Diakonissen Mutterhaus." This version is an undated printed booklet and addresses the arrangement of the board of trustees, its scope of business, and management of that business. It also includes a separate set of general bylaws each for the directing pastor and the directing sister. The other sets of bylaws are typewritten in English. The typewritten versions contain more detail as to officers' duties and other aspects of the administration of the organization. Some of the typewritten versions include annotations as to when that particular version was amended. Later versions, post-United Lutheran Church in America, include a reversionary clause pertaining to whom the assets of MJDH/PMD would revert if the corporation ever dissolved and a clause defining the relationship of the deaconess community to its local synod. In an oversized folder located in the mapcase area is one handwritten, signed copy of the articles of incorporation for the MJDH/PMD.

1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

eng,

ger,

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Library, ELCA Library