This series includes materials connected with Diakonia World Federation and the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) Deaconess Community's involvement with the Federation. The materials date from 1946-1987, but the bulk date from 1966-1987. Record types include constitutions, minutes, reports, correspondence, financial records, conference programs and distributed materials, publications, and photographs. Most material was generated by Diakonia or by individuals, both deaconesses and others, associated with the organization or its conferences. Also, other records associated with diaconal ministry and ecumenism that were retained by the Deaconess Community of the LCA are included. Most records are printed or typed, but a few are handwritten. The material from Diakonia is usually published in both German and English, and some records are written in Norwegian, French, and Dutch. The paper used in the early years for both printed material and carbon copies is often of poor quality, making reading difficult. This is particularly true for items through the 1960s and to a lesser extent the 1970s. Many records are sparse and incomplete. After viewing the material as sent to the ELCA Archives, it was determined that for arrangement and description purposes, the archivist would need to impose an order. The material is thus arranged by subject in the following subseries: Organizational Information. The information in this subseries primarily consists of general information about Diakonia. Records of note include Diakonia constitutions, which include the name and basis for the organization, the aims and objectives, membership, representation, and legislative bodies of Diakonia, finance, termination of membership, amendment of the constitution, and dissolution of Diakonia Constitutions which are undated seem to be the earliest, but there are variations in those dated 1966. Both the 1966 and the 1979 revisions are printed in booklet form. Other information in this subseries includes member association lists, financial statements, and diaconate statistics. Conferences. The conference material is the heart of this series. It includes minutes of the Delegate Assembly, programs, delegate lists, and reports from the officers, from representatives from various countries and regional organizations, and ones on various topics of interest. However, not all these items are present for every conference. Other distributed materials include sermons, Bible studies, orders of worship, and song booklets. The minutes of the Delegate Assembly are missing for the following conferences: Utrecht, 1946, Strasbourg, 1957, Copenhagen, 1947, Manila, 1979 For the other conferences, it is unclear if minutes for all the Delegate Assembly meetings are present, because there is no indication in this series' records of how many meetings were held. Of note is information about the process of forming the original constitution found in the folder for the Pre-Conference in Utrecht, The Netherlands in 1946. In 1972, when Sister Anna Ebert was president of Diakonia and the conference was held in New York City, correspondence and materials about the planning, promotion, publicity, and financial records are included. Thereafter, there are similar materials for each conference, although in most cases such records are sparse. Items of particular interest include the embroidered artwork and ribbon in the Manila, 1979, conference folder. Executive Committee. This subseries consists of minutes from the meetings of the Executive Committee of Diakonia. It is unclear whether of not this is a complete set of minutes, since there is no record available of meeting dates for the Executive Committee. Included are reports from the officers, from regional conferences, financial reports, and reports and discussions about Diakaid, Kaire, Koinonia/Diakonia, and the relationship of Diakonia with the World Council of Churches. Minutes are summaries of the organization's business, rather than detailed or verbatim reports. Correspondence. Each folder in this subseries includes correspondence concerning Diakonia both sent and received by the person named. The correspondence of Rev. Ernst F. Bachmann concerns the original proposal to form a federation of deaconess associations. Sister Margaret Axelton was a delegate to the conference in Manila in 1979. Sister Louise Burroughs was appointed in 1973 as North American representative who reported news from the region for inclusion in Diakonia News, and her letters here are to the editor, Deaconess Katherine Ramsey. As LCA Directing Deaconesses, Sisters Anna Ebert, Sophie Damme, and Frieda Gatske all were involved in Diakonia in various ways. In addition, Sister Anna Ebert's correspondence reflects the fact that she became acting president in 1967 and was elected president in 1970. Betsy K. Ewing was a Methodist deaconess who followed Sister Anna Ebert as president of Diakonia. Her letters of note include a number to and from Rev. Bengt-Thure Molander, concerning his post-Diakonia Desk work with Kaire and Koinonia-Diakonia. Of particular interest among the circular letters are those in multiple languages, sent at Christmas and Pentecost/Whitsuntide between 1948 and 1959 by the presidents and secretaries of Diakonia. All are written in English, German, French, and Dutch, except for the 1958 and 1959 Pentecost letters, which omit Dutch. Diakonia Desk, Geneva. In 1963 a Joint Study Group had been was established and included representatives of Diakonia and of the International Federation of Inner Mission and Christian Social Work. The group's purpose was to explore how these organizations could work together in the World Council of Churches. The Study Group recommended that an Ecumenical Secretariat for the Diaconal Ministry of the Church be established in Geneva at the WCC headquarters. Commonly called the Diakonia Desk, it was created in 1967. Rev. Bengt-Thure Molander, formerly president of Diakonia, was appointed as the liaison officer. The records in this subseries include information about Rev. Molander, letters between Sister Anna Ebert and Rev. Molander, and reports on his work. Joint Working Groups. This subseries consists of papers relating to two working groups which included members of Diakonia, including LCA deaconesses. The first group was the Joint Working Group set up to nominate a liaison officer for the Diaconia Desk, create a mandate, job description, and budget for this person, and to continue as an advisory body for the officer. The records for this group include minutes and accompanying reports. The second working group was Koinonia-Diakonia, which included members from Diakonia, the European Conference of Deacons, the International Centre for the Diaconate and the World Council of Churches. The group's purpose was to encourage reflection, change, and action in ecumenical diakonia, through linking koinonia, "communion in Christ," and diakonia "service in the name of Christ." This group's records include reports, correspondence, and conference papers, particularly concerning an "Ecumenical Encounter" in l'Arbresle, France in 1976. Kaire. During the 1960s, women who were members of religious communities, both Roman Catholic and Protestant began to meet, seeking unity and spiritual commitment. Under the auspices of the Diakonia Desk, seventy such women met at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, in 1971. Out of this came smaller meetings called Kaire, meaning "Rejoice," which met once or twice yearly. This subseries includes planning materials, distributed materials, and other papers from Kaire meetings from 1973-1980, and issues of the Kaire Bulletin from 1977-1984. It is unclear if this is a complete set of issues, as not all are numbered. Seminars and Meetings. This subseries comprises information retained by the LCA Deaconess Community, about various meetings which, while not directly concerned with Diakonia World Federation or the Deaconess Community itself, were concerned with diaconal ministry and ecumenical endeavors around the world. Publications. This subseries includes publications of Diakonia. Diakonia Ten Years 1947-1957 and Diakonia Utrecht Bethel 1946-1975 are histories of the association, written in both English and German. Diakonia News is the English language version of the organization's periodical. The last issue in this subseries is #75. The following issues are missing: #5-6, #19-20, #36, #8, #22-23, #38-40, #12, #25-27, #42-43, #14-15 part 1, #29-30, #63 It should be noted that there was no issue published in 1982. The German language edition is Diakonia Nachrichten. The following issues are missing: #1-3, #12, #27, #33, #39, #44-72, #12, #39, #74, #27, #41-42. Number 8 is in booklet form, having been published separately. Photographs. In this subseries, there are 113 black and white and color photographs and 12 35mm. negative strips. Events depicted in the photographs, which in all but one case was a conference, have been identified. Some persons have also been identified.
