Church Women United in Houston Records


Descriptive Summary
	Creator:	Church Women United
	Title:	Church Women United in Houston Records
	Dates:	1911-2000
	Abstract:	Church Women United is a national ecumenical organization dedicated to bringing together religious women in order to celebrate and expand their faith, to promote peace and prayer, and to join together as a community to encourage spirituality and advocacy. This collection contains materials from the local, state, and national levels of Church Women United. Materials include business and financial records, materials from annual celebrations, programs from worship services, yearbooks, photographs, and ephemera such as scrapbooks.
	Identification:	2001-001
	Quantity:	9 boxes; 6 linear feet
	Repository:	Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries

Organization History

Church Women United is a national ecumenical organization dedicated to bringing together religious women in order to celebrate and expand their faith, to promote peace and prayer, and to join together as a community to encourage spirituality and advocacy. Church Women United is divided into four levels: national, regional, state, and local. At the national level, the United Council of Church Women was formed in December 1941, when delegates from three inter-denominational women's groups approved a constitution and established an office in New York City. This Council represented women from seventy Protestant denominations. In 1950, the Council became one of twelve interdenominational agencies that comprised the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States. In 1966, the organization's name was changed to Church Women United in order to encourage the participation of non-Protestant women, such as Roman and Orthodox Catholics.

In 1911, a group of Houston women of different denominations formed the Houston City Federation of Missionary Society; by 1946 the organization was known as the Houston Council of Church Women. The name was changed to Church Women United of Houston in 1966, and to Church Women United in Houston in 1968. At the local level, groups are organized into committees that administer programs and projects; in Houston, the women hold meetings at the many Houston area churches that are members of CWU. Church Women United in Houston participates in worship services at area churches and works with other Houston organizations to promote awareness of a number of issues, including the elderly, women and children, and the environment. Members of the Houston group also participate in the three annual Church Women United celebrations: World Day of Prayer, May Fellowship Day, and World Community Day.

Church Women United, Information Handbook and Directory, September 1999 through August 2000, p. 11, located in Box 1, Folder 3.

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Scope and Contents

The collection arrived at the archives in good order and in general the original order has been maintained. Although primarily concerned with Church Women United in Houston, the collection also contains material from the state and national levels. Information in the collection includes material on the history of the organization, business and financial records, materials from the three annual celebrations, and programs from area worship services. It also includes yearbooks, photographs, and ephemera such as scrapbooks. The collection is divided into eight series: History, Administrative, Activities, Yearbooks, Holly Hall, Community Resource and Development, Photographs, and Ephemera. All of the series are arranged in alphabetical order, except for History, Yearbooks and Ephemera, which are in chronological order. For further information on women and religious activity in Houston, please see Brigid's Place, also in the Women's Archive and Research Center.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open for research.

Use Restrictions

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, locating copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian.

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Index Terms
	Terms are either Library of Congress Subject Headings or taken from local sources.


Subjects (Organizations)

		Church Women United. Houston Chapter


Subjects

		Women Societies and clubs -- Texas -- Houston.
		Christian women -- United States.
		Houston (Tex.) -- Christian Organizations.
		Houston (Tex.) -- History.


Formats

		Financial records
		Programs
		Photographs
		Scrapbooks

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Church Women United in Houston Records, Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.

Acquisition

Donated by Church Women United in Houston, 2000

Processed by

Joanie South-Shelley, June 2001

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Detailed Description



box	folder
1	1-5	History
	This series contains five folders dating from 1911 to 1999, arranged chronologically. These include a history of the Houston group, as well as brochures and a handbook describing Church Women United at the national level. The series also includes a book, Just Because, the Story of Church Women United in the U.S.A. 1941-1975, by Margaret Shannon, a former executive director of the national organization, published in 1977.
	1		Organization History, Part 1, 1911-1959
	2		Organization History, Part 2, 1960-1978
	3		Brochures, 1951-1999
	4		Just Because, 1977
	5		Handbook, undated

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box
1-2		Administrative
	This series contains thirteen folders dating from 1959 to 2000, arranged alphabetically. The series consists of the business and financial records of the organization, including reports, minutes, and membership information. The newsletters in this series are those of Church Women United in Houston.
box	folder
1	6		Annual/President's Reports, 1959-1971
	7		Annual/President's Reports, 1986, 1991
	8		Constitution, By-laws, Standing Rules, 1965-1985
	9		Correspondence, 1988-2000
	10		Financial Reports, 1965-1997
box	folder
2	1		Membership Rosters, 1979-1989
	2		Membership Rosters, 1989-1992
	3		Membership Rosters, 1992-1993
	4		Minutes - Board of Managers, 1965-1994
	5		Minutes - General Assembly, 1965-1994
	6		Newsletters, 1987-1994
	7		Nominating Committee, 1989-1992
	8		Scholarships, 1987-1992, 2000

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box
2-4		Activities
	This series contains twenty-seven folders dating from 1965 to 2001, arranged alphabetically. It includes material concerning the organization's activities at the local, state, and national level and is divided into three sub-series reflecting those levels. The series includes church service programs, newsletters, and brochures. The newsletters in this series are those from the national and state levels of Church Women United.
box
2-3			Local
box	folder
2	9			Celebrations, 1990
	10			Celebrations, 1991
	11			Celebrations, 1992
	12			Celebrations, 1994
	13			Celebrations, 1998
	14			Celebrations, 1999
	15			Celebrations, 2000
box	folder
3	16			Celebrations, 2001
	1			Celebrations Information, undated
	2			Church World Service, 1989-1992
	3			Interfaith Workshops, 1965-1989
	4			Programs, 1987-1993
	5			Programs, 1994-2001
	6			Women in Community Service, 1979-1988
	7-13		State
	7			Assembly, 1985
	8			Assembly, 1993
	9			Assembly, 1994
	10			Correspondence, 1988-1992
	11			Directory, 1986-1989
	12			Directory, 1989-1991
	13			Newsletters, 1988-1998
box
3-4			National
box	folder
3	14			Brochures, 1983
	15			Correspondence, 1982-1992
	16			Ethical Choices Workshop, 1993
	17			Fund for the Fifth Decade, 1981-1984
	18			Gift Certificates, 1986
box	folder
4	1			Health Care, 1991-1994

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box	folder
4	2-19	Yearbooks
	This series contains eighteen folders dating from 1951 to 1996, arranged chronologically. Yearbooks list the officers, directors, projects, and programs for each year. Within this range of dates, only a few yearbooks are missing: 1955, 1956, and 1995.
	2		Yearbooks, 1951-1952
	3		Yearbooks, 1953-1954, 1957
	4		Yearbooks, 1958-1960
	5		Yearbooks, 1962-1964
	6		Yearbooks, 1965-1967
	7		Yearbooks, 1968-1970
	8		Yearbooks, 1971-1973
	9		Yearbooks, 1974-1975
	10		Yearbooks, 1976-1977
	11		Yearbooks, 1977-1978
	12		Yearbooks, 1979-1980
	13		Yearbooks, 1982-1983
	14		Yearbooks, 1984-1985
	15		Yearbooks, 1986-1987
	16		Yearbooks, 1988-1989
	17		Yearbooks, 1990, 1992
	18		Yearbooks, 1993
	19		Yearbooks, 1994, 1996

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box	folder
5	1-7	Holly Hall
	This series contains seven folders dating from 1960 to 1966, arranged alphabetically. Holly Hall is a non-profit retirement community in Houston. In 1949, CWU in Houston proposed building a retirement home. By the next year, the project had grown to the extent that CWU in Houston was no longer able to financially sponsor the home, and in 1951 that task was relegated to the Holly Hall Board of Directors. However, Church Women United in Houston continued to act as Holly Hall's spiritual sponsor; CWU in Houston raised over $12,000 in 1951 for the project, and several CWU officers served on the Board of Directors of Holly Hall. Ground was broken and a cornerstone laid in 1951, and the home opened in 1952. For more information, please visit the Holly Hall web site at www.hollyhall.org.
	1		Architectural Drawings, 1961
	2		Audit Report, 1961
	3		Audit Report, 1963
	4		By-laws, undated
	5		Committee Reports, 962-1965
	6		Financial Reports, 1960-1966
	7		Report on Examination of Accounts, 1960

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box
5-6		Community Resource and Development
	This series contains twelve folders dating from 1981 to 1998, arranged alphabetically. The series contains material of interest to Church Women United on a number of topics. Certain folders in this series contain items on a particular subject from several sources, while other folders contain material from only one organization.
box	folder
5	8		Children and Family Services, 1987-1998
	9		Christian Community Service Center, 1992
	10		Committee, 1986-1995
	11		Elder Services, 1989
	12		Environmental Issues, 1993-1998
	13		Greater Houston Women's Foundation, 1994
	14		Houston Metropolitan Ministries, 1981-1991
	15		Mental Health Organizations, 1989
	16		Miscellaneous, 1988-1998
box	folder
6	1		New Directions Club, 1988-1997
	2		United Way, 1989-1990
	3		Women in Action, 1985-1997

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box	folder
6	4-13	Photographs
	This series contains ten folders dating from 1981 to 1988, arranged alphabetically. The photographs originally were in magnetic albums, but they have been removed for preservation purposes. Some of the individuals have been identified. folder 13, Miscellaneous, contains photographs which were neither in an album, nor were the individuals identified.
	4		CWU Causeway, November 1988
	5		Community Resource and Development Committee, Fall 1988
	6		Dallas State Assembly, September 1987
	7		Leadership Training, May 1987
	8		May Fellowship Day, May 1987
	9		Miscellaneous, 1986-1988
	10		Miscellaneous, undated
	11		Savvy Award, April 1987
	12		State Meeting, 1981
	13		Slides, 1986-1987

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box

7-9

Ephemera

This series contains items dating from 1966 to 1981, arranged chronologically. The three scrapbooks in this series have been disassembled for preservation purposes. The pages from each scrapbook have been removed from their covers and retained in their original order, while the covers have been placed in a separate box.

box

Scrapbook, 1966

box

Scrapbooks, 1967, 1981

box

Scrapbook Covers, 1966, 1967, 1981

Newspaper Clipping, 1982

Bandana, undated

Leather Binder, undated

Plastic 3-Ring Binder, undated

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