The Council of Churches of Christ of Greater Cleveland (f. 1911) was officially organized as the Federated Churches of Cleveland (Ohio) on June 12, 1911, at a founding conference at the Old Stone Church, which included representatives of sixty-seven Protestant churches. Although a short-lived Christian Federation of Cleveland had been established in in 1900, by 1911 the effects of immigration and industrialization highlighted the need for Protestant cooperation. The founding of the Federated Churches reflected a national trend toward Protestant unity in urban areas, primarily to meet the religious needs of Protestant immigrants and to address the social problems caused by increasing populations.
The first constitution of the Federated Churches of Cleveland outlined a two-fold mission of Christian evangelism and service, emphasizing cooperative effort or "comity" in religious work, and unified, aggressive action against social problems. The federation's initial priorities of religious work, Christian education, church comity, civic reform, and social betterment have continued through several organizational and name changes.
By the time a new constitution was adopted in 1934, which officially changed the name of the organization to the Cleveland Church Federation, the organization had extended its priorities into such areas as interracial and international relations, and was a staunch supporter of mission efforts in the city. In 1940, a new constitution was adopted which reorganized the structure and function of the Federation into six departments, each divided into specialized committees. The included the Christian Education Department, which expanded programs in adult leadership training and youth work; the Inter-Church Relations Department, which continued the wor, of comity, research, and survey in developing new churches, and also developed a program to assist in the resettlement of Japanese-Americans; the Religious Work Department, which focused on Worship, evangelism, and missions through such projects as special worship services, conferences, and pastoral ministry in hospitals and juvenile detention homes; and the Social Action Department, which continued such work as improving race relations and advocating temperance reforms, and broadened the organization's influence in industrial and international relations.
By 1955, a Social Welfare Department was created, which would oversee such projects as Puerto Rican Integration, the Chinese Christian Center, and the Inner-City Protestant Parish. The new constitution of 1958 changed the Federation's name to the Cleveland Area Church Federation and reorganized several departments. For example, the Inter-Church Relations became Research and Church Planning, Social Action was continued in Christian Community Relations and Christian World Relations, and Social Work was renamed Social Welfare. In 1965 the Cleveland Area Church Federation adopted a new constitution and new name, Council of Churches of Christ of Greater Cleveland, and in 1985, the Council adopted the name Interchurch Council of Greater Cleveland.
The Council of Churches of Christ of Greater Cleveland Records, 1900-1967 and undated, consist of histories, constitutions, minutes, department and committee correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings, publications, surveys, and scrapbooks.
This collection will be of value to researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Ohio, and a wide range of topics related to the social, religious, and ethnic history of Greater Cleveland. Researchers may also trace the history of national social priorities through the Council's various social programs, which have been related to such diverse issues as immigrant assimilation, liquor and vice control, world relief, labor and education reform, race relations, and civil rights. Of particular interest to researchers tracing ethnic and Asian and Latin American immigrant history are the records of the Chinese Christian Center, the Japanese-American Resettlement Committee, and the Puerto-Rican Immigration Committee. In addition, the rosters in Series I are useful as a reference to the names of persons and congregations which have been involved in the work of the Council.
The collection is arranged in three series.
All photographs have been removed to the photograph and print collection.
The researcher should also consult MS 4813 Council of Churches of Christ of Greater Cleveland Records, Series II; and MS 4474 Inner City Protestant Parish Records.
Processed by Gail Redmann in 1993.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3406 Council of Churches of Christ of Greater Cleveland Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of the Cleveland Council of Churches in 1969.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.