123 boxes document the UPCUSA’s mission and ecumenical work
by Nick Skaggs | Presbyterian Historical Society
Fraternal worker Kermit Overton in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Overton would go on to become president of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus. (Photo courtesy of Presbyterian Historical Society)
The Presbyterian Historical Society has processed the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations (COEMAR) Records. The guide for the records is now available to researchers here.
The large collection of 123 cubic foot boxes supplements 27 collections of COEMAR records, all available at the Presbyterian Historical Society.
COEMAR was created in 1959 after the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA) and the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (PCUSA) merged in 1958 to become the UPCUSA. Established by the General Assembly, COEMAR was formed from several foreign and domestic mission boards, interchurch, and ecumenical committees. The newly formed commission sought to represent the UPCUSA living in fellowship and witnessing in action with other Christian churches throughout the world, and to supervise the UPCUSA’s responsibilities in ecumenical mission.
Informed by the Confession of 1967, COEMAR also helped heal and reconcile enmities between people and God, and between peoples.
The COEMAR seal. (Image courtesy of Presbyterian Historical Society)
Initially led by COEMAR general secretary John Coventry Smith, the group released resources for ecumenical mission work, collaborated with other churches and ecumenical agencies worldwide, and participated in interchurch, confessional, and ecumenical organizations. Documentation of this work can be viewed at the Presbyterian Historical Society.
Along with the records that document the work of COEMAR and the Board of Foreign Missions — which include correspondence, minutes, financial records, photographs, reports, published material, surveys and other records — the collection also contains administrative files, communications office files, student volunteer files, and global office files such as the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office Files.
Read more about the COEMAR Records on the Presbyterian Historical Society’s website and view the collection guide for a more detailed description of the records’ contents.
This article was originally published on the PHS blog here.
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