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Church Women United in Iowa records

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0003

  • Staff Only
  • Please navigate to collection organization to place requests.

Scope and Contents

The Church Women United in Iowa records date from 1933 to 2018 and measure 10.5 linear feet. The records are arranged in thirteen series: Administrative, Financial, Historical, Local chapters, State, Regional, National, Programs, Publications, Publicity, Scrapbooks, Miscellaneous, and Photographs.

The Administrative series contains correspondence, executive board meeting minutes, annual reports, and directory information.

The Financial series contains audits, ledgers, and treasurer's reports, as well as a filmstrip entitled, "Financing for Growth in the 1970s and Beyond."

The Historical series contains histories of Church Women United in Iowa, as well as a booklet by Bertha C. Harms, "Forty-five years of Church Women United in Iowa, 1935-1980."

The Local chapters series includes constitutions and bylaws from local chapters, as well as reports and officers lists.

The State series contains materials pertaining to state assemblies, as well as secretary's notebooks and an information packet on Church Women United in Iowa.

The Regional series contains information on two regional conferences.

The National series contains materials from the Church Women United Board of Managers, correspondence, national assembly information, handbooks, brochures, and legislation materials.

The Programs series contains materials pertaining to various programs that the Church Women United in Iowa have been involved in, including Women in Community Service, a Multi-national Corporations Task Force, the Iowa School Lunch Coalition, as well as World Community Day and World Day of Prayer.

The Publications series contains publications produced by Church Women United, including The Church Woman, The Iowa Instigator, and The Uniter.

The Publicity series contains newspaper clippings dating from 1954-1974.

The Scrapbooks series contains scrapbooks dating from 1949 to 1989.

The Miscellaneous series contains a variety of materials, dating from 1953 to 2000.

The Photographs series contains a photo of Governor Robert D. Ray recognizing the Church Women United in Iowa for their work, as a well as photos from the 1967 national ecumenical assembly.

Dates

  • Creation: 1933-2018

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The records are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Church Women United in Iowa was founded in 1933 under the name Iowa State Council of Federated Church Women. In 1942, the organization united with the National United Council of Church Women under the name Iowa United Council of Church Women. The group has also been known as the United Church Women of Iowa and Iowa United Church Women. The organization officially changed its name to Church Women United in 1967 as a way of expressing a change in direction to include Roman Catholic and other orthodox women and encourage them to participate. The group also has ties to the Iowa Interchurch Council and was part of the National Council of Churches from 1949 to 1970.

Throughout its history, Church Women United in Iowa has focused on ecumenical unity among Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic women. Its three main yearly events are May Fellowship Day, World Community Day, and World Day of Prayer. Each year, Church Women United in Iowa holds a statewide assembly, as well as conferences and retreats for its members. Church Women United in Iowa's main priorities include peace building, as well as economic and racial justice. From sponsoring a care center for Native Americans to buying stocks in order to influence how multi-national corporations do business to investigating school lunch programs, Church Women United has served others through both community service and lobbying for legislation.

Extent

9.1 Linear Feet

Audiovisual in Box 3; Photographs in boxes 20-22 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Ecumenical organization.

Method of Acquisition

The large majority of the records (donor no. 4) were donated by Church Women United in Iowa in 1978, 2001, and subsequent years. A small amount of material (donor no. 1690) was donated by Karen Greenwood Henke in 2023.

Author
Special Collections staff; Elizabeth Engel, 2005; Heidi Stofer, 2018.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)