PUBLIC "-//Arlington Public Library::Center for Local History//TEXT (US::ViAr::ViAr00097::A Guide to the Records of Church Women United of Arlington, 1944-2001)//EN" "ViAr00097.xml" A Guide to the Records of Church Women United of Arlington, 1944-2001 Church Women United of Arlington, Records of RG 97 Heather Crocetto Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History © 2018 Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word, created by Gregory Pierce, 21 August 2020 Description is in English A Guide to the Records of Church Women United of Arlington, 1944-2001 A Collection in Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History RG 97

Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History 2018 Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History Descriptive Summary Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History Records of Church Women United of Arlington, 1944-2001 RG 97 12 boxes. English Church Women United of Arlington Administrative Information Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Records of Church Women United of Arlington, Collection # RG 97, Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History

Acquisition Information

Gift of Elizabeth Le Roy in 2005 and Josephine Starling in 2006.

Historical Information

On January 20, 1944, representatives from sixteen churches in Arlington met to discuss organizing an Arlington Council of Church Women. The name was changed in 1953 to United Church Women of Arlington and then, finally, to Church Women United (CWU) in 1968.

The national Church Women United describes itself as "a national volunteer Christian ecumenical women's movement." From its beginning in 1941 it has been an interdenominational and interracial group. The national CWU has been a significant leader in developing the churches' role within the Civil Rights movement, the peace movement, and the equal rights movement.

Early in its formation, United Church Women in Arlington advocated for integration of many facilities including hospitals, restaurants, and movie theaters. It also argued for racial equality in matters of churches, schools, housing, and the workplace. In 1952 the Arlington Council started a Child Care Center for Eastern Shore migrant workers and provided supplies and programs. Local child care centers were a few of the other projects in which CWU was a leader.

CWU's calendar revolves around an annual meeting in January, a World Day of Prayer (first Friday in March), May Fellowship Day (first Friday in May), and World Community Day (first Friday in November).

Scope and Content

The files of Church Women United consist of almost 5 linear feet and cover the time period 1944-2001. The collection is arranged into five series. Series 1 comprises the minutes of general meetings, executive committee meetings, forum meetings and other celebrations. The Annual Reports make up Series 2 and Series 3 is the subject files. A pamphlet describing their first 25 years is in the "History" file.

The collection also includes scrapbooks which constitute Series 4. The archivist completely photocopied the scrapbooks before deconstructing them for preservation purposes. All original materials were kept, except for newspaper clippings. Clippings were photocopied with the rest of the scrapbook and originals thrown away for preservation purposes. Scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, notices of meetings and celebrations, pamphlets and bulletins to promote local, regional, and national events, financial reports, annual reports, marketing materials to promote Church Women United (in Arlington and the larger organization), and in the later years, photographs.

A group of unfiled and unlabeled papers were placed in separate files chronologically. These constitute Series 5, and this is the location for the files for the most recent years. When appropriate some of these papers were incorporated into the subject and meeting files. The files contain information and flyers about other meetings, the Virginia CWU as well a few of the publications of the national CWU (Churchwoman) and Lead Time.

Series 6, Audio-visual materials, includes one videotape of Creating a Life that appeared on Arlington Community TV, December 20, 1990.

Arrangement

The order and division of the files are essentially the same as when the files were donated to the Center for Local History. All file names are the same as labeled by the CWU with the exception of Series 5 as noted above. Most files are in chronological order, such as the minutes, annual reports and scrapbooks, and the subject files are in alphabetical order. Some files include photographs and are indicated by an asterisk (*). Though the scrapbooks in Series 4 are arranged chronologically, the photocopied scrapbooks and contents of originals after deconstruction are in separate folders. The file(s) containing the photocopied scrapbook are placed before the file(s) containing the original contents. Files are marked in the finding aid as either "Scrapbook Photocopy" or "Scrapbook Originals" to differentiate the two. It is recommended researchers consult the photocopied scrapbooks before the originals. For example, newspaper clippings are only available in the photocopied files. Originals were not kept due to preservation purposes. The photocopied scrapbooks also allow the researcher to see how the creators of the scrapbooks arranged and grouped the materials on the page.

Adjunct Descriptive Data Related Material

Records relating to church groups are RG 6, Arlington County Churches; RG 77, Women's Aid Society, Presbyterian Church of Ballston, VA; and RG 123, Rock Springs Congregational United Church of Christ.

Other record groups pertaining to women's organizations in Arlington County are RG 16, Arlington County Federation of Women's Clubs; RG 17, Organized Women Voters of Arlington County; and RG 44, The League of Women Voters.

Since Church Women United was instrumental in the establishment of a prayer room at the Arlington Hospital (now the Virginia Hospital Center) and promoting the integration of the hospital, the researcher may be interested in RG 125, Virginia Hospital Center Records and RG 48, Records of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Arlington Branch.

Index Terms Subjects: Women in community organization Women -- United States -- Societies and clubs. Christian women -- Religious life. Women -- Religious life. Church Women United Arlington (Va.) Arlington County (Va.) Contents List Minutes of Meetings General Minutes Minutes, 1944-1948 1 Minutes, 1948-1954 1 Minutes, 1955-1959 1 Minutes, 1961-1962 1 Minutes, 1963-1967 1 Minutes, 1970-1974 1 Minutes, 1975-1979 1 Minutes, 1980-1982 1 Minutes, Celebrations and Annual Meetings Minutes, Celebrations and Annual Meeting, 1970-1974 1 Minutes, Celebrations and Annual Meeting, 1975-1980 1 Minutes, Celebrations and Annual Meeting, 1981-1984 2 Minutes, Celebrations and Annual Meeting, 1985-1987 2 Minutes, Celebrations and Annual Meeting, 1987-1990 2 Minutes, Celebrations and Annual Meeting, 1991-1999 2 Minutes, Executive Committee Minutes, Executive Board, 1959 2 Minutes, Executive Board, 1960 2 Minutes, Executive Committee, 1965-1970 2 Minutes, Executive Committee, 1978, 1980 2 Minutes, Executive Committee, 1981 2 Minutes, Executive Committee, 1983-1987 2 Minutes, Executive Committee, 1987-1990 3 Minutes, Executive Committee, 1991-1998* 3 Minutes, Forum Minutes, Forum, 1980 3 Minutes, Forum, 1981 3 Minutes, Forum, 1983-1987 3 Minutes, Forum, 1987-1990 3 Minutes, Forum, 1990-1995 3 Annual Reports Annual Reports, 1951-1965 3 Annual Reports, 1966-1971 3 Annual Reports, 1974-1977 3 Annual Reports, 1978-1983 4 Annual Reports, 1984-1987 4 Annual Reports, 1988-1991 4 Subject Files Arlington Council, 1961 4 Arlington Council, 1962 4 Arlington Council, 1964 4 Arlington Council, 1975 4 Arlington Hospital Chaplaincy, 1964-1997 4 Arlington Hospital Prayer Room, 1965-1983* 4 Attendance, 1983-1990 4 By-Laws, 1968-1985 4 Christian Social Relations Committee, 1951-1959 4 Christian Social Relations Committee, 1960-1966 5 Correspondence, 1975 5 Fund for the Fifth Decade, 1981-1986 5 General Data, 1965-1987 5 History, 1944-1994 5 Life Membership File, 1974 5 Membership Lists, 1971-1973 5 Membership Lists, 1974-1975 5 Membership Pamphlets, 1951-1997 5 President's File, Miscellaneous, 1965 5 President's Report, 1945-1949 5 Programs, 1963-1995 6 Projects, 1997-1998 6 Treasurer's Report, 1950-1984 6 Treasurer's Report, 1986-1991 6 Trinity Presbyterian Church, 1990-1995 6 United Church Women, 1967 6 Scrapbooks, Press Clippings, and Pamphlets Scrapbooks and Press Clippings

* Files have photographs

Arlington Council of United Church Women Scrapbook Photocopy, 1944-1952: 1944-1950 6 Arlington Council of United Church Women Scrapbook Photocopy, 1944-1952: 1947-1952 6 "Arlington Council of United Church Women," Scrapbook Originals, 1944-1952 (1) 6 "Arlington Council of United Church Women," Scrapbook Originals, 1944-1952 (2) 6 Arlington Council of United Church Women Scrapbook Photocopy, 1952-1959: 1952-1955 6 Arlington Council of United Church Women Scrapbook Photocopy, 1952-1959: 1952-1955 (Tall Document Box, see top shelf) 7 Arlington Council of United Church Women Scrapbook Photocopy, 1952-1959: 1955-1959 (Tall Document Box, see top shelf) 7 "Arlington Council of United Church Women," Scrapbook Originals, 1952-1959 (1) (Tall Document Box, see top shelf) 7 "Arlington Council of United Church Women," Scrapbook Originals, 1952-1955 (2) (Tall Document Box, see top shelf) 7 Arlington Council of United Church Women, 1960-1962, and United Church Women of Arlington, 1963-1967 and Church Women United in Arlington, 1968 Photocopy: 1960-1965 (Tall Document Box, see top shelf) 7 Arlington Council of United Church Women, 1960-1962, and United Church Women of Arlington, 1963-1967 and Church Women United in Arlington, 1968 Photocopy: 1965-1968* (Tall Document Box, see top shelf) 7 Arlington Council of United Church Women, 1960-1962, and United Church Women of Arlington, 1963-1967 and Church Women United in Arlington, 1968 Photocopy: 1969-1970* (Tall Document Box, see top shelf) 7 "Arlington Council of United Church Women, 1960-1962, and United Church Women of Arlington, 1963-1967 and Church Women United in Arlington, 1968," Scrapbook Originals, 1960-1970 (1) 8 "Arlington Council of United Church Women, 1960-1962, and United Church Women of Arlington, 1963-1967 and Church Women United in Arlington, 1968," Scrapbook Originals, 1960-1970 (2) 8 "Arlington Council of United Church Women, 1960-1962, and United Church Women of Arlington, 1963-1967 and Church Women United in Arlington, 1968," Scrapbook Originals, 1960-1970 (3) 8 Church Women United, 1970-1975-6 (part) Scrapbook Photocopy: 1970-1971 8 Church Women United, 1970-1975-6 (part) Scrapbook Photocopy: 1972-1976* 9 "Church Women United," Scrapbook Originials, 1972-1976* 9 Church Women United, 1976 (part)-1985 Scrapbook Photocopy: 1976-1980* 9 Church Women United, 1976 (part)-1985 Scrapbook Photocopy: 1980-1983* 9 Church Women United, 1976 (part)-1985 Scrapbook Photocopy: 1983-1985* 9 Church Women United Scrapbook Originals, 1976-1985 (1) 10 Church Women United Scrapbook Originals, 1976-1985 (2) 10 Church Women United Records, 1986-1993 Scrapbook Photocopy: 1986-1988* 10 Church Women United Records, 1986-1993 Scrapbook Photocopy: 1989-1991* 10 Church Women United Records, 1986-1993 Scrapbook Photocopy: 1991-1993* 10 "Church Women United Records," Scrapbook Originals, 1986-1993 (1) 11 "Church Women United Records," Scrapbook Originals, 1986-1993 (2) 11 Church Women United Scrapbook Photocopy, 1994 11 Church Women United Scrapbook Originals, 1994 11 Pamphlets Paphlets 11 Miscellaneous Files 1953-1967 11 1968-1979 11 1980-1996 11 1996-2001 11 Audio-Visual Materials VHS tape, Creating a Life, 12/20/1990 12