Religious History
The Rev. George Bennard (right), of
Albion, Mich., author of the hymn "The
Old Rugged Cross" from the Church of
God in Michigan, General Assembly
records
The Michigan Historical Collections (MHC) has extensive holdings of records for a number of Christian denominations within the state. These consist both of records from the denominational office and records of individual congregations. Records of denominational offices include:
- Episcopal Church
- Church of God in Michigan
- Lutheran Church in America
- United Church of Christ
- United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.
Records of individual congregations (primarily from Washtenaw County and southeastern Michigan) focus primarily on these five denominations, but also include Christian churches of many other denominations as well as several Jewish congregations.
The library, in addition, collects papers and published biographies of individual clergy, pioneer and modern-day missionaries, and religiously based organizations (e.g. National Temperance and Prohibition Movement).
The MHC has a significant and growing collection of records from African American churches and papers of African American clergy, primarily from Ann Arbor and Detroit. Some of these records have been microfilmed and are available on Inter-Library Loan.
Details about library holdings are available through MIRLYN through names of denominations, local churches, and individuals, and by place names with the subdivision --Church history.
Church of God, Muskegon Heights, Mich., ca. 1917,
from the Church of God in
Michigan, General Assembly records