Gathered at the River project collection
Scope and Contents
Included are materials gathered during the research portion of the Gathered at the River publication project. Only a portion of the churches included in the final publication are represented by the materials gathered here.
However, additional materials on the other churches are scattered throughout the various archival and book collections of the Grand Rapids History & Special Collections department. In particular, Collection 096, the Western Michigan Genealogical Society Church Records Collection, includes historical records from the contributing churches preserved on microfilm.
Additionally, some area churches have their own archives or libraries, where original church records and church publications can also be found.
The Gathered at the River collection contains the Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities surveys, correspondences, address listings and examples of unused forms. There are examples of Church directories (many pictorial), minutes from committee meetings, miscellaneous items (such as napkins, postcards, sermon cards), pictures, books, newspaper articles from the Grand Rapids Press and other sources, correspondences from committees and pastors to the parish and individuals, Calvin College student papers, histories by Church community members and outside sources, programs, commemorative programs (for 25th, 75th, 100th anniversaries), brochures, statements of beliefs, records of membership and other statistics, and financial reports.
Most of the material focuses on events during the 1900s, but materials can be dated to the late 1800s. Most material covers the last half-century to about 1990 (when the Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities survey was done).
Dates
- circa 1850-1993
Creator
- Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities (Organization)
Project history
The project began with a church history writing workshop put on by the Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities on June 6, 1990. Participants included representatives from the Grand Rapids Press, City Historian Gordon Olson and James Bratt, professor of American religious history at Calvin College, and others. A comprehensive questionnaire was mailed out to area churches.
This survey response and church histories, supplemented by information from various documents supplied by the churches, was compiled into the publication Gathered at the River. The broad history of Grand Rapids churches written for the volume by James Bratt and Christopher Meehan is supplemented by a comprehensive list of Grand Rapids churches compiled by Father Dennis Morrow, Pastor at SS Peter and Paul and archivist for the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.
Also contributing to the publication were: Aaron Phipps, an artist for the Grand Rapids Press; Linda Samuelson, the director of the Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities and Grand Rapids City Commissioner; Andrew Angelo, an editor for the Grand Rapids Press.
Since 1993, Father Dennis Morrow has maintained files that update the directory section. An index, missing from the original publication, was compiled by Patricia Bravender of the Grand Rapids Public Library, and is included here in an appendix.
Brief history of Grand Rapids area churches
Since the settlement of the Grand Rapids area in the early 1800s, religion has been a part of its people. Beginning with the missionary work of Bishop Baraga to the building of permanent church structures, Grand Rapids has been the site of many different parishes. Since settlers of the Grand Rapids area were not all of one faith, many denominations began their own church communities. There were Jews, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists and so on. Later on, the emergence of the Christian Reformed faith added more church communities to the map.
From the storefront church to mighty cathedrals, the Grand Rapids landscape was dotted with churches. The amount of different churches in the area is proof that religion is important to the people of Grand Rapids, something Gathered at the River illustrates.
Extent
7.7 Linear Feet (15 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Published in 1993, "Gathered at the river: Grand Rapids, Michigan and its people of faith" details the history of churches in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The book was written by James D. Bratt and Christopher H. Meehan and funded through the Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities. This collection includes questionnaires, histories and other documents collected during the research process, including church directories, programs and books.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities, accession numbers 1998.019, 1999.104 and 2004.050.
- Title
- Finding aid for the Gathered at the River project collection
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Grand Rapids History Center Repository
Grand Rapids Public Library
111 Library Street NE
Grand Rapids Michigan 49503 USA
616-988-5497
localhis@grpl.org