Winchester-Frederick County Ministerial Association Records

1290 WFCHS/THL

Inventory created by Archives Staff 12/1979. Last revised 12/2019

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers.

USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.

EXTENT: 4.25 linear feet

DATE: 1913-2005

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The collection contains records and other materials from the Winchester and Frederick County Ministerial Associations, including correspondence, minute books, directories, and bulletins. Further records from the period following the merger of these two organizations in 1955 include directories, meeting minutes, news clippings, and announcements.

This collection also includes a religious survey of Winchester conducted in 1946 by the Association. It contains file cards with information about church attendance and religious affiliation of approximately 2,500 Winchester City residents.

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL: Ministerial associations were ecumenical organizations working to support fellow clergy and to address local issues. They sprang up in many locations across the United States in the twentieth century. The Winchester Ministerial Association was active at least as early as 1913. A similar association for Frederick County began meeting in 1929 and continued until about 1942. In 1955, there was an effort to revive the Frederick County association and join with the Winchester organization, giving rise to the Winchester-Frederick County Ministerial Association.

Initially, both the Winchester and Frederick County Ministerial Association drew its members from clergy of the main Protestant churches in the area. Its membership gradually expanded to include a greater number of Protestant congregations as well as the clergy from Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church and Beth El Jewish Congregation.

In its early years, the Winchester and Frederick County Associations were concerned with many aspects of religious and moral life of the residents of Winchester and Frederick County. To encourage religious observance and adherence to Christian living, the Association weighed in on a variety of matters such as education, law enforcement, and public morals. The organization’s focus changed in the later twentieth-century as it attempted to offer more pastoral care, social services, youth programs, and support for drug and alcohol addiction and mental health issues.

CITE AS: Winchester-Frederick County Ministerial Association Records, 1290 WFCHS/THL, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, Virginia

ACQUISITION INFORMATION: Acquired as a gift.

ORGANIZATION:

BOX 1: Winchester Ministerial Association, 1913 - 1945

Correspondence, 1920s, 17 leaves, typescript, manuscript, printed

Financial Statements, 1920s

Minute Book, Jan. 1, 1913-April 20, 1920, 1 volume (unnumbered pages) ; 25 cm

Minute Book, June 27, 1921-September 17, 1928, 1 volume (150 pages, some blank) ; 31 cm; includes folder of loose papers found in minute book

Religious Census Instructions – Feb. 13, 1939, 2 leaves, typescript

Bulletins, 1944-1945, 4 items, printed

BOXES 2-4: Religious Survey of Winchester, 1946

The Religious Survey of Winchester contains over 2,500 file cards organized alphabetically, as follows:

Box 1: Adams – Guess

Box 2: Habel – Rycus

Box 3: Quartz - Zuckerman

BOX 5: Frederick County Ministerial Association; Reorganization

Frederick County Ministerial Association ledger book, 1929-1933, contains Constitution, minutes, clippings, correspondence, 1 volume (100 pages, some blank) ; 26 cm, manuscript/typescript/printed

Frederick County Ministerial Association - ledger book, 1933-1935, contains membership roll, minutes, news clippings, 1 volume (152 pages, some blank) ; 26 cm, manuscript/typescript/printed

Ministerial association reorganization, 1955, 1 leaf, typescript (photocopy)

BOX 6: Winchester-Frederick County Ministerial Association Meeting Minutes, 1965-2005

Minutes, 1963-1969, 16 leaves, 3 pages, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes, 1970-1974, 63 leaves, 16 pages, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes, 1975-1979, 29 leaves, 35 pages, typescript (photocopy); 2 leaves, manuscript

Minutes 1980-1984, unnumbered pages, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes 1985-1989, unnumbered pages, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes 1990- 1991, 22 leaves, 1 page, typescript (photocopy); 1 leaf, manuscript 

Minutes, 1991-1992, 40 leaves, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes, 1993-1994,57 leaves, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes, 1005-1996, 25 leaves, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes, 1997-1998, 50 leaves, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes, 1999-2000, 33 leaves, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes, 2001-2002, 46 leaves, typescript (photocopy)

Minutes, 2003-2005, 48 leaves, typescript, (photocopy)

BOX 7

Directories, 1967-1979 (incomplete), 6 items, typescript (photocopy)
1967-1968
1971-1972
1973
1974
1975
1979

Directories, 1980-1989 (1988 missing), 9 items, typescript (photocopy)
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1989

Directories, 1990-1996, 10 items, typescript (photocopy)

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

Directories, 2000-2005, six items, typescript (photocopy)

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

Church Bulletins

Announcements, Miscellaneous Items

News Clippings

OVERSIZE

MAPCASE 1, DRAWER 6

Winchester Ministerial Association poster "Church Directory"