Committee on Cooperation in Latin America (CCLA) and Congress on Christian Work in Latin America (CCWLA) records, 1914 -- 1956

Collection context

Creator:
Congress on Christian Work in Latin America (1916 : Panama, Panama)
Abstract:
The Committee on Cooperation in Latin America began in 1913 as a result of the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910. The Committee held the Congress on missionary work in Latin America in Panama in 1916. Records include newspaper articles, questionnaires, field reports and final reports of the eight commissions, correspondence, and minutes.
Extent:
6 linear feet (6 linear feet; 13 boxes)
Language:
English .
Scope and content:

This collection contains information on the planning of the CCLA, correspondence, conferences, and other information relevant to the organization, setting the preliminary stages for the Congress on Christian Work in Latin America, as well as showing the continued work of the organization after 1916. This collection also contains reports, correspondence, minutes, publications, and other related administrative records of the congress, with the majority of the material being the commissions' questionnaires along with the reports received from Protestant missionaries in Latin America and final reports of the Commissions.

Biographical / historical:

The Committee on Cooperation in Latin America (CCLA) began in 1913, an unanticipated outcome of World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh, 1910. The CCLA represented the missionary agencies at work in the West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America. It later became a Division of the Foreign Missions of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States. The CCLA organized and held the Congress on Christian Work in Latin America (CCWLA) first in 1916. Bulletins from this collection indicate that the Congress was called in response to the Edinburgh Conference's lack of discussion on Latin American issues. From 1910-1916, Rev. W.F. Oldham was chairman of the committees whose purpose was to determine topics for discussion and create corresponding commissions. The CCWLA was intentionally modeled on the Edinburgh Conference of 1910 and was held in Panama City from February 10-20, 1916. In correspondence it is referred to as the "Panama Conference." The attendees included officers and members of mission boards, missionaries, Latin American church leaders, Christian laypersons from North American and Europe, along with businessmen from Latin America in sympathy with the missionary's efforts. Each of the eight commissions' reports were presented and discussed during the daily sessions, while the night and Sunday sessions consisted of inspirational speeches and devotional services. Each commission's final report reflects a weighty collection of information from missionaries in Latin America. The eight commissions created separate questionnaires and sent these to correspondent missionaries in Latin America. The missionaries' responses were reviewed and incorporated into the final report of each commission. In order to implement the resolutions of the CCWLA, sectional conferences were later held in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico from March to April of 1916. These conferences were to serve two purposes. First, they allowed for a local discussion of the issues raised by the commissions' final reports. Secondly, they served to bring the resolutions of the conference into the mission churches operating at the local level.

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Onsite storage.

Terms of access:

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.

Preferred citation:

Item description, MRL 9: Committee on Cooperation in Latin America and Congress on Christian Work in Latin America Records, 1914-1956, series #, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Location of this collection:
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Contact:
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