Collections : [Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary]

Ralph W. Sockman was a professor at Union Theological Seminary, pastor emeritus of the Christ Church (Methodist) in New York City, a prolific author, and a featured speaker of the Sunday morning NBC radio network's program National Radio Pulpit. The collection contains transcripts of National Radio Pulpit addresses.

Rebecca Todd Peters is a Distinguished Emerging Scholar and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Elon University; she earned her M. Div., M. Phil. and PhD degrees at Union Theological Seminary. This collection contains leadership and organizational materials on conferences sponsored by the Ecumenical Young Women United--North America, and reports and correspondence from the National Network of Presbyterian College Women.

The Primer Encuentro Latinoamericano de Cristianos por el Socialismo was a conference organized by a group of 80 Chilean priests (known as "Las Ochenta" and later as "Cristianos por el Socialismo"). The primary goals of the conference were to unite Latin American Christian groups across the church's hierarchical and denominational divides and to foster the integration of Christian and socialist ideologies. The PELCS records consist of reports, correspondence, publications, and other materials relating to the conference, including essays on the conference's 10 themes: 1. Underdevelopment, dependence and the transition to socialism in Latin America; 2. Mobilization of the masses; 3. Conditions for a strategic alliance between Christians and Marxists; 4. Ideology and religion, cultural revolution and the Christian faith; 5. Class struggle, ethical positions and obstacles for Christians; 6. Christian institutions and ideology, a critical evaluation; 7. Political action and faith, liberation theology; 8. Popular parties, unions, and pragmatic Christianity; 9. Field-labor movements and church initiatives; 10. The middle class, women in the revolution, and the Christian factor.

Helfferich was a pastor of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and served the Church World Service of the National Council of Churches of Christ from 1949-1970. This collection contains Reginald Helfferich's correspondence, diaries, family and biographical material, publications, and other personal materials; professional materials including information about Heifer Project International, photographs, materials related to Helfferich's ministerial work as pastor of Christ Evangelical and Reformed Church of Bath, Pennsylvania, and materials related to Helfferich's work with Church World Service (CWS); as well as audio and visual memorabilia from both Helfferich's personal and professional life, primarily Kodachrome diapositive slides, photographs, and postcards from Helfferich's travels in Europe, Africa, India, South America, and beyond.

Reinhold Niebuhr was the Dodge Professor of Applied Christianity at Union Theological Seminary from 1928-1960, and his scholarship centered on Christian ethics as a means to articulate a Realist vision of American democracy. The collection contains annotated typescripts, galley proofs, and drafts with corrections of some of Niebuhr's published work, select Niebuhr correspondence, and general files including the Bible given to Niebuhr as a remembrance of his ordination, obituaries of both Reinhold and Ursula Niebuhr, photocopies from Niebuhr's biography with underlines by President Jimmy Carter, and notes relating to an exhibition on Niebuhr by Burke Library staff.

This collection contains copies of handwritten and typed reports, in German, from the Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft (Rhenish Missionary Society) missionaries located in Southern Africa, Borneo, Sumatra, Nias and New Guinea.