This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
This collection contains a published, bound report outlining the findings of Noren's survey and questionnaires on the state of Christianity and urban churches in the then British colony of Hong Kong during the years 1958 – 1962. The report contains detailed and specific information on the population of churches in geographic regions of the greater Hong Kong area, information about specific populations broken down by denomination, and comparative information on the growth and/or decline of each congregation's population and financial health since the previous report published in 1958 and the initial report conducted in 1955. Also included is a Chinese/English glossary.
This series contains a published, bound report outlining the findings of Noren's survey and questionnaires on the state of Christianity and urban churches in the then British colony of Hong Kong during the years 1958 – 1962. The report contains detailed and specific information on the population of churches in geographic regions of the greater Hong Kong area, information about specific populations broken down by denomination, and comparative information on the growth and/or decline of each congregation's population and financial health since the previous report published in 1958 and the initial report conducted in 1955. Also included is a Chinese/English glossary.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL6, China
This collection is arranged in one series in original order.
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
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.
Item description, MRL6: Loren E. Noren papers, 1962, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
Material was cataloged by Lynn A. Grove on 1988-08-03. Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. The collection was transferred from the designation MRL12: Ecumenical/World to MRL6: China due to the nature of the scope of the material. The finding aid was created by Elizabeth Beller in 2013 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2020.
2020-07-22 PDF converted to EAD and description updated by Leah Edelman.
Loren E. Noren was an American missionary of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Societies stationed in the Canton and Hong Kong regions of China in the early to mid-20th Century. Noren attended Ottawa University in Kansas and Andover-Newton Theological School in Massachusetts. Noren received a Master of Sacred Theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Through his association with Union Theological Seminary and the Missionary Research Library, Noren published part of his STM thesis work in the MRL's Occasional Bulletin Volume 12, Issue number 7 (September 22, 1961.)
Noren also undertook and was involved in numerous studies of the state of urban churches in Hong Kong. At the time of his studies, Hong Kong was a British colony undergoing significant population, sociological and economic changes in the aftermath of the multiple chaotic historic events which befell the city including the Japanese invasion, World War II and the subsequent Chinese Civil War between the Communists and Nationalists. Prior to his time in Hong Kong, Noren was stationed with his wife and family in the Swatow region of China. According to a newspaper article published in the Oak Park Oak Leaves paper on May 27, 1954, Noren and three fellow missionaries were detained by Chinese Communists and held in solitary confinement for months. The men were released in January of 1953. The experience did not deter Noren from his work as a missionary. In 1954 he was appointed Secretary-Treasurer of the American Baptist Mission in Hong Kong. Noren died in 1992.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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| Subject | ||
|---|---|---|
| Missions -- China | CLIO Catalog | ArchiveGRID |
| Missions -- Interdenominational cooperation | CLIO Catalog | ArchiveGRID |