{"value"=>"<p>The <em render=\"bold\">DENOMINATIONS AND CONGREGATIONS SERIES, 1930-1989, (4 linear feet)</em>contains clippings, newsletters, journals, yearbooks, bulletins, brochures, programs, articles, and other printed material documenting the history and activities of the scores of African-American Pentecostal and Holiness denominations. There is virtually no correspondence. The larger denominations, particularly Bible Way Church World Wide, Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Church of Christ (Holiness), Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Church of the Living God (CWFF), Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, and United Holy Church, include a wider range of material than the smaller ones which are primarily limited to miscellaneous clippings from the African-American press.</p> <p>The larger denominations with multiple folders are arranged by format, such as publications or programs. In the case of COGIC, by far the largest denomination represented, there are also separate folders for individual congregations arranged by state and for subjects. The size of the COGIC material reflects both its considerable growth and the donor's membership in a COGIC congregation in Florida. Small independent congregations for which there are single items are arranged by state.</p> <p>Those denominations whose folders contain anniversary yearbooks or journals with a comprehensive denominational history and financial and personnel information include Bible Way Church World Wide; Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth; Church of God by Faith; Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith; Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God; Pentecostal Assemblies of the World; COGIC; Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith; and United Holy Church of America.</p> <p>Denominations whose folders containing church newspapers or other assorted manuals of historic significance dating from the 1930s include Bibleway Churches Worldwide, Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, COGIC, Church of God by Faith, Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God, and Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. The newspapers often reprint sermons, discuss reports from congregations or committees, document the activities of church leaders, give wide coverage to annual conferences and anniversary celebrations, and comment on current events.</p> <p>The clippings scattered throughout the collection are primarily from the African-American press dating from the 1940s to the 1970s. The newspapers which predominate are the <span class=\"title\">Chicago Defender,</span>the <span class=\"title\">Los Angeles Sentinel,</span>the <span class=\"title\">Indianapolis Recorder,</span>and the <span class=\"title\">Kansas City Call.</span>The clippings record the activities of the congregations documenting musical events, speakers, conferences, organizational changes, and obituaries. There are some references to secular political events such as Emmett Till's funeral held at Roberts Temple COGIC in Chicago in 1955 and Martin Luther King's final speech at the COGIC Mason Temple in Memphis in 1968.</p> <p>Similarities in names of denominations are often the result of historic divisions, such as those occurring in the Apostolic Faith Church of God, the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, and the United Holy Church of America. The “Church of God” folder may include several different denominations as there are more than ten separate Churches of God whose congregations are often difficult to distinguish, particularly in newspaper articles.</p>"}