Discussion of Religious Archives at MAC 2017

MAC members gather at a reception at the KANEKO gallery

The library at the KANEKO gallery

The 2017 Midwest Archivist Conference (MAC) was held in Omaha, NE, April 5-8. The conference is an excellent opportunity for archivists to learn from their peers with panels, presentations, and tours. Most importantly of all, MAC offers its members the chance to gather and discuss shared challenges and possible solutions in a supportive environment.

2017 MAC Members meeting in Omaha, NE

One of the final panels of the conference included CARA member Malachy McCarthy of Claretian Missionaries Archives USA-Canada. In "Endangered Archives: Issues Facing Catholic Religious Collections in the United States," Malachy discussed the social and historical importance of the records held by religious orders, and the urgent need to safeguard them for the future as more and more congregations reach completion.

An example of the types of records to be found in religious order archives:
a 1942 letter from a Cenacle Sister in occupied France.
Courtesy the Archives of the North American Province of the Cenacle

Presenting with Malachy was Jane Kenamore, of Kenamore and Klinkow, who reported on a project where she consulted on the creation of a central repository for four provinces of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The final panelist was Sister Thomas More Daily, OSU, of the Ursuline Archives, Central Province, USA. She explained that the organizational structure of her congregation (multiple provinces, as well as independent houses) complicated any plans they might make to centralize and consolidate the archives. Nevertheless, the Ursulines, like many other congregations, are undaunted in the mission to preserve their history.

To learn more about this year's conference, visit the MAC website.

Job Posting: Archivist, SSND North American Archives, Milwaukee WI

The School Sisters of Notre Dame North American Archives is seeking applicants for the position of full-time Archivist in Milwaukee, WI.

Position Description: The Archivist provides vision and leadership in directing and managing the newly consolidated archives for the School Sisters of Notre Dame in North America. The Archivist reviews, updates and implements policies, procedures and best practices for the acquisition, organization, preservation and accessibility of materials that document the life and mission of the Congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND). Initially, this will involve visiting the current SSND Archives at eight sites in the United States and Canada and assisting in the relocation of these archives to the new consolidated archives at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee.

Applications requested by May 5, 2017. For more details and instructions, please visit the SSND website.

Catholic News Service Reports on Religious Archives Panel

In an article entitled "Panel: Archives of religious orders tell history of U.S. church," Rhina Guidos writes about the Fate of Catholic Religious Order Archives conference hosted by Catholic University on March 29, 2017.

CARA member Malachy McCarty of the Claretian Missionaries Archives USA-Canada participated in this panel and talked about the importance of religious order records: "... if historical materials contained in religious order records are not made available, an inaccurate story will get told..."

The complete article can be read here. Special thanks to Joan Sweeney for bringing this article to our attention.

CARA Spring Meeting to be held May 11, 2017

Women Building Chicago 1790-1990, co-edited by
our presenter, Rima Lunin Schultz

The Steering Committee invites you to a "lunch and learn" meeting on Thursday, May 11, 2017. In a slight departure from our regular meeting format, we will be gathering at a Chicago restaurant to socialize and hear a presentation from noted local historian, Rima Lunin Schultz. See details below.

Date: May 11, 2017

Time: 1-3pm

Location:
Mrs. Murphy’s & Sons Irish Bistro http://irishbistro.com/
3905 North Lincoln, Chicago, IL
Please note that Mrs. Murphy's provides free parking in their lot at the corner of Lincoln & Byron, next to Martyrs.

Cost: $15 per person, which includes the price of a hot lunch, coffee, and tea. Other beverages can be ordered at additional cost. The entree will be Chicken Marsala, and a vegetarian option of grilled vegetables is available.

Presentation: "Reflections on the Journey of a Converted Historian," a talk about the experience of finding and utilizing religious archives to enrich the narrative of American history by Rima Lunin Schultz.

Rima is a historian with a Ph.D. from Boston University who has written articles and books on Jane Addams, Chicago women in Catholic and Protestant faith traditions, and the culture of urban elites. Rima is the editor, with Adele Hast, of Women Building Chicago 1790‑1990: A Biographical Dictionary (2001). She serves on the advisory boards of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum and the Jane Addams Papers Project. Her recent publications include: "Jane Addams, Apotheosis of Social Christianity," Church History 84:1 (March 2015); "'Sister Builders' in Chicago," with Ellen Skerrett, American Catholic Studies Newsletter, Vol. 42, Number 1 (Spring 2015). This article discusses the Sisters of Charity Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs) and the construction of educational institutions—architecturally and pedagogically! Coming out this summer in a book of essays, Crossings and Dwellings, is Rima’s chapter, "Public School 'Secularists' vs. Women Religious: Competing Visions for Educating Catholic Immigrants in Jane Addams's Progressive Era Chicago, 1890-1925." In 2015, Rima won the Bishop's Award from the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago for her contributions as a founding member of their Archive and Record Management committee as well as for her work on the histories of the St. James Cathedral, deaconess ministry, and women in the Episcopal Church.

If you would like to attend this meeting, please RSVP to cenacle.archives@gmail.com by April 21, as space is limited. Please indicate if you would prefer the vegetarian option for lunch. CARA will be collecting membership dues at this meeting, so remember to bring $15 for the meal, as well as $10 for new or renewing membership.

We look forward to a fun and elucidating meeting on May 11!