Describing Archives: A Content Standard

NTE2cg480.xml Guide to the Blackburn Collection of Pullman Community Congregational Church Records 1961-1977 Blackburn Collection of Pullman Community Congregational Church Records Finding aid prepared by Barbara Kovarik Gahl Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections © 2022 Finding aid encoded by Suzanne James-Bacon. 2022 Finding aid written in English. English. Finding aid based on DACS 2nd Edition ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard). Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections Cage 480 Community Congregational Church (Pullman, Wash.) Blackburn Collection of Pullman Community Congregational Church Records 1961-1977 0.75 Linear feet of shelf space 2 Boxes Committee records, minutes, calendars, budget data, newsletters and other papers relating to activities of the Pullman, Washington, Community Congregational Church, as received and collected by the Blackburn family. Collection materials are in English

Charles and Alice Blackburn were active members of the Church and involved in many types of committee work. Charles was a member of the Board of Deacons, and the Self-Study Commission; Alice was a member of the Board of Trustees and the Church Council, and they both were involved the weekly Sunday night discussion groups held at the Church.

The Pullman Community Congregational Church was originally incorporated in 1886 as the First Congregational Church of Pullman. It was the first church formally organized in Pullman, although a loosely-organized Methodist congregation preceded it by four years. The Congregationalists located their church building at the corner of High and Paradise Streets on Pullman's Pioneer Hill, rebuilding at the same location when their structure burned in the fire which destroyed much of the town in 1890. The church entered into a federation with a Pullman Baptist congregation in 1913, after which a new building was constructed on the outskirts of the Washington State University campus. The federation, however, tended to be heavily dominated by the Congregationalist element; consequently the Baptist congregation lost the recognition of the Baptist conventions. This resulted in the creation of a new and separate Baptist congregation and virtual nullification of the federation. Recognizing that the Federated Church was in reality but another manifestation of the First Congregational Church, the pastor and officers reincorporated the organization as the Community Congregational Church in 1937. The Community Congregational Church continued to use the Federated Church buildings and facilities after 1937. In 1954, the old Federated Church building was converted to meeting rooms and a new church building was constructed in an adjacent location. In 1961, the church entered into the United Church of Christ, a national denomination encompassing Congregational and Reformed churches. In 1990, the church drafted a constitution and in 1999 the church underwent renovation. As early as 1954, the church's Women's Fellowship opened The Thrift Shop, which is still in business as of 2017. It is Pullman's oldest second hand clothing store.

Committee records, minutes, calendars, budget data, newsletters and other papers relating to activities of the Pullman, Washington, Community Congregational Church, as received and collected by the Blackburn family. The records include an annual report; Board of Deacons and Board of Trustees records; budget information; church calendars; records from committees such as: Church Council, Education Committee, Self-Study Commission, and others; copies of the Church newsletter, The Communicator; the constitution and revision proposals; ministerial and general correspondence; orders of worship; sermons; membership lists; and some records of activities related to the Vietnam War. Although the records cover the period 1961-1977, the bulk of the material dates from 1966-1976.

The records are in a single series, arranged alphabetically by subject.

This collection is open and available for research use.

[Item description]

Blackburn Collection of Pullman Community Congregational Church Records, 1961-1977 (Cage 480)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

The Charles E. Blackburn Papers were donated to the Washington State University Libraries by Alice K. Blackburn in October and December, l977 (MS 77-61). When the papers were processed in 1983, the Church papers were seperated into a new accession (MS 83-15).

This collection was seperated from the Charles E. Blackburn Papers and processed in 1983.

Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers, 1930-1976 (Cage 479)

Pullman Community Congregational Church Records, 1886-1974 (Cage 314)

Pullman Community Congregational Church Records, 1891-1978 (Cage 448)

Preliminary Guide to the Pullman Community Congregational Church Records, 1914-2013 (MSSM.038)

West, Otho. I Remember and the Congregationalists. Pullman, Wash.: Community Congregational Church, 1970

Community Congregational United Church of Christ. Centennial History, 1886-1986 : Community Congregational United Church of Christ, Pullman, Washington. [Community Congregational United Church]; 1986.

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Blackburn, Charles Edwin, 1915-1976 -- Archives Blackburn, Alice K. -- Archives Blackburn, Charles Edwin, 1915-1976 Blackburn, Alice K., 1917-2013 Community Congregational Church (Pullman, Wash.) -- Records and correspondence Community Congregational United Church of Christ (Pullman, Wash.) -- Records and correspondence Community Congregational United Church of Christ (Pullman, Wash.) Congregational churches -- Washington (State) -- Pullman -- Records and correspondence Church records and registers -- Washington (State) -- Pullman Religion Washington (State) 1 1 Annual Report 1976-1977 1 item. 1 2 Board of Deacons 1967-1976 13 items. 1 3 Board of Trustees 1965-1967 50 items. 1 4 Budget Information 1974-1977 50 items. 1 5 Church Calendars 1969-1976 6 items. 1 6 Church Council 1972-1975 21 items. 1 7 ChurchRental Policy 1973 undated 4 items. 1 8 Committees 1966-1974 23 items. 1 9 The Communicator 1970-1977 60 items. 2 10 Constitution and Revisions 1961-1974 10 items. 2 11 Education Committee 1966-1972 18 items. 2 12 General Correspondence 1966-1975 16 items. 2 13 Ministerial Correspondence 1962-1975 16 items. 2 14-15 Orders of Worship 1964-1976 100 items. 2 16 Postcard Announcements 1968-1975 16 items. 2 17 Self-Study Commission 1972-1973 20 items. 2 18 Sermons 1969-1976 12 items. 2 19 Various Lists of Members 1966-1972 11 items. 2 20 Vietnam War-Related Activities 1973 3 items.