Overview
This collection consists of Ralph Norman Helverson's journals, sermons, and writings. The papers span 1932-2001.
Dates
- Creation: 1932-2001.
Access
There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Extent
16 boxesThe bulk of this collection consists of Ralph Norman Helverson's journals, which include his personal day-to-day reflections as well as entries related to his ministerial life.The collection also includes clippings, photographs, sermons, meditations, radio addresses, correspondence, and worship materials.
Biographical / Historical
Ralph Norman Helverson (1912-2007) was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He received a BA from Anderson College, a BD from Garrett Theological Seminary in 1940, and an MA from Cornell University in 1943. In 1969, he received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Meadville Lombard Theological School. From 1942 to 1958 he served as minister of the First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, New York, where he was also a chaplain at Cornell University. From 1959 to 1977 he served as minister of First Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he engaged in a pulpit exchange with Dr. Stewart Carter of Cambridge, England, and hosted a weekly radio program entitled "Window on Harvard Square." He was also a member of the United Ministry at Harvard University and Radcliffe College. After his service in Cambridge, Helverson served congregations in West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, and Naples, Florida; San Diego, California; West Hartford, Connecticut; and Dedham, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Ministerial Fellowship Committee. His publications include many sermons, plus collections of meditations, such as: Speak to the Earth (1955), Impassioned Clay (1955), and Living the Questions (1977).
Acquisition Information
Gift of Wynanda Helverson, 2007.
- Title
- Helverson, Ralph Norman. Papers, 1932-2001: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div00601
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository
Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.
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