Scope and Contents
This collection includes some of the Berry Street Conference essays, plus correspondence about the conferences and a photograph of some of the early members of the conference, which is dated 1869. Many of the essays from the conference have been lost, so this collection does not include a complete set of the essays. Essays dating from 1993 on have been published in The Selected Essays of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association. See the publication The Berry Street Conference by Rudy Nemser for a listing of all titles, officers, and speakers (not essays) for the Berry Street Conference.
Dates
- Creation: 1869-1979
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Extent
1 boxesBiographical / Historical
The Berry Street Conference, which convened for the first time on May 30, 1820, was organized by the Rev. William Ellery Channing. Its purpose was to be a forum where liberal Christian ministers could meet and exchange practical ideas for strengthening their ministries. The conference became an annual event, and it included the presentation of an essay which was delivered at each meeting. The conference has become an integral part of the annual meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, where the reading of the Berry Street Essay is the final event of the gathering.
Processing Information
This finding aid was migrated as part of the legacy finding aid project, 2023-2024. Materials were not reviewed as part of this project to verify accuracy of the existing description. In order to make finding aids compliant with DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), some titles have been updated, and in cases where no date information appeared in the legacy finding aid, the material was designated undated.
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- div00136
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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