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By The Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections Staff
Collection Overview
Title: Sojourners Records, 1971-2006
ID: SC/023
Primary Creator: Sojourners Fellowship (1970-)
Extent: 92.0 boxes. More info below.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged by series with folder level control.
Date Acquired: 00/00/1988
Subjects: Abortion -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Afro-Americans -- Civil rights, Christianity -- 20th century, Christianity and justice, Christianity and politics -- History -- 20th century, Christianity and politics -- United States, Christians -- Political activity, Church and social problems - United States, Church and state -- Biblical teaching, Church and the world -- United States, Conscience -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Disarmament -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Ecology -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Environmental protection -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Evangelicalism -- 20th century, Government, Resistance to -- Religious aspects, Liberalism (Religion) -- United States, Nonviolence -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Peace -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, People's Christian Coalition, Pressure groups -- United States, Racism -- United States, Social ethics, Sojourners -- History, Sojourners Fellowship -- Archives, Sojourners Fellowship -- History, United States -- Church history -- 20th century, United States -- Race relations, Wallis, Jim, Wallis, Jim -- Interviews
Forms of Material: Administrative Records, Articles, Audiotapes, Correspondence, Filmstrips, Financial Records, Videotapes
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Sojourners Collection contains the archival papers of the Christian social concern and community group known by that name. Sojourners traces its origin to a group of seven students at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, (see
Jim Wallis) who called for a new and rigorous application of Biblical ethics to American Culture. Believing that the church was losing the current generation, they spoke of a need for "an orthodox Biblical theology and the total Gospel of Jesus Christ [which] necessitate a radical commitment to and activism for social justice." The organization began publishing a newspaper in 1971 and was incorporated the next year as The People's Christian Coalition. Housed in the collection are items relating to Sojourners magazine and the Washington, DC community. Occupying approximately 38 linear feet, the material is divided into the following series: The first five series deal with the official organ of the organization; Sojourners magazine. First published in 1971 as Post American: Voice of the People's Christian Coalition, the periodical changed its title in 1975. A complete run of the magazine is housed with the collection. The "Postmark" series contains subscribers' letters to Sojourners, where they are published under that name. The original order of these documents was topical through 1984, and chronological after that date. This order was maintained. Original article manuscripts and "residue" from Sojourners, dating back to 1974, are filed by date in the third series. "Residue" refers to papers created in the process of publication: copy edit sheets, articles from other publications, unpublished items, etc. Administrative and clerical records relating to the magazine are arranged alphabetically by topic. Included in this category are circulation reports, direct mail packets, founding documents, IRS correspondence and tax returns, and reprints of articles. Letters to Sojourners have been arranged alphabetically by the writer's surname. Writers who have significant correspondence, or who are prominent figures in Christian social action have individual files following the general folders. Material dealing with the Washington, DC Sojourners community is arranged alphabetically by topic under the "Sojourners Community" series. File headings in this category include Bulletins, Calendars, Finances, Groups and Leadership, and News Articles about the community. Included among the Bulletins are "Updates," in which community news and information is published. The series "Other Communities" contains correspondence with similar groups as well as information on the Summer Festival 1984. In addition to written documents, non-print media is housed with the collection. Video tapes of selected addresses by Jim Wallis, films produced by the organization, as well as audio tapes are included.
Biographical Note
In 1970 a group of students at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL began meeting to discuss the relationship between their Christian faith and troubling social and political issues, particularly the Vietnam War and the decay of ethics and values within American society. In 1971, the group created a publication entitled The Post-American: Voice of the People’s Christian Coalition, dedicated to their cause of radical Christian commitment and social justice. The editorial on the first page began with the assessment, “[W]e find ourselves in the midst of a radical awakening, among people who are raising basic questions about the quality of life in the world we inherit … [w]e are characterized by our protest and our frustrated search for counter-cultural alternatives more amendable to justice, peace, human values, and spiritual meaning.”
From the beginning, the Post-American posited the “revolutionary nature” of Christian faith, a faith that requires total commitment to Christ, as the cure to the ills of contemporary society. However, the group not only criticized the “status-quo” of society and politics, but also the American church for its non-confrontational silence on many social issues. For the People’s Christian Coalition, there was no place for social complacency in Christianity. Their mission is “to build a movement of people who seek to demonstrate the vital biblical connection between spiritual renewal and social justice."
In 1975 the group continued its mission by moving operations to Washington, D.C., starting an outreach ministry in the inner-city neighborhood of Columbia Heights. There, the group adopted the name “Sojourners,” reflecting their status as Christian pilgrims “present in the world but committed to a different order.” The Sojourners lived in a communal setting and continued to publish their social action periodical, also re-named Sojourners, as well as organizing and participating in peace events and similar demonstrations.
In the decades since the founding of their small community, Sojourners has developed into an international organization, still dedicated to a common “rule of life” and emphasizing Christian community and social action in the name of Christ. The group still publishes the bi-monthly Sojourners magazine, and partners its devotion to social justice with a devotion to witnessing the Good News of Christ to a distressed world. Sojourners represent the radical nature of Christian faith, a set of values not well understood by an individualistic, competitive society.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections
Alternate Extent Statement:
38 linear feet
Access Restrictions:
There are no specific restrictions on this collection.
Use Restrictions:
Duplication may be restricted if copying could cause damage to items.
Acquisition Source:
The establishment of the collection at Wheaton College dates to 1988, when the first of several shipments arrived from the Sojourners' office in Washington, DC. The donation became official in 1990.
Acquisition Method:
Gift
Related Materials:
Correspondence and articles by or about Jim Wallis are located in the Jim Wallis Papers (SC-109). Wallis is the editor of Sojourners and a co-founder of the group. For more information please see http://archon.wheaton.edu/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=128.
Preferred Citation:
Sojourners Records (SC-23), Wheaton College Special Collections, Wheaton, Illinois.
Other Note:
The Sojourners Collection at Wheaton College details the history and activities of the Christian social action and community group Sojourners. Sojourners is a group of Christian people dedicated to the application of Biblical ethics and social justice to contemporary American society. The organization publishes Sojourners magazine and operates a community in Washington, D.C. Included as well is information about the Sojourners community itself and the group
Other URL:
http://library.wheaton.edu
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Sojourner Magazine],
[
Series 2: Postmark Letters],
[
Series 3: Manuscripts and residue],
[
Series 4: Administrative records],
[
Series 5: Correspondence],
[
Series 6: Sojourners Community records],
[
Series 7: Other Communities],
[Series 8: Programs],
[
Series 9: Local Ministries],
[
Series 10: Publications],
[
Series 11: Media],
[
All]
- Series 8: Programs
- Box 82: Nuclear Arms Programs
- Folder 1: Nuclear Arms Program
- Folder 2: Lenten Vigil; Anti-Nuclear Testing Program
- Folder 3: Lenten Witness; Good Friday Prayer Service; Nuclear Programs
- Folder 4: Civil Disobedience (Lenten Witness); Nuclear Programs
- Folder 5: Christians Against Nuclear Arms Programs
- Folder 6: Hiroshima Service Programs, 1987
- Folder 7: Hiroshima Worship Service Programs, 1986
- Folder 8: Peace Fair -- Hiroshima Programs, 1983
- Folder 9: Disarmament Fast Programs
- Folder 10: Conference on Economic Conversion and Disarmament Programs
- Box 83: Nuclear Arms Programs
- Folder 1: Nuclear Abolitionist Covenant (English, French, German, and Spanish)
- Folder 2: Nuclear Abolitionist Covenant
- Folder 3: Meetings/Programs Nuclear Arms Race
- Folder 4: Good News Plowshares (in Newport News,) Anti-Nuclear Power Program
- Folder 5: FREEZE Long Range Planning, Nuclear Arms Program
- Folder 6: Local FREEZE Campaign, Nuclear Arms Program
- Folder 7: FREEZE DATF National Conference, National Committee, Nuclear Arms Program
- Folder 8: FREEZE, April 25; N.W.F.T.F, Nuclear Arms Program
- Folder 9: "Draft of Declaration on the Nuclear Arms Race," Sojourners Publication (Nuclear Arms)
- Folder 10: Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy Publications, Secondary Articles
- Folder 11: Coalition for a Non-Nuclear World, Christians Against Nuclear Arms, Secondary Articles
- Folder 12: Christians Against Nuclear Arms, Secondary Articles
- Box 84: Nuclear Arms Programs
- Folder 1: News Articles on White Train (Nuclear Power), Secondary Articles
- Folder 2: Religious Task Force "Mobilization for Survival," Secondary Articles, Publications
- Folder 3: Christians Against Nuclear Arms -- Sojourners Publications, Updates, Newsletters
- Folder 4: World Peace March Events
- Folder 5: Walk to Moscow Events
- Folder 6: Rocky Flats Nuclear Protest Events
- Folder 7: UN Special Session Disarmament Events
- Folder 8: Pentagon Week 1980 (?) Programs
- Folder 9: Pentagon Vigil 14 March 1986 Programs
- Folder 10: End of Year Pentagon Action Programs, 1980
- Folder 11: Nuke Watch Programs
- Folder 12: Memorial Day Nuclear Programs, 1980
- Folder 13: Memorial Day Programs, 1979
- Folder 14: Memorial Day Nuclear Programs, 1979
- Box 85: Peacemakers
- Folder 1: Spring Peace Event, 1985
- Folder 2: "Strategies for Peacemaking," A National Peace Convocation
- Folder 3: Peacemaker Programs, Survival Summer
- Folder 4: Peace Ministry Reports
- Folder 5: World Peacemakers
- Folder 6: World Peace Tax Fund
- Folder 7: Peacemaker Newsletters
- Folder 8: Cafe Salvador -- For Peace in South America, Peacemakers
- Folder 9: Cantonville Nine Reunion (Anti-War), Peacemakers
- Folder 10: Pledge of Resistance Regarding Nicaragua, Peacemakers
- Folder 11: Peace Ministries, Nicaragua, Articles, 1986
- Folder 12: Peace Ministries, Nicaragua, Articles, 1986
- Box 86: Peacemakers
- Folder 1: Peacemakers "A Call to Faithfulness" (Administrative)
- Folder 2: Peace Ministry Fundraising (Administrative)
- Folder 3: Peace Ministry Meetings/Proposals
- Folder 4: Peacemakers Program Material
- Folder 5: Life and Peace Conference
- Folder 6: Life and Peace Conference (Sweden) #2
- Folder 7: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Programs, Letters
- Folder 8: Peace Class, 1982
- Folder 9: Peacemakers Programs: Peace Retreats
- Folder 10: Peace with Justice Week, 1984
- Folder 11: Peacemakers Programs: Pentagon Week
- Box 87: Peace Pentecost
- Folder 1: Peace Pentecost, 1982
- Folder 2: Peace Pentecost 1983, 1983
- Folder 3: Peace Pentecost -- Correspondence, 1983
- Folder 4: Peace Pentecost -- Legal and Police, 1983
- Folder 5: Peace Pentecost -- Preparations and Drafts, 1983
- Folder 6: Peace Pentecost -- Press Clippings, 1983
- Folder 7: Peace Pentecost -- Publicity and Brochures, 1983
- Folder 8: Peace Pentecost -- Articles, 1985
- Folder 9: Peace Pentecost -- Correspondence, 1985
- Folder 10: Peace Pentecost -- Jim Wallis, 1985
- Folder 11: Peace Pentecost, 1987
- Folder 12: Peace Pentecost -- Finances, 1987
- Folder 13: Peace Pentecost -- Publicity, 1987
- Folder 14: Peace Pentecost -- Worship, 1987
- Folder 15: Peace Pentecost Film -- "Be Not Afraid"
- Folder 16: Peace Pentecost Proposal for Documentary, "To Dwell in Hope"
- Box 88: Misc. Programs
- Folder 1: Simply Living
- Folder 2: Abortion (Sojourners)
- Folder 3: Racism
- Folder 4: Young Adult Network (Children's Programs)
- Folder 5: Sojourners Children's Programs
- Folder 6: Sojourners Day Care Children's Programs
- Folder 7: Journey of Hope -- Action Against Death Penalty
- Folder 8: Washington Black-Jewish Dialogue (Gun Violence)
- Folder 9: Christians Against Torture -- Sojourners Releases
- Folder 10: Christians Against Torture -- Programs and Events
- Folder 11: Christians Against Torture -- Secondary Articles
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Sojourner Magazine],
[
Series 2: Postmark Letters],
[
Series 3: Manuscripts and residue],
[
Series 4: Administrative records],
[
Series 5: Correspondence],
[
Series 6: Sojourners Community records],
[
Series 7: Other Communities],
[Series 8: Programs],
[
Series 9: Local Ministries],
[
Series 10: Publications],
[
Series 11: Media],
[
All]
