Discovering Each Other: Immigrants and Congregationalists in America, 1826-1924
Discovering Each Other examines the encounter between Congregationalists and immigrant arrivals to the United States over a century that transformed religion and the nation The exhibition explores the motivations and actions of Congregationalists towards immigrants to the United States, and the reception they received over a century that saw a total transformation of the United States. Immigration is a complicated chapter in American history, marked by a conflicting mix of ideas, humanitarian and racist, evangelical and social gospel, secular and religious. By looking at people on both sides of this relationship, the exhibit tells the story of the changing attitude of Congregationalists, as well as what drew immigrants to a religious tradition different than the one from where they came.
Discovering Each Other introduces individual immigrants and Congregationalists, churches, and the objects used by them, like prayer books, hymnals, cards and photographs. From the first edition of Lyman Beecher’s catalyzing The Plea for the West (1827) to President Calvin Coolidge’s signing of the restrictive Immigration Act of 1924, this exhibition sheds light on how encountering the other profoundly changed the way they viewed each other and their Christian faith.
Related Events
Save the Date & Register
Thursday, October 29, 2026, 7-9PM ET
A Virtual Exhibition Launch with Rev. Dr. Kazimierz Bem
Acknowledgements
About the Congregational Library & Archives
The Congregational Library & Archives is an independent research library. Established in 1853, the CLA’s mission is to foster a deeper understanding of the spiritual, intellectual, cultural, and civic dimensions of the Congregational story and its ongoing relevance in the twenty-first century. The library’s collection holds some 150,000 books, pamphlets, and periodicals, as well as a digital archive, which contains more than 137,000 images. Throughout the year, the Congregational Library & Archives is a thriving research center and offers educational programs and fellowships for students, scholars, churches, and anyone interested in Congregationalism’s influence on the American story.
Exhibition Credits
Discovering Each Other: Immigrants and Congregationalists in America, 1826-1924 was curated by Rev. Dr. Kazimierz Bem. The digital exhibition was designed by Zachary Bodnar. Graphics for the exhibition were created by Jenna Bennett.
About the Curator
Kazimierz Bem is the pastor of First Church in Marlborough (Congregational) UCC in Massachusetts, and holds a D.Sc. from the Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw. He is a senior lecturer in church history at the Evangelical School of Theology in Wrocław (Poland) and author of many books including, Calvinism in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1548-1648: The Churches and the Faithful (Brill, 2020). He was a Congregational Library & Archives Fellow in 2024 and is finishing his work on his new book, provisionally titled Anarchists, Communists, and Women. Congregational and Presbyterian Work among Polish Immigrants in the United States 1880-1924.
