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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Congregational Library & Archives
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250402T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250402T140000
DTSTAMP:20260302T170733Z
CREATED:20260209T131654Z
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SUMMARY:Knowing Your Collection: How to Identify Church Records
DESCRIPTION:ACCESS VIDEO TRANSCRIPT + RESOURCES\nHow do you know if the item you are looking at is a parish book or a church record book? Or how might you determine if a folder is full of building records or general financial records? \nSometimes\, when looking at a church’s collection\, it can be difficult to determine what exactly it is you hold. It is not uncommon to feel daunted or overwhelmed when looking at the full scope of a collection. \nWith years of experience looking at church records\, CLA archivists Billy McCarthy and Zachary Bodnar shared the processes they use to assess\, identify\, and label materials\, whether they be a bound volume\, a manilla folder full of papers\, or a born-digital document stored on Google Drive. \n  \nSPEAKER BIOS \nZachary Bodnar graduated with a Masters of Library and Information Science from Simmons University\, with a concentration in archives management\, in 2018. Prior to his work at the CLA\, Zachary worked at the Bellamy-Ferriday House and Garden archive\, the Vassar College Special Collections\, the Harvard Law School Library\, and the Harvard Botany Libraries. Zachary joined the CLA as an Archives Assistant in 2017\, helping to prepare materials for digitization through the New England’s Hidden Histories program. In 2018\, he took on the title of Archivist. His professional interests include metadata collection and management\, digital archiving\, audio/visual preservation\, and archives management. \nBilly McCarthy graduated with a Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) at Simmons University with a concentration in Archival Management. He started working at the CLA through a graduate internship and was hired full-time as an Archivist in 2018. Billy is the Head of Reader Services\, helping the CLA’s visitors with reference requests and facilitating in-person research. Billy also serves as the collection manager for the archives\, working with CLA’s offsite vendor to protect and maintain the organization’s archival records. Some of his professional interests include increasing access\, collection management\, processing of complex materials\, and facilitating research.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/know-your-collection
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Archives,CSI
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KnowCollection400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250404T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250404T190000
DTSTAMP:20260228T142612Z
CREATED:20260209T131821Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260228T142612Z
UID:9067-1743787800-1743793200@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Sacred Rebellion Exhibition Opening Reception
DESCRIPTION:This event celebrated the opening of our new in-person exhibition\, Sacred Rebellion: Congregationalists in Revolutionary Massachusetts. The program featured an opportunity to visit the exhibition and curator’s comments from New England’s Hidden Histories Project Director and Sacred Rebellion curator\, Dr. Tricia Peone. \nBy the time the American Revolution began\, many Congregationalists had already embraced a theological justification for war and revolution. Ministers and laity alike believed that God favored them and that their cause was a morally justified\, sacred rebellion. Through sermons\, books\, poems\, songs\, and letters\, Congregationalists shared their stories\, reflected on their moral obligations to each other\, and debated questions of liberty and loyalty before\, during\, and after the war. \nAttendees learned more about how these discussions shaped the legacy of Congregationalism and the way the Revolutionary War is remembered today. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Tricia Peone joined the CLA in 2022 as the Project Director for New England’s Hidden Histories. Prior to joining the CLA\, she was a research scholar at Historic New England for the Recovering New England’s Voices project. She has also previously worked as the public programs director at New Hampshire Humanities\, a university lecturer teaching classes on the Salem witch trials\, early New England\, and public history\, and as a researcher for cultural heritage organizations. She holds a PhD in history from the University of New Hampshire with a specialization in the early modern Atlantic world and history of science. \n  \n\n \nFunded by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/sacred-rebellion-opening-reception
LOCATION:Congregational Library & Archives\, 14 Beacon Street\, Boston\, MA\, 02108\, United States
CATEGORIES:Revolutionary Stories,Sacred Rebellion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SRReceptionCarousel400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250416T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250416T140000
DTSTAMP:20260228T142822Z
CREATED:20260209T132054Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260228T142822Z
UID:9069-1744808400-1744812000@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Lower than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity
DESCRIPTION:Few matters produce more public interest and public anxiety than sex and religion. Much of the political contention and division in societies across the world centers on sexual topics\, and one-third of the global population is Christian in background or outlook. The issue goes to the heart of present-day religion. \nIn Lower than the Angels\, Diarmaid MacCulloch seeks to calm fears and encourage understanding through telling a three-thousand-year-long tale of Christians encountering sex\, gender\, and the family. The message of Lower than the Angels is simple\, necessary\, and timely: to pay attention to the complexity and contradictions in the history of Christianity. The reader can decide from the story told here whether there is a single Christian theology of sex\, or many contending voices in a symphony that is not at all complete. \nThis program offered attendees a chance to learn more about an epic of ordinary and extraordinary Christians trying to make sense of themselves and of humanity’s deepest desires\, fears\, and hopes. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nRev. Prof. Diarmaid MacCulloch is Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church\, Oxford University\, and Fellow of St Cross College and of Campion Hall. His Thomas Cranmer: A Life first appeared in 1996\, winning inter alia the Whitbread Biography Prize. His History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years (accompanied by the BBC TV series A History of Christianity) won the 2010 Cundill Prize; his Thomas Cromwell: A Life was published in 2018. His BBC TV series of 2015\, Sex and the Church\, was a foretaste of Lower than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity (2024). He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/lower-than-the-angels
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Book Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/LowerAngelsCarousel400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250423T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250423T140000
DTSTAMP:20260228T143106Z
CREATED:20260209T132234Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260228T143106Z
UID:9074-1745413200-1745416800@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:The People's Music: Religious and Political Songs of Revolutionary New England
DESCRIPTION:This program\, featuring Stephen Marini\, Elisabeth Luce Moore Professor of Christian Studies at Wellesley College and singing master of Norumbega Harmony\, focused on the fascinating musical culture of Revolutionary New England. \nAttendees discovered the world of singing masters hired by 18th-century Congregational parishes to teach music to their members; the English tradition of parish music they initially conveyed; and the development of these masters into publishing composers like William Billings of Boston (1746-1800)\, Revolutionary America’s premier creator of sacred and political choral music. \nThe talk also included examples and recordings of this repertoire of Revolutionary-era sacred and secular music. \n  \nThis event was part of our Religion of Revolution lecture series\, sponsored by New England’s Hidden Histories. \nThe Congregational Library & Archives newest digital exhibition\, Religion of Revolution: Congregational Voices on Liberty\, is free to visit anytime at https://congregationallibrary.quartexcollections.com/online-exhibits/revolution. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Stephen A. Marini is Elisabeth Luce Moore Professor of Christian Studies at Wellesley College. He is an expert both on the history of religion in Early America and on American sacred music\, having written books in both fields\, including Radical Sects of Revolutionary New England (Harvard\, 1982)\, Sacred Song in America (Illinois\, 2003)\, and The Cashway Psalmody: Transatlantic Religion and Music in Colonial Carolina (Illinois\, 2020). In addition\, he is the founder and singing-master of Norumbega Harmony (1976)\, a choral ensemble specializing in the New England Singing-School music that is the subject of today’s program.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/peoples-music
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Congregationalists and the Arts,Religion of Revolution,Revolutionary Stories
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PeopleMusicCarousel400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250424T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250424T140000
DTSTAMP:20260228T143829Z
CREATED:20260209T132434Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260228T143829Z
UID:9076-1745499600-1745503200@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Sacred Rebellion Virtual Exhibition Tour
DESCRIPTION:This special virtual tour of the Congregational Library & Archives’ new in-person exhibition\, Sacred Rebellion\, was hosted by Executive Director Dr. Kyle Roberts and New England’s Hidden Histories Project Director and Sacred Rebellion curator Dr. Tricia Peone. \nBy the time the American Revolution began\, many Congregationalists had embraced a theological justification for war and revolution. They believed that God favored them and that their cause was a morally justified\, sacred rebellion. Through sermons\, books\, poems\, songs\, and letters\, Congregationalists shared their stories\, reflected on their moral obligations to each other\, and debated questions of liberty and loyalty. But consensus was elusive\, and implementation proved difficult and unsatisfactory to many\, especially those on the margins. \nThe interactive tour was hosted on Zoom\, with registration limited to a small group of attendees. Participants viewed Revolutionary-era treasures from the collections; heard stories about how Congregationalists experienced the period leading up to\, during\, and immediately following the war; and had opportunities to ask questions; and reflect on what this pivotal event means 250 years later. \n  \nSPEAKER BIOS \nDr. Kyle Roberts was appointed the Executive Director of the Congregational Library & Archives in 2022. He received his BA in American Studies from Williams College and his PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to the CLA\, he was Associate Director of Library & Museum Programming at the American Philosophical Society and Associate Professor of Public History and New Media and Director of the Center for Textual Studies and Digital Humanities at Loyola University Chicago. \nA scholar of Atlantic World religion\, print\, and library history\, he is the author of Evangelical Gotham: Religion and the Making of New York City\, 1783-1860 (Chicago\, 2016)\, the co-editor\, with Stephen Schloesser\, of Crossings and Dwellings: Restored Jesuits\, Women Religious\, American Experience 1814-2014 (Brill\, 2017) and\, with Mark Towsey\, of Before the Public Library: Reading\, Community\, and Identity in the Atlantic World\, 1650-1850 (Brill\, 2017). \nKyle is an accomplished public historian and digital humanist whose collaborative projects include the Jesuit Libraries Provenance Project\, the Maryland Loyalism Project\, and Dissenting Academies Online: Virtual Library System. In addition to being the consultant for numerous digital and public history projects\, he sits on the executive committees of the American Catholic Historical Association\, the New England Historical Association\, the Urban History Association He is on the editorial and advisory boards for American Catholic Studies\, Early American Studies\, and portal. \nDr. Tricia Peone joined the CLA in 2022 as the Project Director for New England’s Hidden Histories. Prior to joining the CLA\, she was a research scholar at Historic New England for the Recovering New England’s Voices project. She has also previously worked as the public programs director at New Hampshire Humanities\, a university lecturer teaching classes on the Salem witch trials\, early New England\, and public history\, and as a researcher for cultural heritage organizations. She holds a PhD in history from the University of New Hampshire with a specialization in the early modern Atlantic world and history of science. \n  \n\n \nFunded by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/sacred-rebellion-virtual-tour
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Revolutionary Stories,Sacred Rebellion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SRVirtualTourCarousel400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250428T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250428T130000
DTSTAMP:20260228T143346Z
CREATED:20260209T132721Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260228T143346Z
UID:9081-1745841600-1745845200@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Making Local Church History Collections Accessible: A Hybrid Lunch & Learn with CLA Interns
DESCRIPTION:In this hybrid lunch and learn program\, three library interns discussed their work in the spring 2025 semester to make the CLA’s church history collections more visible and accessible. \nIsabella Rodrigues and Sarah Ortel discussed their experiences cataloguing church history files: collections of printed and ephemeral works created by or about churches. These collections represent over 800 individual churches from across the country. They come from donations over the past several years and add nearly 400 churches to the online catalogue which were not previously represented. \nHattie Tauson reflected on her work researching and developing a workplan for making the CLA’s church collections easier to navigate and use. She shared her experience soliciting user feedback at the start of the project\, diving into data\, and designing an interactive visualization of CLA holdings. \nThese joint projects made available hidden collections and increased visibility of known collections to improve the ability of researchers to find and use the CLA’s collections of church history. \n  \nSPEAKER BIOS \nSarah Ortel is a senior at Boston University pursing a bachelor’s degree in history with a concentration in American history. During the spring semester\, she worked as a cataloguing intern at the Congregational Library & Archives\, and opportunity that has allowed her to apply her passion for accessible history and provided her with valuable practical experience that she will carry into future ventures. \nIsabella Rodrigues is an MLIS student with an archival concentration at Simmons University. During the spring 2025 semester\, she worked as a Cataloguing Intern at the Congregational Library & Archives. She got her start in archives and libraries by volunteering to organize the basement collections of the local heritage museum in her hometown of New Bedford\, MA and has been sifting through boxes ever since. \nHattie Tauson is a master’s student at Northeastern University pursuing a degree in public history and a certificate in digital humanities. She is the Mapping Local History Collections Intern at the Congregational Library & Archives for the spring 2025 semester\, which has allowed her to combine her love of American history and making history accessible to all.
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/local-church-history-accessible
LOCATION:Hybrid
CATEGORIES:Archives,Lunch & Learn
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Apr25LLCarousel400.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250430T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250430T140000
DTSTAMP:20260228T144051Z
CREATED:20260209T132902Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260228T144051Z
UID:9089-1746018000-1746021600@congregationallibrary.org
SUMMARY:Calling Holy War in Boston: A Virtual Talk with Thomas Lecaque
DESCRIPTION:It is easy to act like crusading is a medieval phenomenon that we evolve past—after all\, when we picture the Crusades\, we see knights in shining armor dying in the dry heat on their way to Jerusalem\, an activity that surely we gave up before we began the process of colonizing America. And yet\, the Crusades officially last until 1798\, when Napoleon takes Malta\, and Benjamin Franklin—whose baptismal records are at the Congregational Library & Archives—was ten when the last individual crusade was called. \nEven more shocking\, crusading does not remain a Catholic endeavor. For all that puritan preachers decry the Crusades as a “Rhomish bastard\,” they use the rhetoric of apocalyptic holy war against their Catholic foes to the North (the French) across almost a century of imperial conflicts. \nIn this talk\, CLA Research Fellow Dr. Thomas Lecaque looked at the ways that rhetoric of holy war spills across sermons\, diaries\, letters\, and marginal notations in books\, and forms an important and little studied aspect of the way European wars are translated onto the American frontier. \n  \nSPEAKER BIO \nDr. Thomas Lecaque is Associate Professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines\, Iowa\, where he teaches medieval world history\, vast early American history\, and game studies. A recipient of the American Congregational Association – Boston Athenaeum Fellowship and the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium\, he is currently working on a book project entitled “Holy War Rhetoric in Colonial America\, 1680-1765.”
URL:https://congregationallibrary.org/events/calling-holy-war-boston
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:CLA Research Fellows,Congregational Story
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://congregationallibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/HolyWarCarousel400.png
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