Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond records, 1936-1999, Collection # M 321, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Acquisition Information

Donated by the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond, VA in 2003

Historical Information

The Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond (ICGR) is an organization of 19 different religious denominations in the city of Richmond, Virginia and surrounding counties. The 98 member congregations within these faith groups bring together diverse doctrinal, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds.

Prior to 1900, it was common for volunteers from various religious groups to assume some responsibility for public welfare in their communities. However, with the development of the profession of Social Work in the 1920s, many city governments began to employ public welfare workers. The need for communication among the public and private organizations, professionals, and volunteers in Richmond, VA led to the formation of the Richmond Council of Social Agencies in the early 1920s, and subsequently the Richmond Community Fund in 1924. Dr. Arthur Guild was the Executive Director of both groups.

There was confusion between the new social work professionals and volunteers from churches engaged in public welfare work around the new division of responsibilities. The Council of Social Agencies along with the Richmond Ministerial Union saw the need for understanding and cooperation between religious communities and the social agencies. To address this need, the Rev. Dr. James C. Faw, a member of the Board of Directors for both agencies, turned to the women of the churches and synagogues who were already organized within their organizations. The recommendation passed and a subcommittee of the Council was established. Dr. Faw and Mr. Guild assisted women from three faiths - Protestant, Catholic and Jewish - to organize the Council of Church Women in 1929 as a Sub-Council of the Council of Society Agencies. This Council of Church Women was the first name of the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond. Mrs. McClean Whittet became the first Chair.

In 1940, the name of the Council of Church Women was changed to The Interfaith Council of the Richmond Area Church Women to avoid confusion with The Women's Council of Churches, an existing Protestant group.

In 1979, The Interfaith Council of Richmond Area Church Women shortened its name to The Interfaith Council in order to reflect more clearly the diversity of religious traditions it represented. The Baha'i Faith was the first expansion faith to join ICGR in the 1970s. In the same year, the Interfaith Council accepted an invitation to affiliate with the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ). In 1991-92, the Council added the Virginia Council of Churches (VCC) and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy to its circle of affiliations.

In 1986, the Interfaith Council changed its name to the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond (ICGR) to expand its membership to the entire area. In 1991-92, representatives from Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and American Baptist groups were welcomed into membership. Previously, the group almsot exclusively represented Christian and Jewish religious denominations.

In 1983-84, a member of the Greek Orthodox Church and in 1991-92, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were elected President  . The Board voted in January 1992 to incorporate all member religious organizations into the rotation for presidential election.

Past Presidents   of ICGR note: pre-1990, the vast majority of the ICGR presidents   were identified by their husband's name in official documentation. Women's full names have been included where we were able to find them.

1929-30 Mrs. McLean Whittet, Presbyterian 1930-32 Mrs. Franklin Johnson, Baptist 1932-34 Mrs. James A. Richardson, Methodist 1934-36 Mrs. Raphael Levy, Jewish 1936-38 Mrs. J. McC. C. Greathead, Episcopal 1938-40 Mrs. Carroll C. Roberts, Christian 1940-42 Henrietta Knightly, Catholic 1942-44 Mrs. T. W. Smith, Baptist 1944-45 Mrs. James E. Gardner, Lutheran 1945-46 Mrs. John 0. MacKinnon, Unitarian 1946-47 Arleene (sometimes spelled Arleen) G. Fairly, Presbyterian 1947-48 Mrs. Henry Fine, Jewish 1948-49 Mrs. Dalton Flanagan, Methodist 1949-50 Mrs. Cyrus M. Bache, Episcopal 1950-51 Mrs. Bernard W. Glass, Christian 1951-52 Mrs. W. J. Burlee, Sr., Catholic 1952-53 Mrs. E. Harold Thompson, Baptist 1953-54 Mrs. B. V. VanHorn, Presbyterian 1954-55 Mrs. Lewis Markel, Sr., Jewish 1955-56 Mrs. C. W. Hinchman, Methodist 1956-57 Mrs. Frank O. Higgins, Episcopal 1957-58 Mrs. Alton C. Griffin, Christian 1958-59 Mrs. Herman F. Gallasch, Lutheran 1959-60 Kathryne Crowe, Catholic 1960 Mrs. E.F. MacDonald (resigned), Unknown 1960-61 Josephine Baskerville (completed MacDonald's term before starting her own), Baptist 1961-62 Lucy Blanton, Presbyterian 1962-63 Bertha Meyer, Jewish 1963-64 Martha Carson, Methodist 1964-65 Polly Parker, Episcopal 1965-66 June H. Jarman, Christian 1966-67 Dorothy Gundlach, Catholic 1967-68 Georgia Dieker, Baptist 1968-69 Inez Hartley, Presbyterian 1969-70 Mrs. Bert Mann, Jewish 1970-71 Dorothy Turner, Methodist 1971-72 Anne McKenney, Episcopal 1972-73 Helen Pohling, Lutheran 1973-74 Mrs. Edmund G. Schmitz, Catholic 1974-75 Mrs. William P. Anderson, Presbyterian 1975-76 Bertha Laster, Jewish 1976-77 Phyllis Clifford, Baptist 1977-78 Sophia U. Hodges, Methodist 1978-79 Mrs. Edward L. Hill, Episcopal 1979-80 Louise Hawkins, Lutheran 1980-81 Leslie C. Boze, Presbyterian 1981-82 Leigh Budwell, Baptist 1982-83 Mrs. Earl 0. Sims, Catholic 1983-84 Helen Parthemos, Greek Orthodox 1984-85 Rita Stein, Jewish 1985-86 Dr. Vivien K. Ely, Methodist 1986-87 Louise Lipscomb, Episcopal 1987-88 Ruby Turner, Lutheran 1988-89 Grace Deane, Presbyterian 1989-90 Virginia Johnson, Baptist 1990-91 Dolores Ross, Catholic 1991-92 Dr. Lee Pratt, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1992-93 Barni Schlein, Jewish 1993-94 Zoa Mottley, Methodist 1994-95 Louise Reza, Unitarian 1995-96 Midge Falconer, Bahá'i 1996-97 Saba Abed, Islam 1997-98 Shobha Shenoy, Hindu 1998-99 Joan E. v.H. Everett, Episcopal 1999-00 Ingrid Zoll Vetter, Lutheran 2000-01 Miriam T. Bailey, Presbyterian 2001-02 Virginia Smith, Baptist 2002-03 Sharon C. Clayton, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2003-04 Anne H. Woods, Jewish 2004-05 Marian Agnew, Bahá'í 2005-06 Dr. Jeffrey Clark, Unitarian Universalist 2006-07 Lynn Johnston, Unity 2007-08 Annette Khan, Islam 2008-09 Dr. Baljit S. Sidhu, Sikh 2009-10 Kusum Jain, Jain 2010-11 Sandy Willis, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2011-12 Malik Khan, Islam 2012-13 Rebecca Skinner, Unity 2013-14 Rebecca Skinner, Unity 2014-15 Sabrina Dent, Member at Large 2015-16 Sabrina Dent, Member at Large 2016-17 Ashley Pelli, Omnism

Scope and Content

The materials in this collection range from 1936 to 1999 and include correspondence, treasurer's reports, meeting minutes, photographs, yearbooks, news clippings, and ephemera from the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond. The collection highlights the annual events and the meetings of the organization.

Arrangement

The Interfaith Council of Richmond records are arranged chronologically, largely following their original order. Prior to 1960, correspondence, minutes, etc. were generally organized by year, with some exceptions. Folders in box 1 that begin with a president's   name have been slightly reorganized to follow the format of presidential terms (which started in May) instead of calendar years. Otherwise, original groupings and arrangement have been preserved. Post-1960, the collection was predominately organized chronologically in albums of each president's   term, with some binders of meeting minutes and other administrative documents spanning multiple terms. Collection materials have been removed from binders and albums and added to folders, but the groupings have been preserved.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Interdenominational cooperation
• Religious institutions
• Social service
• Social service -- Virginia -- Richmond -- History
• Virginia -- Richmond
• Voluntarism