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Women's Alliance of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn records

Call Number

2005.031

Dates

1922-2004, inclusive
; 1980-2003, bulk

Creator

First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Women's Alliance
First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

Extent

3.5 Linear Feet In 3 record cartons and 1 oversize flat box.

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

This collection holds the records of the Women's Alliance, an organization operating under the agency of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn. The Women's Alliance began as the Female Samaritan Society in 1838, several years after the Church's founding. Members of the group took responsibility for all the physical housekeeping of the church, ran the church's annual fundraising fair, and helped with parish duties such as visiting the sick and cooking for the congregation. After periods of inactivity in the twentieth century, the group was resurrected in 1973 as the Women's Alliance, a primarily issue-oriented group concerned with social action and women's rights matters. The collection encompasses the period of the resurgence of the Women's Alliance during the latter half of the twentieth century as a socially conscious and active organization. The inclusive dates span from 1922 to 2004, with bulk dates ranging from 1980 to 1998. The Women's Alliance records consist primarily of organizational material, including meeting minutes, correspondence, and financial documents. There is also printed matter created or collected by the Women's Alliance and material related to the causes of concern and group work of the Women's Alliance. A number of records also reveal the group's relationships with other female-oriented and religious organizations.

Biographical / Historical

The First Unitarian Congregational Society of Brooklyn began in 1833 and was incorporated in 1835 as a place for Brooklyn Unitarians to gather and worship without having to travel to Manhattan or attend services at a church in Brooklyn that might refuse them communion. Since then the congregants of the First Unitarian Church have had an active involvement in community work, youth work, and support for progressive and liberal causes locally, nationally and globally.

The Women's Alliance of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn began as the Female Samaritan Society in 1838 with the purpose of assisting the congregation and the community. The group helped in raising money for pulpit furnishings for the church, yet women were not allowed to attend annual meetings of the congregation until 1848. Members of the group also took responsibility for all the physical housekeeping of the church, ran the church's annual fundraising fair, and helped with parish duties such as visiting the sick and cooking for the congregation. In 1897, church women formed a second organization called the Women's Alliance, and shortly after, the Female Samaritan Society united with the Women's Alliance to form the Samaritan Alliance. The united group continued with fundraising efforts and relief work.

The Samaritan Alliance underwent periods of relative inactivity during the twentieth century. In 1973, Katherine Lazarus resurrected the group as the Women's Alliance. Female congregants increasingly held full-time jobs outside of the household and felt the effects of gender disparity in society. The organization emerged in new form under Lazarus as a primarily issue-oriented group concerned with social action and women's rights matters such as reproductive freedom and comparable worth. The group also advocated within the church to establish and maintain female ministerial presence, with members sponsoring female theological students as assistant ministers and supporting the employment of Reverend Orlanda Brugnola. A newsletter, Women's Work, is published by the group and sent to members and to organizations with similar missions. Other activities included holding educational programs on women's history, workshops for young mothers, donation drives, and encouraging use of the Women's Alliance library collection. Members additionally organized events for the entire church, such as the trip to the "March for Women's Equality/Women's Lives" event in Washington, D.C. in 1989.

The Women's Alliance observed its 150th anniversary in 1988 with a celebration that involved a proclamation from Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden. In 2003, members celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the landmark Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision with a commemorative sermon. The Alliance remains active today, and members continue to represent a broad spectrum of views that reflect the liberal beliefs and practices of Unitarian Universalism. The group continues to participate in the exploration of feminist theology while providing support for men and women alike.

Arrangement

The collection was first processed in 2007 by Eunice Liu, Marilyn H. Petit and Leilani Dawson. The original organization and division of materials as received by Brooklyn Historical Society was maintained. In 2010 Craig P. Savino re-described some materials but primary arrangement was maintained.

Oversized items are represented within the intellectual arrangement of their respective series but were physically moved to Box 4. These instances should be clear in the container list and notes have been made in the boxes from which the material was removed.

The collection is arranged into seven series:

Missing Title

  1. - Administrative Records, 1976-2003
  2. - Meeting Minutes, 1974-2003
  3. - General Correspondence, 1976-2003
  4. - Financial and Accounting, 1922-2004
  5. - Subject Files, 1961-2003
  6. - Printed Materials, 1977-2003
  7. - Photographs, 1989

Scope and Contents

The Women's Alliance of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn records contain the records created, maintained and collected by the primary women's organization working under the First Unitarian Congregational Society of Brooklyn. The records span from 1922 to 2004, but the bulk of the collection spans from 1980 to 2004. The majority of the collection consists of the administrative, organizational and general records of the Alliance. The organizational records include the meeting minutes of the Alliance's executive board, the general correspondence of the Alliance, the financial material related to fundraising, expenses, charity, and accounts, and membership rolls and information. These organizational records also provide insight into the activist and issue interests of the Women's Alliance as the administrative records and minutes touch upon events and workshops managed or attended by members. Further insight into the community and activist work of the Alliance can be found in the subject files kept by the Alliance which contain documents on social groups run by the Alliance, the Alliance's library, abortion rights materials, and material on programing and fund raising for the elderly and the terminally ill. The collection contains a run from 1982 to 1997 of the Women's Alliance produced newsletter, Women's Work. Other printed material that the Women's Alliance collected includes church publications and sermons and news clippings on subjects and issues of interest to the Alliance. The collection also contains some photographs, primarily from the Women's Alliance's involvement in the March for Women's Equality and Women's Lives in Washington, D.C. in 1989. A small portion of the material (two checkbooks) relates to the Women's Alliance's predecessor, The Samaritan Alliance.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

While some materials are in the public domain, copyright restrictions may apply for the majority of the materials and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from Brooklyn Historical Society and the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Women's Alliance of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn records, ArMs 2005.031, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials given as gift in June of 2005 by the Women's Alliance of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn.

Related Materials

Brooklyn Historical Society also holds the First Unitarian Congregational Society of Brooklyn records, the parent organization for the Women's Alliance. The collection contains records related to the Women's Alliance's precursors, The Female Samaritan Society and the Samaritan Alliance, as well as the records on other charitable, community, and settlement work carried out by the First Church. This collection also holds records pertaining to the Second and Third Unitarian Congregations of Brooklyn and their respective Women's Branch Alliances. (collection ARC.109)

More pamphlets, sermons, directories, reports, histories and other documents on the First, Second, Third, and Fourth (Flatbush) Unitarian Congregations in Brooklyn can be found as a part of the Brooklyn Unitarian Churches collection (collection ArMs 1986.030)

Collection processed by

Craig P. Savino

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:18:27 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English.

Processing Information

The Women's Alliance of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn records were first processed in 2007 by Eunice Liu, Marilyn Petit, and Leilani Dawson. Materials were re-processed and the finding-aid re-written in October of 2010 by Craig P. Savino.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201