Records of the Church Missionary Society Lay Workers' Union for London

Incomplete set of records comprising Committee minutes, 1911-1922; imperfect set of printed Monthly Notes, 1932-1940; papers relating to jubilee celebrations in 1932 including reminiscences of the early days; copies of annual reports, 1940-1966; and other miscellaneous programmes and printed papers.

Administrative/Biographical History

The Church Missionary Society Lay Workers' Union was founded in 1882 to provide help and instruction for men who taught in Sunday Schools, to enable them to give missionary addresses to the children. Branches were formed in various parts of London and the suburbs and were called "Missionary Bands". They were individually named after CMS mission stations, the first being "Mpwapwas". The Union changed its name to the Church Missionary Society Laymen"s Luncheon Fellowship in 1953. It continued to meet in Salisbury Square until 1966 when the Society moved to Waterloo Road.

Reference: University of Birmingham, Special Collections Department, Online Archive Catalogue ( http://calmview.bham.ac.uk/ ). Accessed May 2002.

This collection forms part of the Church Missionary Society Unofficial Papers. It is arranged into a single series: Official Papers.

Access Conditions

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Deposited with the CMS in March 1976; transferred on permanent loan to the Special Collections Department by the CMS in the 1980s.

Please see full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

The University of Birmingham Information Services, Special Collections Department holds other records of the Church Missionary Society Lay Workers' Union for London, including minute books and copies of its Monthly Notes in the Church Missionary Society archive (GB 150 CMS/SOC11).

The University of Birmingham, Special Collections Department and the Orchard Learning Resources Centre also hold a rich collection of archives relating to missions, charities and other religious and ecclesiastical organisations and individuals.