20 m of textual records ; 4000 graphic images ; 50 audio-visual materials
Administrative History
The Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada (MSCC) was formed in September 1902 by the General Synod. The Society was created for the general missionary work of the Church and aimed to bring all members of the Church into the field of action by making them members of the Society. The work of the Society was under the charge of the Board of Missions, consisting of all members of the General Synod. The executive work of the Board of Missions was done by the Board of Management composed of the Bishops, two clergy and two laymen elected by each diocese. Administratively, the MSCC was run by a General Secretary who guided the Field Secretary and various committees in their work. Its last General Secretary resigned in 1969. The MSCC Board of Management still exists under Canon VII, convenes during General Synod, and produces financial statements because of ongoing MSCC legacies and trusts.
The work of the MSCC consisted of domestic and foreign missions. In Canada the work included assisting missionary dioceses, Indian and Eskimo work, Columbia Coast Mission, Church Camp Missions, Jewish Missions, Japanese Missions, Immigration chaplaincies, white settlers missions, and Indian Residential Schools. Foreign missions included church, medical, and education work in Japan, China, India, Palestine (Jerusalem), and Egypt.
The forerunners of the MSCC were the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (1883-1902) and the Canadian Church Missionary Society (1894-1903), both of whom were already supporting domestic and foreign missionaries. By the side of the DFMS stood the Woman's Auxiliary (1885-1966), organized in 1885 for the purpose of enlisting the women in the missionary effort of the Church. When the MSCC was formed it became the Woman's Auxiliary to the MSCC.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of constitution, minutes, correspondence, reports, financial records, legal records, printed materials, photographs, and audiovisual materials.
Fonds organized into the following series:
Series 1. Board of Management and Executive Committee, 1884-1969;
Series 2. Committees, 1900-1968;
Series 2:1 Deputation Committee, 1903-1906
Series 2:2 Foreign Missions Committee, 1903-1904
Series 2:3 Sunday School Committee, 1903-1905
Series 2:4 Consultative Committee, 1912-1951
Series 2:5 Candidates Committee, 1913-1965
Series 2:6 Committee on Overseas Missions, 1942-1955
Series 2:7 Committee on Canadian Missions, 1944-1957
Series 2:8 Policy Committee, 1944-1966
Series 2:9 Committee on Missionary Strategy, 1955, 1959
Series 2:10 Missions to Seamen, 1957-1966
Series 2:11 Family Lenten Offering Committee (ACTO), 1958-1963
Series 2:12 Joint MSCC & CSS Committee on Indian and Eskimo Affairs, 1959-1962
Series 2:13 Finance Committee, 1941-1966
Series 2:14 Special Indian Committee, 1900-1910
Series 2:15 Indian and Eskimo Residential Schools Commission and Indian Schools administration, 1906-1968
Series 3. General Secretary's records, 1897-1975;
Series 4. Field Secretary's records, 1940-1959;
Series 5. Financial records, 1877-2011;
Series 6. Overseas Personnel, 1907-1941;
Series 7. Publications Department, 1943-1960;
Series 8. Publications - Official Records, 1901-1958;
Series 9. Publications, 1904-1975;
Series 10. Photograph and Audio-Visual collections.
Related Fonds
Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS) fonds
The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada was formed by Canon XIX of the Provincial Synod of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada, September, 1883. The books were closed in 1902 when it amalgamated with the Canada Church Missionary Association, into the Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada (MSCC) created by the General Synod in 1902.
Dr. C.H. Mockridge, General Secretary, and J.J. Mason, General Treasurer, were the chief administrative officers of the DFMS until 1893 when the full-time position of Secretary-Treasurer was created, in which Dr. Mockridge served until December 1896. From 1897 to 1901, Canon A. Spencer served as Honorary Secretary. In 1901, Canon Grout took over as acting Secretary to oversee the transfer of the administration of the missions to the MSCC. Mr. C.A. Eliot served the DFMS as Honorary Treasurer, 1897-1902, and continued as Treaurer with the MSCC.
The Woman's Auxliary, formed in Ottawa in April 1885, co-operated with the DFMS. The DFMS supplied funds to a number of missions in several Canadian dioceses and to a number of foreign missionaries, particularly in Japan. At first administration was handled through the British societies, but gradually the Canadian Missions became self-supporting by 1899. Money was raised in a number of annual campaigns: the Epiphany and Ascensiontide Appeals and the Children's Lenten Letter.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of legal records, minutes, correspondence, financial records, and printed materials.
The fonds is arranged in the following series:
Series 1: Canons, constitution, and minutes, 1880-1902
Series 2: Records of the Secretary, 1889-1902
Series 3: Records of the Treasurer, 1883-1904
Series 4: Printed Materials, 1883-1903
Related Fonds
Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada (MSCC) fonds