Entirely typescript, the collection is composed of the bound and published volumes of the annual sermons and reports (1701-1844) of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The sermons are those preached at the annual meetings in London, and the reports, among other things, contain abstracts of reports by missionaries in the British colonies on the state of progress, detailing the results of the missionary endeavours of the Anglican Church. Using British North America to illustrate, some of the main topics covered pertaining to religion include: missionaries and missions - Britain's colonies (18th and 19th centuries), sermons - England, natives (Indians), black history (African Americans), Church of England, church-state relations, education, and loyalists (American Revolution).
The geographic region is quite broad, encompassing many of the overseas British colonies. Regions covered in these reports include the American Colonies (New England, Massachusetts, New York {both Dutch and English}, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Rhode Island, Long Island, Georgia, ect.), Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, New Brunswick, Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec), Barbados, Bermuda, Bahamas, the Caribbean (Antigua, Montserrat, etc.), Jamaica, South Africa (Cape Town), Australia (New South Wales), and India (Calcutta). Some additional information is also provided on Anglicanism in Moscow and Amsterdam. Please note that due to the changes in the British Empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, not all geographic regions are covered in every report. The first reel begins with a copy of the Royal Charter of King William III incorporating the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1701. An abstract of this Charter appears in many of the annual reports. This is followed by a detailed copy of Instructions for the Clergy, 1706. Following these two documents are the annual reports and sermons for 1701-1844. Each sermon begins with a typed title page reading “A Sermon Preached before the Society of the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts at the Parish Church of St. Mary-le-Bow…” and includes the date, the name of the preachers giving the sermon, and any additional publication information. These sermons are NOT the ones given by the missionaries abroad. They are the sermons that were preached at the annual S.P.G meetings in London to the present members of the Society. These sermons often touch on the importance of the Society’s missionary work in the colonies, commenting on the importance of conversion and salvation. Following each sermon are the annual reports. Up until 1819 each report begins with a typed title page reading “Abstract of the Proceedings of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts”. These abstracts/annual reports are a summary of the reports provided to the S.P.G. by individual missionaries each year. They give an overall sense of the state of the church abroad and provide information on the work of missionaries. They may include information such as instructions for the clergy, methods of instructing lay persons, lists of missionaries (often divided by region and salary), lists of beneficiaries, lists of members (alphabetical), expenditures, income, receipts, payments, rules and regulations for the clergy, lists of catechists and schoolmasters, donations made to the Society, forms of legacy, etc. In some reports letters from missionaries have been copied and added to the report. While topics in the reports vary widely, many of the early reports focus on the Christianization of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Special focus is put on converting the Iroquois (Five Nations), Yamasee (called the Yammonsea by the missionaries), the Mohawk in Ontario, and the Islanders in the Caribbean. Later proselytization focused on conversion of Africans and African-Americans, as well as Native Americans. The reports also emphasize the Society’s focus on education through building schools and providing schoolmasters, the construction of meeting houses, the distribution of prayer books, and the furnishing of libraries. Some sermons and reports also discuss the political climate of the colonies. The S.P.G. had a close relationship with the British crown, and would make note of any religious and/or secular rebellion. This is particularly evident during the American Revolution (1775-1783) where missionaries would describe revolutionary activities and the persecution of the clergy by the rebels.
Arrangement The sermons and reports have been filmed chronologically. As a general rule each year begins with a Sermon, then an Abstract of Proceedings (annual report), followed by an Abstract of the Charter for the S.P.G., a List of Missionaries, Catechists, and Schoolmasters, a List of Members, and A List of Bishops and Deans who have preached at the yearly meeting. Prior to 1819 the sermons and annual reports were bound as separate documents. Beginning in 1820 the sermons and annual reports are bound together in a larger document containing a table of contents (with corresponding page numbers). While there is no overall index for the collection, reports after 1820 have indexes to the diocesan and district committees. Many of the sermons and reports contain subject annotations in the margins of each page. - Reel 1: 1701-1739
- Reel 2: 1739-1768
- Reel 3: 1768-1793
- Reel 4: 1793-1821
- Reel 5: 1821-1828
- Reel 6: 1828-1834
- Reel 7: 1835-1844
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