Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island (Mss. Gr. 41.1)

In addition to the records generated by the diocese itself, records of Episcopal churches throughout the diocese were deposited in the cathedral as the churches closed or were merged with other churches. Individual members of the clergy and laity also donated records to the cathedral from both active and disincorporated churches. Since the records originated from a variety of sources, their provenance is uncertain. Over the years much material appears to have been lost due to frequent movement of the records.  As a result, only a partial record of a wide variety of diocesan activities has been preserved.

The collection is comprised of the correspondence of Bishop George Hunt (1990-1994) and Bishop Geralyn Wolf (1996- ), administrative records of Bishop George Nelson Hunt and his office, administrative records for the School for Deacons, 1959-1999, and the School for Ministries, 1983-1996 and the administrative files of the churches which belonged to the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island.

Additional materials within the collection consist of the records of three committees/commissions -- the Evangelism Commission of the Diocese, the Standing Committee of the Diocese and the Standing Committee on Human Affairs -- which operated within the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, and the records for the Diocese's Nathan Bourne Crocker Library.

The records also contains a collection of bulk mailings sent by the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island to its member clergy of announcements of upcoming events and meetings within the diocese, flyers of community events of interest to churches and clergy, invitations to services of ordination to the priesthood, memoranda from the diocese, correspondence and information on financial issues specific to the clergy vocation.

The collection is rounded out by its Scrapbooks and Realia series. The Scrapbook series contain newspaper clippings, humorous cartoons on religious themes, and photographs, which chronicle the celebration of twenty years of the ordination of women to the Episcopal priesthood. The Realia series consists of artifacts of the diocese, such as official Bishop's seals, portraits, pencil sketches, Cathedral blueprints and a six-piece pewter communion set.