Institute on the Church in an Urban-Industrial Society (ICUIS) records, 1950-1988

Old Resource ID was ICUIS

The Institute of the Church in an Urban Industrial Society was the umbrella organization for a number of Church organizations, including the Urban Training Center and Association for Christian Training. Founded in 1967, it acted as a clearing house, distributing literature on multiple topics related to the Church, civil rights, missionary work around the world, the environment, foreign and corporate policy, and community organizations. It provided world-wide information and consultation on training facilities for urban and industrial ministries and acted as an international reference center for literature and information in this field. ICUIS was affiliated with numerous ecumenical and secular organizations, including the World Council of Churches, National Council of Churches, Saul Alinsky's Industrial Areas Foundation, the Community Renewal Society, as well as most civil rights organizations active during the 1960s and 1970s. ICUIS was an offshoot of the Presbyterian Institute of Industrial Relations (PIIR), which was founded in the 1950s by Marshal Scott.

The Urban Training Center (UTC) was an ecumenical institution, founded in1962, devoted to the training of clergy and laity for Christian mission in the metropolis. Reverend Donald Benedict first proposed the idea for establishing a training center in Chicago whose staff would consist of representatives affiliated with several denominations. James P. Morton was the director of a staff that included Richard Luecke, J. Archie Hargraves, Carl Siegenthaler, Paul Kraemer, Niles Carpenter, and Stanley Hallett. The founders of the UTC believed that the Church had lost relevance in a modern, urban society, as it catered primarily to the affluent white middle class, whose values were reflected in the modern Church. Ignorant of the circumstances of the urban lower classes, the Church needed to develop new strategies of outreach into the urban environment. Its pedagogical method was rooted in the principle that for the Christian, the key to the understanding of the urban problem is participating in the structure and dynamics of that problem in every facet. Participation in urban life would facilitate a new theological relationship of the Church to society. The purpose of the UTC was to expose its interns to as many realities of the city; immersion in the various communities was a key first step to understanding the multitude of issues facing those living in American cities. These institutions functioned into the 1980s, when a lack of funds forced their closure.

The Collection is divided into four Series: ICUIS Archive, Urban Training Center for Christian Mission (UTC), Association for Christian Training (ACT), and Audio-Visual. The ICUIS Archive Series contains material related to church and community organizations throughout the world, but primarily within Chicago. It also holds numerous articles and essays related to developing the Church's role in urban community organizing. A selection of pamphlets were removed from this collection and are now housed in the Pamphlet Collection in the Special Collections Department of the library.

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Institute on the Church in an Urban-Industrial Society (ICUIS) records, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago

The archives of the Presbyterian Historical Society, located in in Philadelphia, PA, contain additional ICUIS materials. Patrons seeking this material should contact the Presbyterian Historical Society.

• Names
  • Association for Christian Training.
  • Institute on the Church in Urban-Industrial Society. -- Archives
  • Poethig, Richard
  • Urban Training Center (Ill.).
• Subject
  • Chicago Political and Civic Life.
  • City clergy--Training of.
  • Civil rights--Religious aspects--Christianity.
  • Interdenominational cooperation.
  • Lay ministry--Training of.
• Geographic CoverageUnited States.