The records of the MC/UMHE consist mostly of material relating to its funding and budgeting cycles, its programs and projects, and its position within the context of campus ministries from the early 1960's through the early 1980's. As such, while the record group contains mostly material created by the UMHE (or its affiliates), it also contains material created by local judicatories (and other funders) and by organizations that enjoyed the benefits of UMHE grants. The record group paints a picture of the intersection of two major segments of Michigan (and American) life during its twenty-year span: Religion and Higher Education. It also provides insight into how religious groups hoped to engage with students on the pressing issues of the times: women's rights, interracial tensions, and various international conflicts, ranging from Vietnam to El Salvador. The record group has been divided into five series: Informational/Background; Founding Organizations' Materials; Relations with Denominations; Affiliate Records; and Organizational Records.
Around 1962, the University of Michigan Episcopal and United Presbyterian campus ministries began thinking about ways in which they might work together toward common goals. Plans and proposals were set forth over the following two years. The resulting organization, formally constituted in 1964, was named the Association for Ecumenical Ministries (AEM). In 1967, AEM reorganized itself as the Association for Ministries in Higher Education (AMHE), when additional denominations - notably the United Church of Christ - joined up. In January 1969, AMHE and the Committee for United Budget and Personnel Assignment (CUBPA) proposed to unite to form what would become the MC/UMHE. In 1970 the reorganization went into effect.
Part of the impetus for change came from the denominations' determination to allow for more joint strategizing and operating. Also in 1970, the United Methodists entered the coalition; the Lutheran and American Baptist churches around this same period decided to work on their own and thus left the organization.
The MC/UMHE organization reflected the relationship that then existed among main-line denominations as well as the changing structures of these denominations. In general, each denomination was split into large statewide or regional bodies called judicatories. For instance, the Episcopalians had three judicatories that dealt with the MC/UMHE: the Michigan, Northern Michigan and Western Michigan Dioceses. The Methodists had the Detroit and Western Michigan Conferences; the Presbyterians first had the Synod of Michigan with its five Presbyteries, and later the Synod of the Covenant (which also included Ohio and Kentucky). Participation within the UMHE could be on various levels. At one level a denomination could put its entire campus ministry budget in the common pot. At the lowest level, a denomination could merely participate in planning and strategizing. Indeed, many chaplaincies and other ministries existed prior to the UMHE; they had historic roots and well-developed support networks within their denominational umbrellas. Moreover, some were already under multi-faith sponsorship.
The role of the MC/UMHE was determined to be not the central chaplaincy of which the local ministers were employees, but the facilitator, standards-bearer and advocate of the churches' needs and opportunities. Essentially, the MC/UMHE was to be the setter of policies and priorities. So, for most of its life, it had minimal staff: an Executive Director, and at times an Associate Director, with occasional financial support for a bookkeeper and/or a development officer.
Within the UMHE umbrella were local offices at the various campuses in the state. The United Ministries in Higher Education (UMHE) at Michigan State University was an ecumenical campus ministry made up of a number of Christian denominations, including the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the United Presbyterian church, the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ. In January 1970, the boards of the Wesley Foundation at MSU (a United Methodist organization with an ecumenical focus) and the United Christian Campus Fellowship (UCCF)/United Ministries in Higher Education (UMHE) united to form UMHE MSU. They shared a building owned by the Wesley Foundation, paid jointly for building staffing and had periodic joint board meetings between UMHE MSU and the Wesley Foundation. This continued until 1990, when UMHE MSU and the Wesley Foundation at MSU decided to separate.
In addition to traditional religious activities such as church services, religious retreats and bible studies, UMHE was involved in many other aspects of campus life. According to their mission statement, "Since all truth has its ground in God, Christian believers in higher education are called to join with one another and with non-believers alike in the search for truth wherever it can be found." (Mission Statement, UMHE MSU Board of Directors, 1970-1989, Administrative Information). The UMHE MSU had a very strong programming focus with considerable outreach to the campus. In addition to more traditional campus ministry activities, the chapter sponsored and co-sponsored a wide range of activities and programs on social and political issues such as apartheid in South Africa and the need for world peace. UMHE MSU also sponsored a concert series called "Local Focus." These activities furthered the organization's goal of being inclusive rather than exclusive and of reaching out to a broader campus community.
During the first several years of the UMHE (as well as during the earlier AEM/AMHE period), higher education was expanding in the country as a whole. Colleges were becoming universities, teachers colleges were becoming full-fledged colleges, and new colleges and universities were being founded. The UMHE benefited during this time of growth, but as the boom ended, denominationalism arose. Individual judicatories wished to reserve their donations for their own campus ministries. As UMHE lost judicatory funding, its own importance and effectiveness declined. Even though denominations were encouraged to remain within the coalition without financial contributions, few did so. In 1979, the Presbyterian Synods left UMHE. Over the next several years the Christian Church (Disciples) and the United Church of Christ also withdrew, eventually leaving just the United Methodists and the Episcopalians. Finally, in the late 1990's, the two remaining denominations decided to disband the Commission, and in 2000 were completing the dissolution of the MC/UMHE.
