Administrative
The Administrative records chronicle the financial and leadership activities of Immanuel U.C.C. from 1912 to 1995, with the bulk falling between 1942 to 1978. The researcher will find a copy of the 1894 church constitution in the Constitution and Bylaws file as well as various later drafts. The first volume of Consistory and Congregational meeting minutes contains the earliest consistent documentation of church decisions and activities, which were recorded in German until mid-1927. Minutes were handwritten until early 1969, after which they were typed, copied, and taped into the journal. The folders in this series include minutes, agendas, and reports that are absent from the bound volumes.
The church's financial activities and membership levels are available from the formal Financial Reports and Year Book Reports to the parent United Church of Christ. More detailed records of disbursements and income are found in several of the Yearly Files. The church's organizations, for example the Consistory, Board of Education, Ladies' Aid Society, and the Pastor, report on their finances and activities in the Annual Reports to the Membership.
The Pastors file is an incomplete collection of ten of Immanuel's twelve (non-interim) pastors' hiring, letters of resignation, and correspondence after departure. It also includes documents for Keith Westphal, who was minister of Christian Education from 1966 to 1967.
Immanuel's self-reflection, as it sought to be responsive to its membership, is evident in the number of surveys it did. In 1961, the church coordinated with their parent organization to do a comprehensive Congregational Analysis. In 1967 and 1973, the leadership conducted surveys of the membership; the responses can be found in the corresponding Yearly Files. The most serious evaluation of the church's relevance came in the late 1970s with the decision whether or not to merge with St. Mark's and Trinity churches (the third, St. Peter's, decided to close rather than merge). The Tri-Church Merger series includes meeting minutes, Immanuel's compiled files pertaining to the three churches (each includes a formal appraisal), and their membership survey and ultimate rejection of the merger.