WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.). CHINESE SUNDAY SCHOOL:

Westminster Presbyterian Church (Minneapolis, Minn.) established the Chinese Sunday School in 1882 to serve Chinese immigrants. The school offered Sunday afternoon worship services conducted in the Chinese language and English language instruction for adults and children. As a result of these programs, the church became a favored location for religious and secular activities of the area's Chinese community as well as a place for interaction with members of the larger community. The Sunday afternoon activities were discontinued in 1957, but English language classes for adults continued to be held at other times until the early 1970s, when they were succeeded by Saturday morning Chinese language classes for Americans of Chinese descent.

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Sunday School records consist of annual reports (1947-1950), student rosters (undated, [194-?], 1956), and a Christmas gift list (1938). Personal papers include photocopies of newspaper articles (1936-1980) on various aspects of the Twin Cities Chinese American community; several issues (June-September 1949) of Communicator, the monthly newsletter of the Chinese American Club; Minneapolis-St. Paul Chinese directories (1950, 1970); high school graduation photographs (photocopies), wedding invitations, and baby announcements (1967-1989) of former Sunday School pupils; a copy of a letter (1967) from Wilson about former students; and her reminiscence (2003) of Chinese New Year banquets held in the 1960s and 1970s. The collection also includes correspondence and miscellaneous papers, clippings, photographs, and data on individual families regarding Wilson's association with the Chinese-American community of Minnesota and the Chinese Sunday School.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Westminster Presbyterian Church (Minneapolis, Minn.). Chinese Sunday School, Chinese Sunday School Records and related Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,952, 16,760

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, July 2013.

Catalog ID number: 990037328150104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Chinese -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Chinese Americans -- Cultural assimilation -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Chinese Americans -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area -- Directories.

Chinese Americans -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area -- Religion.

Chinese Americans -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area -- Social life and customs -- 20th century.

Chinese Americans -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area -- Societies, etc.

Church work with Chinese Americans -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area -- Presbyterian Church.

Church work with immigrants -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area -- Presbyterian Church.

Immigrants -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Persons:

Wilson, Lucia Jane, author.

Organizations:

Chinese American Club (Minneapolis, Minn.), author.

Places:

China -- Emigration and immigration.

Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (Minn.) -- Emigration and immigration.

Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (Minn.) -- Ethnic relations.

Document Types:

Photographs.

Titles:

Communicator (Chinese American Club (Minneapolis, Minn.)).

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