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Dear Friends of the Archives,
I am honored to announce the launch of our Capital Campaign in support of the James R. Crumley Jr. Archives on the theme, Generation to Generation: Moving the Past Forward.
Whether we are cradle Lutherans or are new to the faith, we are shaped by the stories, people, and communities that have come before us. Generations of faithful Lutherans have witnessed and responded to God’s call in their own time and place, answering many of the same questions we still ask today. While the way the church looks may have changed over the years, its mission is the same, and we follow gratefully in the footsteps and witness of those who have led the way in proclaiming God’s grace and responding to the needs of God’s people.
For more than three decades, the James R. Crumley Jr. Archives has safeguarded over 350 years of this rich and meaningful Lutheran history in the southeastern United States and the Caribbean. The life and work of Lutherans in Virginia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands live on for us today in the work of the Crumley Archives.
The Archives is entering into a new chapter of its own life as it moves forward to a permanent home on the welcoming campus of Newberry College in Newberry, SC. This moment gives us a renewed opportunity not only to preserve these stories, but also to help others engage them more fully, as we help connect past and present in ways that strengthen faith, identity, and community.
Our campaign theme, Generation to Generation: Moving the Past Forward, reflects both the responsibility we bear and the vision we embrace. We are stewards of a living story - preserving the past, engaging the present, and shaping the future.
We invite you to join us as we continue on the journey of our shared Lutheran story. Thank you for your partnership and trust.
In gratitude,
Susan Wilds McArver
President, Board of Trustees
James R. Crumley Jr. Archives
How we got here
The James R. Crumley Jr. Archives’ history began with the birth of the ELCA in 1988 and the ELCA’s constitutional mandate that each region institute its own archives. At that time, the Region 9 Office and Library Staff of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary initiated conversations among the synods that provided the foundation for creating a regional archives.
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By 1991, the Archives began its mission and established a Board of Trustees, with representatives from the six ELCA synods of the southeastern United States and Caribbean. The Archives is named for the notable and much beloved Lutheran leader, the late Rev. Dr. James R. Crumley, Jr, who served congregations in Tennessee and Georgia. He is best remembered for his service to the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) as its national Secretary, President, and Bishop until the formation of the ELCA. The Archives was dedicated to his name in 1994.
Project Base Goal: $2,250,000 | Challenge Goal: $3,000,000
Through Phase 1 of our Generation to Generation Capital Campaign, we seek to build a new, permanent home for the Archives. Our goals are not only to preserve our irreplaceable collections, but to bring them to life as a vibrant center for sharing stories that shape faith, identity, and community for generations to come.
Our new, spacious home will include an entry pavilion, conference room, museum, stacks, processing room, storage, and media room. We will maintain our climate-controlled environment, where the permanent, valuable records of southeastern and Caribbean Lutheran churches and institutions of the ELCA and its predecessor bodies are preserved. We will maintain our commitment to ADA compliance, including in our shelving. The archival storage area will be free from intrusive lighting that can harm and fade our precious historical records. Our oldest record, the Tryon petition, dates to 1771 and was instrumental in establishing Lutheranism in the Carolinas. Our archival storage area will also serve as a safe haven for our special collections, which include hundreds of centuries old theological and sacred texts, the oldest of which dates to 1480.
A thoughtful place on campus
The Archives will sit on Luther Street between the Alumni Music Center and the Scherrens Welcome Center, on land Newberry College has graciously gifted for our new home. And from the very start, the design gives back to its host campus. A pavilion at the street offers a place to pause out of the rain, visit with a friend, or wait for a ride: a small gift of hospitality to everyday campus life.
Inside the Archives
At the heart of the building is a tall, light-filled central hall running from one entrance to the other. This is where the life of the Archives happens: researchers at work, visitors exploring, and natural light and views of the outdoors all around. A welcome desk at the center of the hall greets guests arriving from either end.
"This campaign is going to mean that the extensive historical collections of the James R. Crumley Archives - those past and those to come, can more effectively help us share and tell the amazing stories of faith as we move the past forward. I am making a gift to this campaign because I believe a building dedicated to storing, preserving, and maintaining historical records, and to sharing the stories of generations of faith, will honor our past and open fresh doors to the future.”
- Dr. Dot Jeffcoat - Campaign Steering Team
Naming Opportunities
Gift Amount | Number of Opportunities | Project |
|---|---|---|
$1,000,000 | 1 | The Naming of the Building |
$500,000 | 1 | Collection Room |
$500,000 | 1 | Glassed-in Foyter Entryway (Phase 2) |
$250,000 | 1 | Land - already gifted by Newberry College |
$150,000 | 1 | Entry Pavilion |
$100,000 | 1 each | Conference Room (1), Museum (1),
East Stacks (1), West Stacks (1) |
$75,000 | 1 | Processing Room |
$60,000 | 1 each | Upper Storage (1), Solar Panels on Roof (1) |
$50,000 | 1 each | Media Room (1), Interior Corridor (1) |
$35,000 | 1 each | East Office (1), Break Room (1) |
$25,000 | 1 each | Scholars Research Desk (3), Furnishings (1), Landscaping (1), Work Station (2) |
$15,000 | 37 total | Welcome Center (1) Carriage Shelving Row (36 Total Organized by Region 9 Synods): VA Synod, NC Synod, SC Synod, SE Synod (GA, AL, TN, MS), FL-Bahamas Synod, Caribbean Synod (Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands) |
$10,000 | 1 each | Fabric Art (1), Interior Signage (1) |