Papers of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel

The Bodleian Library catalogue describes the collection as follows: « The United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) came into existence on 1 January 1965. It was formed by the merger of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) and the Universities’ Mission to Central Africa (UMCA). On 1 January 1968 the Cambridge Mission to Delhi (CMD) also joined USPG. Early in the 19th century SPG began sending missionaries to countries where migrants from Britain and Ireland were not present in large numbers, such as India (1820) and South Africa (1821). Work among indigenous people came to be a higher priority than care of the colonists, although the emphasis on pastoral ministry and education remained. During the second half of the 19th century there were new developments. The Society allowed women, including single women, from Britain and Ireland to be missionaries in their own right, rather than only as the wives of male missionaries. Increasing numbers of indigenous missionaries, both men and women, were supported in their work by the SPG. UMCA aimed to establish the church in Central Africa and both men and women were involved from its earliest days in contributing to making this a reality. Evangelistic, pastoral and educational work were all carried out by both Africans and Europeans. Medical work soon became an important addition and one of UMCA’s major contributions in this sphere was its participation in the fight against leprosy.  Much of its work was done through two religious communities: the Brotherhood of the Ascension, a community for men, and St Stephen’s Community for women. Since 1701 the Society has supported around 15,000 men and women as missionaries in many parts of the world. Closure periods apply to certain classes of records as follows: Medical files, 100 years; personnel files, 75 years; other files, 30 years. »