Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Division of Town and Country Work
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1949-1961
History/biography
Following the Joint Commission on Rural Work report to the 1940 General Convention calling for more rural Church workers, a new staff officer position for “town and country” work in the Division of Domestic Mission was created. In 1949, this position expanded to a stand-alone department under the Home Department as the Division of Town and Country Work. Two years later, the Division appointed a National Advisory Committee for Town and Country Work to perform studies and make recommendations.
The Division of Town and Country Work had a particularly close relationship with the Roanridge Training Center in Missouri. The programs at Roanridge, including the Summer Parish Training Program, were administered by the National Town and Country Institute.
Emphasis on the rural mission waned in the 1960s as the national Church became more focused on urban mission. A 1961 reorganization of the Home Department saw the elimination of the Division of Town and Country, with its responsibilities being returned to the Division of Domestic Mission. The National Advisory Committee for Town and Country Work survived the reorganization and eventually dissolved in 1967.