Preserving, engaging, and expanding the Covenant story
Summer/fall 2015
Covenant History F r ien d s of
In This Issue... CONTENTS In This Issue.................. 1 Clothed by the Spirit by Curtis Ivanof............. 2 Native Missionaries in Rural Alaska by Eva Malvich.............. 7 From the Archives: The Historical Photograph Collection: Alaska in Pictures by Anna-Kajsa Anderson....................... 8 Throwback: Alaska in Minutes (1889, 1972)...........................10
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n March 27, 2015, delegates meeting in Elim, Alaska, voted to transition the Covenant churches of Alaska from “field” to “conference,” becoming the eleventh conference of the ECC. We offer this issue in commemoration of this historic decision. Our Throwback column includes portions of the Annual Meeting minutes of 1889 and 1972, documenting the transfer of the Alaska mission from the Covenant of Sweden to the American Covenant (1889), and Alaska’s transfer from “foreign mission” to “home mission” (1972). The historical significance of Alaska’s now becoming a conference is obvious. For the sake of preservation, we publish here a transcription of the sermon preached by Curtis Ivanoff, formerly field director, now superintendent of the Alaska conference, the day prior to the historic vote. In his sermon, Ivanoff locates this significant event within the long history of Swedish, Swedish American, and Native mission in Alaska. Complementing Ivanoff ’s account, Eva Malvich, director and curator of the Yupiit Piciryarait Museum in Bethel, Alaska, offers a series of brief biographical sketches, highlighting Native lay pastors in the early years of the Covenant in Alaska. As a denomination we are truly blessed that those before us stewarded our historical sources through the preservation of records, letters, photographs, and other documents. Our current archivist Anna-Kajsa Anderson continues to increase the accessibility of these materials through the development of digital collections, funded in large part by the Donald Frisk Memorial Fund.
Letter from E.J. Eckman to C.A. Björk regarding the transfer of the Alaska mission (November 19, 1889)
Anderson’s From the Archives column highlights the Historical Photograph Collection, which makes accessible 7,000 photographs and counting. The collection includes a wide range of subjects, going back to 1885. Congruent to our issue theme, Anderson offers a sampling of photographs from the Covenant’s work in Alaska. As Friends of Covenant History, we celebrate the ways God has worked in Alaska and the many faithful people through whom he has worked. We mark this important moment and pray God’s continued blessing on the Alaska Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. ■ 1