The work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is documented through a variety of record types.

Minutes and reports reflect the official action of the agency when preparing for and dealing with various crises throughout the world. Through these documents we see the interconnectedness of UMCOR with the other general boards and agencies within the denomination in an attempt to fulfill the mandate to help others in the time of need. The series also shows UMCOR's humble beginnings and its subsequent maturity as a viable denominational entity.

Administrative records that document the general work of the agency can be found in the Office of the General Secretary series. Gaither Warfield, who was one of the primary forces of compassion ministries in the denomination during the mid-twentieth century, guided the agency from its nascent beginnings to an administrative powerhouse.

Warfield's records not only reflect his skill as an administrator, but also the heart of dedicated Christian whose compassion was translated into the basic philosophy that guided the decisions and direction that UMCOR became famous for in later years. Much of this guidance was based on his experience as both a missionary to Poland and subsequent imprisonment by both the Polish and Russian armies as a spy during World War II. The result of this experience produced a keen interest on Warfield's part, and the work of the staff, on the plight of refugees and their relief around the world. His correspondence, memos and other record types document ecumenical, denominational and personal involvement in the area of relief. Records of later general secretaries follow this same trend though the volume of material is much less than those records of Warfield's time. The Office of Refugee Resettlement Program series is the heart of the collection. It is in this area that the agency had its greatest impact.

This impact is reflected in the sheer size of materials in relation to the other series within the collection. Often this office had to work with ever-changing laws, programs and guidelines established by the United States Government and other governments around the world. A quick explanation of the laws that directly impact the work of the agency as documented in the collection would be helpful at this time. Record types that document the works of the office are card files, correspondence, application forms and photographs, reflect the value of their work.

Quota section - Immigration Act of May 26, 1924 limited the number of aliens of any nationality entering the United States to 3 percent of the foreign-born persons of that nationality who lived in the United States in 1910. Approximately 350,000 such aliens were permitted to enter each year as quota immigrants, mostly from Northern and Western Europe. This figure was changed in 1927 to 150,000 in relation to national origin as recorded in the 1920 census.

Immigration and Nationality Act of June 27, 1952 - A system of selected immigration by giving quota preferences to skilled aliens whose services were needed in the United States and were related to U.S. citizens or legal aliens.

Section 7 - relates to the citizenship of children of persons naturalized under certain laws.

Displacement Act (Displaced Persons Act) - President Truman introduced this act in 1948 to address the European refugee problem. Eventually 400,000 individuals immigrated to the United States under this act.

Refugee Relief Act - President Eisenhower pushed this act that allowed for 200,000 non quota visas for Europeans fleeing Hungary after the uprising. Later on the Refugee Escape Act in 1957 opened the door of any victims of communist controlled countries and their respective regimes. Primary nationalities that benefitted from this act were the Hungarians, Albanians, Koreans, Yugoslavs and Chinese.

Public Law 316 admitted aliens between the years of 1945 and 1954 which was amended in 1957 allowed entry of those individuals and their families who were fleeing persecution because of race, religion or politics but misrepresented their nationality, place of birth, identity, or residence because of fear due to persecution in their homelands.

The files of the Office of Refugee Resettlement Program is absent. A researcher may look at these files, but may not use any names, addresses, and other related information contained therein. The files can only be used for gathering statistical information. Please contact the General Commission on Archives and History for more information.

The Adoption Program files do not contain information on actual adoptions but illuminates both the roles and procedures that UMCOR used as a conduit in processing such requests from Methodist families to other church and governmental agencies. Information within these files includes the process on how to adopt an infant, monetary support of the work, general adoption information and program classifications for adoption. Records from the Office of the Treasurer are primarily reports and audits. Financial records historically tend to be secondary in documenting the history of an agency. That is not the case here. Over the course of time the agency spent less of a focus on actual physical work but financing the work of relief through other avenues. These records reflect this change and show what areas of relief were a priority depending on the need and specific time period. The Office of Public Relations records can be found exclusively in scrapbooks which contain pamphlets, clippings, brochures and other similar types of materials which illustrate how the agency publicized its needs and work to the denomination. The scrapbooks are oversized and some are in fragile condition.

Currently the collection's MUPWJ documentation comes solely from Howard Hallman's office. Both paper and digital born records illustrate how MUPWJ started out as a small, volunteer group of United Methodist clergy and laity to give voice against nuclear weapons and support the idea of mutual destruction deterrence. The records show how Hallman's drive to make a larger coalition amongst other religious bodies and then like-minded nonprofit, non-governmental organizations that share MUPWJ core values in order to create a more unified strong voice for justice and peace in the world.

The records show how far reaching MUPWJ and its coalition organizations cajoled, lobbied and confronted from lowest to the highest levels of government in order to halt nuclear testing, end nuclear deterrence policies and chemical weapons development and their usage. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and Non-Proliferation Treaty ratifications make up a majority of the records going into and beyond the 21st century. There are also documents related to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons expansion in non-nuclear countries with India and Pakistan serving as case tests. Additionally, there are emails discussing the ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Further documents record how MUPWJ took an active role in trying to block any American military activity in Afghanistan and the Gulf region as it continued to escalate under various presidential administrations. Once war became inevitable, MUPWJ called for quick endings to all fighting with just resolutions. They augmented their antiwar stance in order to achieve a sustainable peace by lobbying the United States government and other first world powers through coalition building of like-minded groups by lobbying both in personal visits and writing government leaders.

By 2004, documents show there was a series of conferences, recommended publications, outreach programming to local church study groups and other venues to discuss the idea of a theologically just war concept in light of theological pacifism. As a result the subsequent discussions and advocation of peace were filtered through Albert Outler's intellectual Wesleyan Quadrilateral of four theological categories: Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience in order to create a deeper and more relevant theological construct to change or reject the idea of a just war. As typical of Hallman's leadership, the conversation ranged across a broad spectrum led by ideas from prominent scholars representing related disciplines and multi-denominational peace statements. Also documented is how in the late 1980s MUPWJ took up the cause to end the Reagan era Star Wars Strategic Defense Initiative as part of its larger anti-nuclear proliferation goal.

Peace Leaf, along with the shorter Peace/Justice Alert are the official MUPWJ publications. Letter and later email campaigns to Methodist Church leaders, domestic and foreign political officials and staffs, various forms of news outlets, local church programs, special events and a robust website enabled MUPWJ to further its mission.

There are complete manuscripts and supporting documents of Hallman’s personal writings and subsequent submissions to various agents or publishers.