Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1971- 2005 (Creation)
Extent
2.88 cubic feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Judith Craig (1937-2019) was a United Methodist Church bishop. Craig was born in Lexington, Missouri on June 5, 1937. Her education started at William Jewell College (B.A., 1959), then Eden Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1961), and finally at United Theological Seminary (M.A., C.E., 1968). Baldwin-Wallace College bestowed an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree on her in 1980. Bishop Francis E. Kerns ordained her a deacon in 1972 and elder in 1974 within the East Ohio Annual Conference. Craig served at Cleveland's Epworth-Euclid United Methodist Church from 1972 to 1976 as a religious education minister and later as an associate pastor. Her next appointment from 1976 to 1980 came as the pastor at Pleasant Hills United Methodist Church. In 1980 she was appointed the Director of the East Ohio Conference Council on Ministries. Craig was elected to the episcopacy in 1984 by the North Central Jurisdiction and assigned to the Michigan Area until 1992. Afterwards she administered the Ohio West Episocpal Area until her retirement. Post retirement work includes the Office of Bishop in Residence and visiting professor at Methodist Theological School of Ohio. Craig has served on the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women ( 1984-1988), the General Council on Ministries (1988-1992), and the General Board of Publication.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection is primarily made up of sermons and speeches. Most of the folders contain supporting documents directly related to the sermons and addresses in the forms of bulletins, correspondence and other ephemera. There are three additional folders at the end of the collection which focuses on prayers, annual conference meetings and manuscript fragments. Topics range far and wide within the standard theological spectrum. They reflect the many ministries in which Craig was involved during her career.
System of arrangement
The Bishop Judith Craig collection is arranged alphabetically by sermon or address title. Other folders not related to sermons or addresses are arranged alphabetically at the end of the collection.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
There are no restrictions regarding this collection.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Accession: 1996- 073. Women in Ministry Project Oral History Inverview of Bishop Judith Craig.
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Bishop Judith Craig Collection, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Prepared by Myong Shin Jeon, Student Assistant and Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivist
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- United Methodist Church (U.S.) (Subject)