Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1910-1958 (Creation)
Extent
2.65 cubic feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Orrie Orland Arnold (1884-1959) was a minister and editor who also had a long, prolific speaking and writing career.
On July 24th, 1884 he was born in Darke County, Ohio, but his family soon moved to Oregon. There he received his call to ministry, and was licensed by the Oregon Conference of the United Brethren Church in 1906. In 1909, he was received into the Ohio Miami Conference, in which he served several pastorates, remaining in Ohio for the rest of his life.
From 1917 through 1957, in addition to his pastoral duties, Arnold wrote for Sunday school publications. In 1941, he became an associate editor of his denomination's Sunday school press, and was subsequently elected editor of the Evangelical United Brethren Sunday school publications at the time of church union in November 1946. He retired from this position on December 31, 1958, only a few days before his death.
Arnold also served his denomination as chairman of the Rural Life Commission, a member of the General Board of Christian Education, the Commission on Christian Social Action, the Inter-Board Education Committee, and the General Board of Evangelism. He was active interdenominationally as a member of the Committee on Adult Work, the Committee on Administration and Leadership, the Committee on Uniform Lessons, and the Committee on the National Christian Teaching Mission of the National Council of Churches.
He participated in community organizations, helped to organize the Community Chest in Germantown, Ohio, and also was an active member of the Rotary Clubs in Germantown and Greenville. He was thrilled when the Germantown Press named him Father of the Year in 1956.
Arnold married his wife, Bessie, in 1911. They had three sons and three daughters. Arnold died on January 2, 1959.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Record types within this collection include sermons, addresses, clippings, notes, note cards, orders of worship, and program materials. Most of the collection consists of sermons and addresses delivered by Arnold to a wide variety of community and church groups. These are mostly handwritten and in outline form, although a few are complete typewritten manuscripts. Topics include Biblical themes, challenges of Christian living, national and patriotic subjects, liturgical and secular holidays, and Sunday School lessons. Many were delivered to church services and church groups in Ohio and neighboring states; others were addressed to a wide variety of community groups. Among the organizations that benefited from Reverend Arnold's wit were the Ohio Farm Bureau, 4-H Club, Rotary Club, General Conference of 1933, and the Otterbein Guild. The clippings and notes are closely related to Arnold's sermons and addresses. Also included in this collection are some program materials relating to Arnold's work with the Evangelical United Brethren Sunday school publications, as well as a few orders of worship from his ministerial and speaking career.
System of arrangement
This collection is arranged by series and subseries.
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
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, Orrie Orlando Arnold Papers, 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 Kathleen Knaack, Student Assistant, Morris Davis, Manuscript Processor